HB 73 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Juvenile and domestic relations district courts; petitions for relief of care and custody.

Summary
Juvenile and domestic relations district courts; petitions for relief of care and custody; custodians. Allows the custodian of a child to file a petition for relief of the care and custody of such child in a juvenile and domestic relations district court. Current law only authorizes the parent or parents of a child to file such petition for relief of care and custody. The bill also requires the petitioning parent or custodian to cooperate with any services provided by a local department of social services during the initial investigation by such local department of social services after such petition for relief of care and custody has been filed. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth and is identical to SB 206.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Dec 31, 2025 Signed Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 2 edits
MINOR
This bill converts the legislative text from a draft 'Enrolled' version to the final 'Chaptered' version that becomes law. The substantive legal content regarding juvenile court jurisdiction, custody petitions, and abortion consent remains unchanged, but the document now includes the official chapter number (Chapter 58), the specific approval date (April 6, 2026), and the formal signature of the Governor.
Scope change
The scope of the law itself has not changed; only the document's status has changed from a proposed bill to an enacted statute.
TECHNICAL

Added the official chapter number (Chapter 58) and the specific enactment date (April 6, 2026) to finalize the bill as law.

Removed draft session headers and replaced them with the official 'Approved' signature block and chapter designation.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 20, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 3, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 20, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
26
Key actions
10
Committee
6
Apr 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 58 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB73ER)
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (38-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (13-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (19-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Civil
lower
Dec 31, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors