SB 144 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

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 HB 124.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 7, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 1 edit
MINOR
This bill marks the final transition of SB 144 from an enrolled draft to an official chapter of Virginia law. It retains the core provisions of the original bill, which increase penalties for assaults against specific protected groups (like judges and healthcare workers) and hate crimes. No substantive policy changes, such as new laws, funding amounts, or definitions, were made during this final formatting stage.
TECHNICAL

The text was converted from a draft legislative format to the official 'Chaptered' format, including the addition of the chapter number (Chapter 72) and the official approval date (April 6, 2026).

Floor votes · Senate Feb 5, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 23, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 5, 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
30
Key actions
11
Committee
5
Apr 6, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 72 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB144ER)
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 12, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Jan 21, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Ryan McDougle
Ryan McDougle
RRepublican
VA
26