Virginia 2026 Session Status: Introduced

HB251 — Assault and battery; creates Class 6 felony for serious bodily injury.

Last action — Continued from last session

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House of Delegates
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 08, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill establishes a Class 6 felony for causing serious bodily injury through assault or battery.

This legislation creates a new classification for assault and battery that results in serious bodily injury, categorizing it as a Class 6 felony. It aims to address and reclassify the penalties for such offenses.

Summary

Assault and battery; creates Class 6 felony for serious bodily injury.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB251 on the official Virginia source →

Action History

  1. H Continued to next session in Courts of Justice (Voice Vote)

  2. H Placed on Courts of Justice Agenda

  3. H Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)

  4. H Placed on Courts of Justice Agenda

  5. H Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal

  6. H Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB251)

  7. H Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (1/9/2026 11:01 am)

  8. H Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

  9. H Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102460D

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 147 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB251 do?
Assault and battery; creates Class 6 felony for serious bodily injury.
Who sponsors HB251?
HB251 is sponsored by Vivian E. Watts.
What is the current status of HB251?
This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 08, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB251?
Track HB251 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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