# Virginia HB245: Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets, Behavioral Health Docket Act.

Virginia HB245, Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets, Behavioral Health Docket Act., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Vivian E. Watts (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0580)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB245-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB245
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Jurisdiction of district courts in felony cases; specialty dockets, Behavioral Health Docket Act.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0580)
- Sponsor: Vivian E. Watts (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (197 yes, 20 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## 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: provisions PRIA read

- Defendants can pause cases for treatment programs: benefit, low. Virginia general district courts can keep cases during approved delays so defendants can complete specialty or behavioral health programs. Judges can also delay cases the district court cannot try so defendants can complete a behavioral health program. Juvenile and domestic relations district court…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Vivian E. Watts (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 76 | 19 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 18 | 1 |   |
| 2026-01-21 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (26)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0580) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 580 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB245) (House)
- 2026-03-02: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB245ER) (House)
- 2026-03-02: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-02: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-25: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 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 (76-Y 19-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-01-30: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-28: Reported from Courts of Justice (18-Y 1-N) (House)
- 2026-01-21: Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-20: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB245) (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 26102480D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218847.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218846.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182478.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182477.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083246.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083245.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
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218847.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218846.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182478.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182477.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083246.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083245.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)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB245-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).