Assault and battery; adds district court temporary recall judge, penalty.
Summary
Assault and battery; district court temporary recall judge; penalty. Adds a judge of a district court under temporary recall to the definition of "judge" as it relates to the crime of assault and battery, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor that is enhanced to a Class 6 felony with a mandatory minimum term of confinement of six months if such judge is engaged in his public duties at the time of the offense. This bill is a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts and is identical to SB 144.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 2, 2026
Signed Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Enrolled
→
Chaptered
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 71 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive legal text regarding assault penalties and protected groups remains unchanged, but the document now includes official approval dates and formatting adjustments typical of a finalized statute.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; no new crimes, penalties, or protected groups were added or removed.
TECHNICAL
The document format changed from a draft 'Enrolled' version to a final 'Chaptered' version, adding official approval dates and standard legislative formatting.
Draft session headers and placeholder text were replaced with the final chapter number and approval date.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 26, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026
How they voted
39–0
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 26, 2026
D
Democratic20
100% Yea
R
Republican19
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
28
Key actions
11
Committee
7
Apr 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 71 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB124ER)
lower
Feb 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (13-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (21-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal
lower
Jan 2, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Atoosa Reaser
DDemocratic
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