# Virginia SB137: Obstructing health care facility; penalties. Virginia SB137, Obstructing health care facility; penalties., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-22 (House concurred in Governor's recommendation (66-Y 32-N 0-A)) (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB137-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB137 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Obstructing health care facility; penalties. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-06 - Last action: 2026-04-22, House concurred in Governor's recommendation (66-Y 32-N 0-A) - Sponsor: Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 14 (365 yes, 213 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 1 ## Summary Obstructing reproductive health care facility; penalties. Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who (i) by force or threat of force, or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with, or attempts to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, another person because such other person is or has been, or in order to intimidate such person or any other person or any class of persons from, obtaining or providing reproductive health services, defined in the bill, or (ii) intentionally damages or destroys, or attempts to damage or destroy, a reproductive health care facility, defined in the bill, because such facility provides reproductive health services. The bill also provides that the provisions of the bill shall not be construed to place any restriction on the content of any message that anyone may wish to communicate to anyone else, either inside or outside the regulated areas. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Penalties for blocking or damaging reproductive care: benefit, medium. The law makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to use force, threats, or physical blocking to stop people from getting or providing reproductive health care. It is also a Class 1 misdemeanor to damage or try to damage a facility because it offers those services. The rules cover hospitals, clinics, doctors’… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-22 | House | House concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 66 | 32 | | | 2026-04-22 | Senate | Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 21 | 18 | | | 2026-03-14 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 21 | 18 | | | 2026-03-14 | House | Conference report agreed to by House | pass | 62 | 35 | | | 2026-03-10 | Senate | Senate acceded to request Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-03-06 | Senate | House substitute rejected by Senate | fail | 1 | 39 | | | 2026-03-04 | House | Passed House with substitute | pass | 64 | 35 | | | 2026-03-02 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 15 | 7 | | | 2026-02-27 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 7 | 3 | | | 2026-01-22 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 20 | 19 | | | 2026-01-21 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-01-20 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-01-20 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-01-19 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 8 | 7 | | ## Actions (53) - 2026-04-22: House concurred in Governor's recommendation (66-Y 32-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-04-22: Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (21-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0991) (Governor) - 2026-04-22: Reenrolled bill text (SB137ER2) (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Reenrolled (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Approved by Governor-Chapter 991 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor) - 2026-04-22: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-04-22: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-04-22: Governor's recommendation adopted (Governor) - 2026-04-13: Governor's recommendation received by Senate (Governor) - 2026-04-01: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB137) (Senate) - 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 (Senate) - 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB137ER) (Senate) - 2026-03-30: Enrolled (Senate) - 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-17: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB137) (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Conference report agreed to by House (62-Y 35-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-03-14: Conference Report released - 2026-03-12: House Conferees: Watts, Schmidt, Tata (House) - 2026-03-12: Conferees appointed by House (House) - 2026-03-10: Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Conferees appointed by Senate (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Senate Conferees: Pekarsky, Surovell, Sturtevant (Senate) - 2026-03-09: House requested conference committee (House) - 2026-03-09: House insisted on substitute (House) - 2026-03-06: House substitute rejected by Senate (1-Y 39-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB137) (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Passed House with substitute (64-Y 35-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-03-04: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House) - 2026-03-04: committee substitute agreed to (House) - 2026-03-04: Read third time (House) - 2026-03-03: Read second time (House) - 2026-03-02: Committee substitute printed 26108463D-H1 (House) - 2026-03-02: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (15-Y 7-N) (House) - 2026-02-27: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 3-N) (House) - 2026-02-27: House subcommittee offered (House) - 2026-02-17: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House) - 2026-02-03: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House) - 2026-02-03: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-03: Placed on Calendar (House) - 2026-01-22: Read third time and passed Senate (20-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-01-21: Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-01-21: Read second time (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-01-19: Reported from Courts of Justice (8-Y 7-N) (Senate) - 2026-01-16: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB137) (Senate) - 2026-01-06: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate) - 2026-01-06: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100615D (Senate) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224971.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224970.PDF) - Reenrolled, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220862.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220861.PDF) - Gov Recommendation, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219703.HTML) - Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214306.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214305.PDF) - Conference Report, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211521.HTML) - Substitute, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211518.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211517.PDF) - Substitute, 2026-03-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1189526.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1189525.PDF) - Substitute, 2026-02-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186923.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186922.PDF) - Substitute, 2026-02-26: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1184677.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1184676.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082979.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082978.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/1224971.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224970.PDF) - [Reenrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220862.HTML) - [Reenrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220861.PDF) - [Gov Recommendation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219703.HTML) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214306.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1214305.PDF) - [Conference Report (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211521.HTML) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211518.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211517.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1189526.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1189525.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186923.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186922.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1184677.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1184676.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082979.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1082978.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-SB137-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).