# Virginia HB250: Sex offenses prohibiting proximity to children; Park Authorities Act, penalty.

Virginia HB250, Sex offenses prohibiting proximity to children; Park Authorities Act, penalty., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Vivian E. Watts (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0096)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB250-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB250
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Sex offenses prohibiting proximity to children; Park Authorities Act, penalty.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0096)
- Sponsor: Vivian E. Watts (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 10 (332 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Sex offenses prohibiting proximity to children; Park Authorities Act; penalty. Provides that every adult who is convicted of an offense prohibiting proximity to children, when the offense occurred on or after July 1, 2026, shall as part of his sentence be forever prohibited from going, for the purpose of having any contact whatsoever with children who are not in his custody, within 100 feet of the premises of any place owned or operated by an authority created pursuant to the Park Authorities Act that he knows or should know is a playground, athletic field or facility, or gymnasium.The bill also provides that any person convicted of an offense under the laws of any foreign country or any political subdivision thereof, or the United States or any political subdivision thereof, similar to any offense set forth in current law shall be forever prohibited from going, for the purpose of having any contact whatsoever with children who are not in his custody, within 100 feet of the premises of any place owned or operated by an authority created pursuant to the Park Authorities Act that he knows or has reason to know is a playground, athletic field or facility, or gymnasium.A violation of the bill's provisions is punishable as a Class 6 felony.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Lifetime park limits for convicted offenders: cost, low. Adults convicted of qualifying Virginia offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026, face lifetime park restrictions. The law also covers similar convictions under federal, other state or local, or foreign laws. Covered people cannot go within 100 feet of playgrounds, athletic fields or facilities,…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

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

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-03 | House | Senate substitute agreed to by House | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 21 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (34)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0096) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 96 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB250) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB250ER) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-03: Senate substitute agreed to by House (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-27: Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB250) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (2/26/2026 12:59 pm) (House)
- 2026-02-26: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Committee substitute printed 26108637D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Reported from Courts of Justice (21-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-10: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-15: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB250) (House)
- 2026-01-09: Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (1/9/2026 10:15 am) (House)
- 2026-01-08: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-08: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102454D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216276.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216275.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197816.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197815.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-25: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181246.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181245.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083264.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083263.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/1216276.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216275.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197816.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197815.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181246.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181245.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083264.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083263.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-HB250-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).