HB 149 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Probation; decreasing period.

Summary

Decreasing probation period. Establishes criteria for which a defendant's supervised probation period shall be reduced, including completing educational activities, maintaining employment, completing treatment, or obtaining housing. The bill provides that a court may decrease a defendant's probation period if warranted by the defendant's conduct upon receipt of a request from the Department of Corrections and requires the Department of Corrections to request termination of a defendant's supervised probation period after 12 months in certain situations. This bill is identical to SB 136.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 5, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled → Chaptered · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill converts the legislative text from an 'Enrolled' draft to an officially 'Chaptered' law, indicating it has been signed and is now active. The substantive legal content regarding probation periods remains identical, with no changes to eligibility, thresholds, or requirements.

Scope change

The scope of the law remains unchanged; the bill applies to the same defendants and conditions as before.

TECHNICAL

Removed the placeholder session header and the bracketed bill number from the original draft text.

Added the official chapter number (Chapter 76) and the specific approval date (April 6, 2026) to formalize the law.

Adjusted the formatting and spacing of the text to match the standard layout of enacted statutes.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 5, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 3, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 39

Mar 5, 2026

D Democratic20

19 Yea 1

95% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 6, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 76 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB149ER)

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (26-Y 14-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N)

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 4-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 (87-Y 11-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Introduced

Engrossed by House as amended

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

committee amendment agreed to

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (20-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal

lower

Jan 5, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors