HB 561 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Driving while intoxicated; refusal of tests, repeat offenders, ignition interlocks.

Summary

Driving while intoxicated; refusal of tests; repeat offenders; ignition interlocks. Permits a court to issue a restricted license with immediate installation of ignition interlock systems for certain offenders charged with driving while intoxicated, refusal of tests, or repeat offender violations. The bill also directs the Commission on the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program to convene a work group to evaluate the provisions governing driving or operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and submit recommendations and a draft report to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice by November 1, 2026. Current law requires various time limits of driver's license suspension for such violations before a restricted license may be issued.

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Vetoed

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Vetoed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed → Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 31, 2026

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an Enrolled version, removing procedural headers like session dates and committee referrals while retaining the core DUI laws. The substantive text remains largely identical to the Engrossed version, though some minor formatting inconsistencies and redundant phrases (such as 'It shall be is unlawful') were preserved in the final text, likely due to a direct copy-paste from the draft.

Scope change

The scope of the law itself did not change; the document format shifted from a draft legislative proposal to the final enacted statute.

TECHNICAL

Removed all draft-specific metadata, including session dates, bill numbers, committee referrals, and amendment history notes.

Corrected the document title and header to reflect the final 'Enrolled' status and official act format.

Retained minor drafting errors from the previous version, such as the phrase 'It shall be is unlawful' and inconsistent spacing, as no substantive legal edits were made to the body text.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 9, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Mar 9, 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

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 13, 2026

Vetoed

Governor's recommendation received by House

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 (HB561ER)

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate amendments agreed to by House (90-Y 7-N 0-A)

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate with amendments (35-Y 5-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Introduced

Engrossed by Senate as amended

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Courts of Justice Amendments agreed to

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 with amendments (12-Y 2-N)

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

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 16, 2026

Introduced

Engrossed by House as amended

lower

Feb 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

committee amendments agreed to

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N)

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

House subcommittee offered

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors