# Virginia SB158: Judicial district and circuit courts; maximum number of judges.

Virginia SB158, Judicial district and circuit courts; maximum number of judges., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Russet Perry (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0880)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB158-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB158
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Judicial district and circuit courts; maximum number of judges.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-07
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0880)
- Sponsor: Russet Perry (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 14 (542 yes, 40 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Maximum number of judges in each judicial district and circuit; study to examine organization and boundaries of certain judicial districts; report. Increases by one the maximum number of authorized general district court judges in the Twelfth and Twenty-sixth Judicial Districts. The bill also increases by one the maximum number of authorized juvenile and domestic relations district court judges in the Twelfth and Fifteenth Judicial Districts. The bill further increases by one the maximum number of authorized circuit court judges in the Twentieth and Twenty-seventh Judicial Circuits. Under the bill, the provisions relating to increasing the number of judges in the Fifteenth and Twentieth Judicial Circuits have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.Finally, the bill directs the Judicial Council of Virginia to study the organization and boundaries of the Fifteenth and Twentieth Judicial Circuits and to submit an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2026.As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts and the Judicial Council of Virginia. This bill incorporates SB 780.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Higher judge limits in Virginia districts: benefit, low. Virginia’s Twelfth and Twenty-sixth Districts each get higher judge limits: general district court judges increase from 5 to 6. Their juvenile and domestic relations court judge limits each rise from 6 to 7. The Fifteenth District’s juvenile and domestic relations court judge limit rises from 9 to…
- Higher Virginia circuit court judge limits: benefit, low. The Twenty-seventh Circuit’s judge limit rises from 6 to 7. Beginning July 1, 2027, the Twentieth Circuit’s limit rises from 5 to 6. Neither increase requires an appointment. Judges must live within their circuit; existing pay and court-power rules remain. Additional circuit judges require a Judici…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Russet Perry (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Conference report agreed to by Senate | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | House | Conference report agreed to by House | pass | 99 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Senate acceded to request Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | House substitute rejected by Senate | fail | 0 | 40 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | House | Passed House with substitute Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | House | Passed House with substitute Block Vote | pass | 99 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 38 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) | pass | 38 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 |   |

## Actions (51)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0880) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 880 (Effective 7/1/2027) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB158) (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 (SB158ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB158) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Conference report agreed to by House (99-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Conference report agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Conference Report released
- 2026-03-11: House Conferees: Hope, Maldonado, Ballard (House)
- 2026-03-11: 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: Perry, Deeds, Stuart (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 (0-Y 40-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Passed House with substitute Block Vote (99-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House (House)
- 2026-03-04: Passed House with substitute Block Vote (97-Y 0-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)
- 2026-03-03: Committee substitute printed 26108033D-H1 (House)
- 2026-03-02: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-20: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB158) (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-02-18: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-18: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-13: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (38-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) (38-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Incorporates SB780 (Obenshain) (Senate)
- 2026-01-30: Committee substitute printed 26105622D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-01-28: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB158) (Senate)
- 2026-01-07: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-01-07: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100733D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223048.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223047.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211831.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211830.PDF)
- Conference Report, 2026-03-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206529.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-03-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206526.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206525.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1189986.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1189985.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104177.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104176.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-28: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100207.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100206.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-07: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083604.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083603.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/1223048.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223047.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211831.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1211830.PDF)
- [Conference Report (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206529.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206526.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1206525.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1189986.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1189985.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104177.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104176.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100207.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100206.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083604.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083603.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-SB158-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).