# Virginia HB1713: Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets; Behavioral Health Docket Act. Virginia HB1713, Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets; Behavioral Health Docket Act., is a 2025 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Vivian E. Watts (Democratic); status to governor, last action 2025-04-02 (House sustained Governor's veto) (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1713-2025 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia HB1713 - State: Virginia - Session: 2025 Regular Session - Title: Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets; Behavioral Health Docket Act. - Status: to governor - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-04 - Last action: 2025-04-02, House sustained Governor's veto - Sponsor: Vivian E. Watts (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 6 (168 yes, 51 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 0 ## Summary Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets; Behavioral Health Docket Act. Authorizes a general district court and a juvenile and domestic relations district court to retain jurisdiction over a felony offense for the purpose of allowing the accused to complete a specialty docket or behavioral health docket established pursuant to relevant law. Current law only explicitly provides such courts with the ability to certify felony charges to the circuit court or dismiss such charges after a preliminary hearing to determine if probable cause exists for such charges. ## Bill overview No economic impacts identified for this bill. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Vivian E. Watts (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-02-17 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2025-02-14 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 36 | 0 | | | 2025-02-12 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 15 | 0 | | | 2025-02-04 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 55 | 44 | | | 2025-01-29 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 16 | 6 | | | 2025-01-24 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 7 | 1 | 1 | ## Actions (26) - 2025-04-02: House sustained Governor's veto (House) - 2025-03-24: Vetoed by Governor (Governor) - 2025-03-03: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025 (Governor) - 2025-03-03: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 3, 2025 (House) - 2025-02-22: Signed by President (Senate) - 2025-02-20: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1713) (House) - 2025-02-19: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1713ER) (House) - 2025-02-19: Enrolled (House) - 2025-02-19: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2025-02-17: Passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-02-17: Read third time (Senate) - 2025-02-14: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (36-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-02-14: Passed by for the day (Senate) - 2025-02-14: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2025-02-12: Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2025-02-05: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate) - 2025-02-05: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate) - 2025-02-04: Read third time and passed House (55-Y 44-N) (House) - 2025-02-03: Read second time and engrossed (House) - 2025-01-31: Read first time (House) - 2025-01-29: Reported from Courts of Justice (16-Y 6-N) (House) - 2025-01-24: Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 1-N) (House) - 2025-01-21: Assigned Courts sub: Criminal (House) - 2025-01-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1713) (House) - 2025-01-04: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House) - 2025-01-04: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-08-2025 25102619D (House) ## Bill text - Veto Explanation, 2025-03-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1073213.HTML) - Enrolled, 2025-02-19: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1057341.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1057340.PDF) - Introduced, 2025-01-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1012756.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1012755.PDF) ## Related bills - HR671: Commending JR's Auto Care. (adopted) - SB941: Robbery; use of air or gas operated weapon, etc., penalty. (failed) - HB1746: Public safety officer; definition. (failed) - HB1600: Budget Bill. (failed) - SB1449: Data centers; site assessment for high energy use facility. (failed) - HB1609: Essential health benefits benchmark plan; Commission to consider coverage for infertility treatment. (to governor) ## Sources - [Veto Explanation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1073213.HTML) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1057341.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1057340.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1012756.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1012755.PDF) ## Related - [HR671: Commending JR's Auto Care.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HR671-2025) - [SB941: Robbery; use of air or gas operated weapon, etc., penalty.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB941-2025) - [HB1746: Public safety officer; definition.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1746-2025) - [HB1600: Budget Bill.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1600-2025) - [SB1449: Data centers; site assessment for high energy use facility.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB1449-2025) - [HB1609: Essential health benefits benchmark plan; Commission to consider coverage for i…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1609-2025) - [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills) - [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1713-2025 (as of 2026-10-17).