# Virginia HB438: Delinquency petition; referral to court service unit.

Virginia HB438, Delinquency petition; referral to court service unit., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Destiny LeVere Bolling (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0613)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB438-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB438
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Delinquency petition; referral to court service unit.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0613)
- Sponsor: Destiny LeVere Bolling (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 12 (335 yes, 76 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Delinquency petition; referral to court service unit. Provides that at any point prior to the commencement of an adjudication hearing on a petition alleging that a child is delinquent, the court, upon request of the child with consent of the attorney for the Commonwealth, if a party to the case, may refer the delinquency charge back to the court service unit in writing and the intake officer shall proceed informally pursuant to relevant law. Additionally, the bill provides that upon such referral, the court shall dismiss the petition and order that the court records pertaining to the petition be expunged pursuant to relevant law. Lastly, the bill allows an intake officer to proceed informally on a complaint alleging a child is in need of services, in need of supervision, or delinquent if the juvenile has previously been proceeded against informally.Current law does not permit proceeding informally when a juvenile (i) commits a violent juvenile felony or (ii) is alleged delinquent for an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult if such juvenile had previously been (a) proceeded against informally by intake or (b) adjudicated delinquent for a prior offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult. This bill is identical to SB 70.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Youth can request dismissal through intake referral: benefit, low. Before the hearing to decide a delinquency charge begins, a child can ask the court to return it to intake. The court may approve; the Commonwealth's attorney must agree if that attorney is a party to the case. After referral, the court must dismiss the petition and order its court records destroye…
- More informal options for youth, with limits: mixed, low. Virginia court intake officers can handle some youth complaints without filing a court petition. A past informal proceeding alone no longer blocks this option. Informal handling is barred for violent juvenile felony allegations or prior findings involving acts that are felonies for adults. Informal…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Destiny LeVere Bolling (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-12 | House | Senate amendments agreed to by House | pass | 64 | 34 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Passed Senate with amendments Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Passed Senate with amendments Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Courts of Justice Amendment agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 63 | 33 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 15 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 8 | 2 |   |

## Actions (39)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0613) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 613 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB438) (House)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB438ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Senate amendments agreed to by House (64-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Passed Senate with amendments Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Passed Senate with amendments Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Courts of Justice Amendment agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Engrossed by Senate as amended (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB438) (House)
- 2026-03-02: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Reported from Courts of Justice with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB438) (House)
- 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 (63-Y 33-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-11: Committee substitute printed 26106927D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (15-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-02-06: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-03: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-29: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB438) (House)
- 2026-01-12: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-12: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103735D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218902.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218901.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213485.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213484.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-03-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1205947.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-03-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1190921.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-03-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187404.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-02-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142331.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142330.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133525.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133810.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133524.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133809.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084435.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084434.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/1218902.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218901.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213485.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213484.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1205947.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1190921.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187404.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142331.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142330.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133525.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133810.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133524.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133809.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084435.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084434.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)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB438-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).