SB 60 VA

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Virginia Parole Board; powers and duties; juvenile offenders; parole procedures and considerations. Increases the members of the Virginia Parole Board (the Board) from up to five to at least 11 members, five of whom shall be appointed by the Governor within 60 days of inauguration, three of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates within 60 days of a new House being sworn in during a Senate election year, and three of whom shall be appointed by the Chair of the Senate Committee on Rules within 60 days of a new Senate being sworn in after an election, and all of whom shall be subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, if in session when such appointment is made, and if not in session, then at its next succeeding session. The bill specifies that all members of the Board shall have significant professional experience working in criminal law, corrections, reentry and community services, or victim services and that the Board members appointed by the Governor shall include (i) an attorney with significant experience in criminal prosecution; (ii) an attorney with significant experience in criminal defense; (iii) a qualified mental health professional with relevant background in adolescent development, trauma responses, psychology, and decision-making; and (iv) a representative of a crime victims organization or a victim of crime. These provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2028. The bill also requires the Board to provide a meaningful opportunity for release to certain juvenile offenders eligible for parole and specifies various factors the Board shall give substantial weight to when making a determination on whether to grant parole to such juvenile offender. The bill allows a juvenile offender to request for reconsideration or appeal of a decision by the Board not to grant parole based on (a) the Board's failure to give substantial weight to such juvenile offender's age and its related mitigating circumstances as required by the bill or (b) the Board's overreliance on static factors such as the nature and circumstances of the offense and failure to ground its decision in evidence of maturity, rehabilitation, and a lack of present danger to public safety. The bill requires the Board to provide individualized reasons for the grant or denial of parole upon reconsideration or appeal. The bill also requires that if parole is denied for any such juvenile offender, each Board member shall identify his reasoning for such decision at the time such member's vote is cast, including any youth-related factor and evidence of maturity and rehabilitation that was considered. The bill requires that the Board provide to such prisoner for whom parole is denied recommendations to demonstrate commitment to rehabilitation and at the next hearing, the Board is required to consider whether the prisoner has followed such recommendations. The bill also requires the Board to annually review the cases of such juvenile offenders eligible for parole. This bill is identical to HB 318.

• Mamie E. Locke Democratic · primary

1. Dec 8, 2025 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102029D · upper
2. Dec 8, 2025 Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services · upper
3. Jan 20, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB60) · upper
4. Jan 23, 2026 Senate committee offered · upper
5. Jan 23, 2026 Senate committee offered · upper
6. Jan 23, 2026 Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (8-Y 7-N) · upper
7. Jan 26, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26105956D-S1 · upper
8. Feb 5, 2026 Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (10-Y 5-N) · upper
9. Feb 7, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB60) · upper
10. Feb 9, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26107382D-S2 · upper
11. Feb 9, 2026 Rules suspended · upper
12. Feb 9, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
13. Feb 9, 2026 Passed by for the day (Voice Vote) · upper
14. Feb 9, 2026 Passed by for the day · upper
15. Feb 10, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB60) · upper
16. Feb 10, 2026 Read second time · upper
17. Feb 10, 2026 Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute rejected · upper
18. Feb 10, 2026 Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to · upper
19. Feb 10, 2026 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) · upper
20. Feb 11, 2026 Read third time and passed Senate (20-Y 19-N 0-A) · upper
21. Feb 17, 2026 Placed on Calendar · lower
22. Feb 17, 2026 Read first time · lower
23. Feb 17, 2026 Referred to Committee on Public Safety · lower
24. Feb 20, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26108328D-H1 · lower
25. Feb 20, 2026 Reported from Public Safety with substitute (13-Y 4-N) · lower
26. Feb 20, 2026 Reconsidered by Public Safety · lower
27. Feb 20, 2026 Reported from Public Safety with substitute (17-Y 3-N) · lower
28. Feb 23, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB60) · upper
29. Feb 24, 2026 Read second time · lower
30. Feb 25, 2026 Read third time · lower
31. Feb 25, 2026 committee substitute agreed to · lower
32. Feb 25, 2026 Engrossed by House - committee substitute · lower
33. Feb 25, 2026 Passed House with substitute (69-Y 29-N 0-A) · lower
34. Feb 27, 2026 House substitute agreed to by Senate (20-Y 19-N 0-A) · upper
35. Mar 4, 2026 Enrolled · upper
36. Mar 4, 2026 Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB60ER) · upper
37. Mar 4, 2026 Signed by Speaker · lower
38. Mar 4, 2026 Signed by President · upper
39. Mar 5, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB60) · upper
40. Mar 10, 2026 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 · upper
41. Mar 10, 2026 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 · executive
42. Apr 11, 2026 Governor's recommendation received by Senate · executive

The published texts of this bill as it moves through the legislature. Each links to the official document on the state legislature site. Data from OpenStates.

• Governor Substitute · PDF
• Governor Substitute · HTML
• Governor's Recommendation · HTML
• Enrolled · PDF
• Enrolled · HTML
• Public Safety Substitute · PDF
• Public Safety Substitute · HTML
• Finance and Appropriations Substitute · PDF
• Finance and Appropriations Substitute · HTML
• Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · PDF
• Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · HTML
• Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · PDF
• Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · HTML
• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML