HB 1030: Parole; discretionary criteria guidelines. - Virginia

Subcommittee #2 Subcommittee Substitute → Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill shifts the legislative oversight of parole from the House Committee on Public Safety to the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, signaling a policy focus on reintegration rather than just public safety. It updates the bill title to emphasize 'criteria' over 'guidelines' and modifies the language regarding parole suitability to be more precise. The core eligibility rules and scoring systems remain largely intact, though minor wording adjustments were made to clarify requirements for victim notification and prisoner verification plans.

Scope change

The bill's scope of legislative sponsorship changed from the House to the Senate, indicating a shift in the committee responsible for reviewing the legislation. The substantive scope of the law regarding who is eligible for parole remains unchanged.

SCOPE

The bill was re-substituted by the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services instead of the House Committee on Public Safety.

DEFINITION

The bill title and description were updated to refer to 'discretionary parole criteria guidelines' instead of 'eligibility guidelines'.

REQUIREMENT

Minor wording changes were made to clarify that verification plans for education, residence, and employment require a letter of verification.

The language regarding the Parole Board's final decision was updated to explicitly state it can decide based on 'individual facts and circumstances' rather than just 'individual facts'.

The text describing the Parole Board's deviation from worksheet scores was updated to specify that the explanation must cover deviations for prisoners scored at Tier 1 or Tier 3.

Public Safety Substitute → Subcommittee #2 Subcommittee Substitute · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted from a standard layout to a 'House Substitute' version with different header styling and line spacing, but the substantive legal text and policy provisions remain unchanged.

Scope change

None; the scope and applicability of the bill are identical to the previous version.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was altered to include 'HOUSE SUBSTITUTE' headers and adjusted line breaks, likely reflecting a procedural step in the legislative process, but no policy content was added, removed, or modified.

Enrolled → Public Safety Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from an Enrolled Act into a House Public Safety Substitute, changing its status from final law to a draft proposal. The substantive text regarding parole criteria and procedures remains identical, but the document now includes a new scoring system for parole eligibility and a requirement for public meetings during parole deliberations.

Scope change

The bill's scope has shifted from enacted law to a proposed amendment; the applicability of the rules to prisoners remains unchanged.

STATUS

The document status changed from 'Enrolled' (final law) to 'Public Safety Substitute' (proposed amendment), indicating the bill is no longer in its final form.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement mandates that the Parole Board hold a public meeting with the prisoner and victim present to deliberate and vote on parole decisions.

ELIGIBILITY

A specific scoring worksheet was added to evaluate parole suitability based on factors like education, employment plans, and time served, with defined point thresholds for favorable consideration.

DEFINITION

The bill text was updated to reflect the substitution process, including the addition of a patron name and committee details.

Introduced → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 31, 2026

MODERATE

This bill transitions the Virginia Parole Board from a purely discretionary system to one guided by specific numerical scoring criteria. It adds a new scoring worksheet that evaluates factors like education, rehabilitation, and crime history to determine a prisoner's suitability for release, while retaining the Board's final authority to approve or deny parole based on individual circumstances.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of parole decision-making by introducing mandatory evaluation criteria for all eligible prisoners, shifting from subjective judgment alone to a hybrid model that combines objective scoring with Board discretion.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new section (53.1-151.1) establishing a 'Discretionary Parole Criteria' scoring system that awards points for positive factors (education, therapy, job applications) and deducts points for negative factors (prior offenses, violence, drug use).

REQUIREMENT

Modified the parole review process to require the Board to consider the prisoner's score, which categorizes them into three levels: favorable consideration (Level 1), individualized review (Level 2), or presumed unsuitable (Level 3).

Added a requirement that the scoring worksheet be provided to prisoners in advance of their hearing, allowing them to contest inaccurate scores before the Board votes.

ENFORCEMENT

Modified the Board's decision-making process to require a written explanation if the Board deviates from the recommendation made by the scoring worksheet.

TECHNICAL

Removed procedural headers and committee referral language, indicating the bill has passed all legislative stages and is now final law.

Parole; discretionary criteria guidelines.

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