# Virginia HB251: Assault and battery; creates Class 6 felony for serious bodily injury.

Virginia HB251, Assault and battery; creates Class 6 felony for serious bodily injury., is a 2027 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Vivian E. Watts (Democratic); status in committee, last action 2026-07-21 (Continued from last session) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB251-2027
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB251
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2027 Regular Session
- Title: Assault and battery; creates Class 6 felony for serious bodily injury.
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-07-21, Continued from last session
- Sponsor: Vivian E. Watts (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Criminal
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Assault and battery; serious bodily injury; penalty. Creates a Class 6 felony for any person who commits an assault and battery that results in serious bodily injury, as defined in relevant law, but does not rise to the level of the current offenses of unlawful or malicious wounding. The bill adds such new offense to the list of violent felony offenses for the purposes of the discretionary sentencing guidelines.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

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

## Actions (8)

- 2026-07-21: Continued from last session (House)
- 2026-02-13: Continued to 2027 in Courts of Justice (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2028 (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-02-10: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-14: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB251) (House)
- 2026-01-09: Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (1/9/2026 11:01 am) (House)
- 2026-01-08: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-08: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102460D (House)

## Bill text

- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229476.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229475.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority; report. (in committee)
- HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of statements. (introduced)
- HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information. (introduced)
- SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset. (in committee)
- SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment. (in committee)
- SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion State Prison. (in committee)

## Sources
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229476.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229475.PDF)

## Related
- [SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority; report.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB844-2027)
- [HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of s…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1535-2027)
- [HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1534-2027)
- [SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB843-2027)
- [SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB842-2027)
- [SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion Sta…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB840-2027)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB251-2027 (as of 2026-10-11).