Virginia 2027 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate

SB 21 — DJJ; transfer of responsibility to Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

Last action — Continued from last session

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

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced November 17, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House of Delegates.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

In plain language

This bill transfers oversight of the Department of Juvenile Justice to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources.

The bill directs a work group to plan the transfer of juvenile justice responsibilities from Public Safety to Health and Human Resources. It requires input from various stakeholders and a timeline for implementation by November 1, 2026.

Summary

Department of Juvenile Justice; transfer of responsibility from Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to Secretary of Health and Human Resources; stakeholder work group. Directs the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a stakeholder work group to create a plan and recommended timeline for transferring responsibility for the Department of Juvenile Justice from the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. The bill requires the work group to be composed of interested parties, including representatives from civil liberty organizations, organizations engaged in the daily work of youth justice and violence prevention, formerly incarcerated persons and their families, and mental health experts. The bill directs the work group to submit its plan and recommended timeline for executing the transfer to the Chairs of the House Committee for Courts of Justice, House Committee on Public Safety, Senate Committee for Courts of Justice, and Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2026.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Continued from last session

  2. Continued to next session in Rules (Voice Vote)

  3. Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)

  4. Assigned HRUL sub: Studies Subcommittee

  5. Referred to Committee on Rules

  6. Read first time

  7. Placed on Calendar

  8. Read third time and passed Senate (22-Y 18-N 0-A)

  9. Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote)

  10. Read second time

  11. Passed by for the day

  12. Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (35-Y 0-N 0-A)

  13. Rules suspended

  14. Reported from Finance and Appropriations (11-Y 4-N)

  15. Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 6-N)

  16. Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB21)

  17. Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services

  18. Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100693D

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 civil-rights healthcare
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 SB 21 do?
Department of Juvenile Justice; transfer of responsibility from Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to Secretary of Health and Human Resources; stakeholder work group. Directs the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a stakeholder work group to create a plan and recommended timeline for transferring responsibility for the Department of Juvenile Justice from the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. The bill requires the work group to be composed of interested parties, including representatives from civil liberty organizations, organizations engaged in the daily work of youth justice and violence prevention, formerly incarcerated persons and their families, and mental health experts. The bill directs the work group to submit its plan and recommended timeline for executing the transfer to the Chairs of the House Committee for Courts of Justice, House Committee on Public Safety, Senate Committee for Courts of Justice, and Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2026.
Who sponsors SB 21?
SB 21 is sponsored by Mamie E. Locke.
What is the current status of SB 21?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced November 17, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 21?
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