# Virginia SB144: Assault and battery; adds district court temporary recall judge, penalty.

Virginia SB144, Assault and battery; adds district court temporary recall judge, penalty., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Ryan T. McDougle (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0072)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB144-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB144
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Assault and battery; adds district court temporary recall judge, penalty.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-07
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0072)
- Sponsor: Ryan T. McDougle (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 8 (229 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 6

## Summary

Assault and battery; district court temporary recall judge; penalty. Adds a judge of a district court under temporary recall to the definition of "judge" as it relates to the crime of assault and battery, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor that is enhanced to a Class 6 felony with a mandatory minimum term of confinement of six months if such judge is engaged in his public duties at the time of the offense. This bill is a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts and is identical to HB 124.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Harsher penalties for attacks on public officials: benefit, medium. Assaulting listed public officials or safety staff while they do public duties is a Class 6 felony. The sentence includes at least six months in jail. The rule applies when you know or should know the victim’s role. Covered people include judges (now also temporary recall and substitute district co…
- Stronger penalties for hate-based assaults: benefit, medium. Simple assault remains a Class 1 misdemeanor. If you pick a victim because of race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, color, or national origin, the sentence includes at least six months in jail. If the attack causes bodily injury with that bias intent, it is a Clas…
- Stronger protections and penalties for school staff: benefit, medium. Battering a K–12 school employee who is doing their job is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The sentence includes 15 days in jail, with at least 2 days required. If a banned firearm or weapon is used on school property, the minimum is six months. The law also shields school staff and school security officers…
- Added penalties for attacks on hospital staff: benefit, low. Battering a health care provider working in a hospital or emergency room is a Class 1 misdemeanor. When you know or have reason to know the person is a provider on duty, the sentence includes 15 days in jail, with at least 2 days required.
- Penalties for assaults on transit operators: benefit, low. Assaulting a public transit vehicle operator who is on duty is a Class 1 misdemeanor. When you know or should know the person is the operator, a court may also bar the offender from entering or riding that transit service for at least six months.
- Penalties for attacking sports officials: benefit, low. Battering a sports official while they work, or while on site right before or after, is a Class 1 misdemeanor. When you know or have reason to know the person is an official, a court may also ban the offender from attending events run by that employer or sponsor for at least six months.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Ryan T. McDougle (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-23 | House | Passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-09 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-21 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |

## Actions (31)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0072) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 72 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 72 (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 (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB144) (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB144ER) (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB144) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-23: Read third time (House)
- 2026-02-20: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-18: Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-02-12: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-12: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-09: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Passed by for the day (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB144) (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-12: Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (1/12/2026 11:14 am) (Senate)
- 2026-01-07: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-01-07: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101361D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216252.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216251.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-02-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177323.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177322.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-07: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083490.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083489.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/1216252.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216251.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177323.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177322.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083490.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083489.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB144-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).