# Virginia SB70: Delinquency petition; referral to court service unit.

Virginia SB70, Delinquency petition; referral to court service unit., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Barbara A. Favola (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0614)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB70-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB70
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Delinquency petition; referral to court service unit.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-12-17
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0614)
- Sponsor: Barbara A. Favola (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 9 (210 yes, 41 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. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth. This bill is identical to HB 438.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Diversion options and court record clearing for kids: benefit, low. During informal intake, an officer may refer a child to youth diversion for an alleged adult-level felony or Class 1 misdemeanor. Referral requires parent or legal guardian consent and depends on local resources and the complaint's circumstances. Before the adjudication hearing begins, the court ma…
- Required court filings for repeat juvenile felonies: cost, low. The law requires a court petition for a child's felony-level delinquency allegation after a prior felony-level case. The prior case must have involved informal intake proceedings or a court finding of delinquency. Felony-level means the offense counts as a felony when committed by an adult. This li…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Barbara A. Favola (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | House substitute with amendment agreed to by Senate | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-23 | House | Passed House with substitute with amendment | pass | 63 | 34 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 15 | 7 |   |
| 2026-01-27 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-26 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-26 | Senate | Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-23 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-23 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-21 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 15 | 0 |   |

## Actions (40)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0614) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 614 (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)
- 2026-03-04: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB70) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB70) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB70ER) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-25: House substitute with amendment agreed to by Senate (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Passed House with substitute with amendment (63-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-23: Engrossed by House - committee substitute as amended (House)
- 2026-02-23: Delegate LeVere Bolling Floor amendment agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-23: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-23: Read third time (House)
- 2026-02-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB70) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Floor Offered (House)
- 2026-02-20: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-18: Committee substitute printed 26108198D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-18: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (15-Y 7-N) (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)
- 2026-01-28: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB70) (Senate)
- 2026-01-27: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-01-26: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Passed by for the day (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Committee substitute printed 26105830D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Courts of Justice Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-01-21: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2025-12-17: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2025-12-17: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101683D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218917.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218916.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-02-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182000.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181999.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178739.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-02-23: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171771.HTML)
- Substitute, 2026-02-18: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169562.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169561.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-23: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095071.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095070.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-21: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1093113.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1093112.PDF)
- Introduced, 2025-12-17: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081917.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081916.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/1218917.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1218916.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1182000.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181999.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178739.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1171771.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169562.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169561.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095071.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1095070.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1093113.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1093112.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081917.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1081916.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB70-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).