# Virginia HB244: Robbery; conforms certain provisions of Code to degrees of robbery offenses.

Virginia HB244, Robbery; conforms certain provisions of Code to degrees of robbery offenses., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Vivian E. Watts (Democratic); status passed house, last action 2026-03-09 (Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations) (as of 2026-10-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB244-2026
- As of: 2026-10-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB244
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Robbery; conforms certain provisions of Code to degrees of robbery offenses.
- Status: passed house
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-03-09, Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations
- Sponsor: Vivian E. Watts (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Finance and Appropriations
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 5 (103 yes, 54 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Robbery. Conforms certain provisions of the Code referencing robbery to the degrees of robbery offenses established by Chapter 534 of the Acts of Assembly of 2021, Special Session I. These changes include: (i) limiting to the three higher degrees of robbery certain non-robbery crimes for which committing such crime with the intent to commit a robbery is an element of the offenses, (ii) limiting the types of robbery that are included in the definition of "acts of violence" to the two higher degrees of robbery, (iii) clarifying how robbery offenses will be scored on the sentencing guidelines, (iv) allowing persons convicted of the two lesser degrees of robbery to be eligible for conditional release if they are terminally ill and for enhanced earned sentence credits, (v) allowing persons who are ineligible for parole as a result of being convicted of three of certain enumerated offenses to be eligible for parole if convicted of an offense that would constitute robbery by presenting of firearms, and (vi) limiting the application of the three-strikes law to the two higher degrees of robbery and making persons convicted under the three-strikes law eligible for parole if one of the three convictions resulting in the mandatory life sentence would constitute one of the two lesser degrees of robbery. The bill leaves unchanged the current law making all degrees of robbery predicate criminal acts by adding the two lesser degrees of robbery to the definition of "predicate criminal act" and specifying that the two higher degrees of robbery are included in the definition of "act of violence." The bill requires the changes made to the eligibility for conditional release of terminally ill prisoners and enhanced earned sentence credits to apply retroactively if certain criteria are met.

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations | pass | 10 | 4 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 8 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 64 | 34 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) | pass | 14 | 6 |   |
| 2026-01-23 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) | pass | 7 | 3 |   |

## Actions (20)

- 2026-03-09: Referred to Committee on Finance and Appropriations (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 4-N) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB244) (House)
- 2026-03-03: Committee substitute printed 26108969D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (8-Y 7-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB244) (House)
- 2026-02-04: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Read third time and passed House (64-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Engrossed by House as amended (House)
- 2026-02-02: committee amendments agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-02: Read second time (House)
- 2026-01-30: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-28: Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (14-Y 6-N) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (7-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-01-23: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-20: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-08: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-08: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102503D (House)

## Bill text

- Substitute, 2026-03-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199392.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199391.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1190454.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1190453.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1102995.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1102994.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101126.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-01-23: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095642.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1096264.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083234.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083233.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199392.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199391.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1190454.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1190453.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1102995.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1102994.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101126.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095642.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1096264.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083234.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083233.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB244-2026 (as of 2026-10-13).