---
type: "Bill"
title: "Peer recovery specialists; barrier crime exceptions."
description: "Peer recovery specialists; barrier crime exceptions."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 846"
citation: "Virginia SB 846 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Favola"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 36
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2022-12-28"
last_action: "2023-03-21"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/abfe821b-5194-4229-8d8e-b33776fee53a"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+SB846"
source_hash: "7e0fb23cce938626dd00951c38a436b52b2a015eed67b7eea387fd9f04781ba3"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia SB 846 (2023) — Peer recovery specialists; barrier crime exceptions.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **CHAP0139** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+CHAP0139)
2. **Committee substitute printed 23103860D-S1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB846S1)
3. **Committee substitute printed 23105768D-S2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB846S2)
4. **Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23102071D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB846)
5. **SB846ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB846ER)

## Votes

- Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (99-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with substitute (13-Y 2-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions (21-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper

## Sponsors

- Favola — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2022-12-28** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23102071D `filing, introduction`
- **2022-12-28** Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-18** Impact statement from DPB (SB846)
- **2023-01-27** Senate committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2023-01-27** Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with substitute (13-Y 2-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-27** Committee substitute printed 23103860D-S1 `substitution`
- **2023-01-27** Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-31** Senate committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2023-01-31** Impact statement from DPB (SB846S1)
- **2023-01-31** Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-31** Committee substitute printed 23105768D-S2 `substitution`
- **2023-02-01** Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
- **2023-02-02** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2023-02-02** Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee substitute rejected 23103860D-S1
- **2023-02-02** Reading of substitute waived
- **2023-02-02** Committee substitute agreed to 23105768D-S2 `substitution`
- **2023-02-02** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB846S2 `substitution`
- **2023-02-03** Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-06** Impact statement from DPB (SB846S2)
- **2023-02-09** Placed on Calendar
- **2023-02-09** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2023-02-09** Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-14** Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions (21-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-16** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2023-02-17** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2023-02-17** Passed House BLOCK VOTE (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-17** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-22** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2023-02-22** Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB846ER) `passage`
- **2023-02-22** Impact statement from DPB (SB846ER)
- **2023-02-22** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-02-23** Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-03-02** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 2, 2023 `enrolled`
- **2023-03-02** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 27, 2023 `executive-receipt`
- **2023-03-21** Approved by Governor-Chapter 139 (effective 7/1/23) `executive-signature`
- **2023-03-21** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0139)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/abfe821b-5194-4229-8d8e-b33776fee53a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).