Paternity; proceedings to establish.
Summary
Proceedings to establish paternity. Adds the methods by which the Department of Social Services administratively establishes paternity for the purposes of child support enforcement to the lists of ways that a parent and child relationship may be established in domestic relations proceedings under Title 20 and that a parent and child relationship may be established for determining rights related to a deed, will, trust, or other instrument. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.
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 8, 2026
Signed Apr 8, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
Enrolled
→
Chaptered
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 369 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive legal text regarding paternity proceedings remains identical to the previous version, with no changes to eligibility, definitions, or requirements. The only changes are the addition of official approval dates, chapter numbers, and formatting adjustments typical of the transition from a draft bill to an enacted statute.
Scope change
The scope and applicability of the law remain unchanged; this is a procedural update reflecting the bill's passage and enactment.
TECHNICAL
Added official enactment details including the approval date (April 8, 2026), chapter number (369), and session header.
Removed draft session headers and placeholder lines used during the legislative process.
Adjusted line breaks and spacing to conform to the standard formatting of enacted Virginia statutes.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 9, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 10, 2026
How they voted
39–0
Passed
Total votes 39
Mar 9, 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
30
Key actions
12
Committee
7
Amendments
2
Apr 8, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 369 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB224ER)
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Introduced
Engrossed by House as amended
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
committee amendments agreed to
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (9-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Jan 26, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Civil
lower
Jan 8, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Patrick Hope
DDemocratic
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