republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2017/sb-1479.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	Relief; Keith Allen Harward.	Provides relief in the amount of $1,548,439 to Keith Allen Harward, who was incarcerated from 1983 until 2016 after being convicted of first degree murder. In 2016 he was granted a Writ of Actual Innocence by the Supreme Court of Virginia based upon DNA evidence that excluded Mr. Harward as the perpetrator of the crime. Mr. Harward's relief would be paid as follows: (i) an initial lump sum of $309,688 to be paid within 60 days immediately following the execution of a release by Mr. Harward from any present or future claims he may have and (ii) the sum of $1,238,751 to purchase an annuity before October 1, 2017, for the primary benefit of Mr. Harward with the terms structured in his best interests. In addition, the bill entitles Mr. Harward to receive up to $10,000 for tuition for career and technical training within the Virginia Community College System. This bill is identical to	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2017	SB 1479	Virginia SB 1479 (2017)	bill	Appropriations Claims	enacted	Janet D. Howell	3	16	6	2017-01-17	2017-03-20	openstates	ocd-bill/6a17bb91-c493-432e-af37-9802b70d25de	http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+SB1479	4cff393dea0972b2b764e35f966293eb72da5c29722139f98dd046e14322b4c3	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia SB 1479 (2017) — Relief; Keith Allen Harward.

Provides relief in the amount of $1,548,439 to Keith Allen Harward, who was incarcerated from 1983 until 2016 after being convicted of first degree murder. In 2016 he was granted a Writ of Actual Innocence by the Supreme Court of Virginia based upon DNA evidence that excluded Mr. Harward as the perpetrator of the crime. Mr. Harward's relief would be paid as follows: (i) an initial lump sum of $309,688 to be paid within 60 days immediately following the execution of a release by Mr. Harward from any present or future claims he may have and (ii) the sum of $1,238,751 to purchase an annuity before October 1, 2017, for the primary benefit of Mr. Harward with the terms structured in his best interests. In addition, the bill entitles Mr. Harward to receive up to $10,000 for tuition for career and technical training within the Virginia Community College System. This bill is identical to

Version chain

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

1. Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0658) (committee substitute) — source
2. Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1479ER) (committee substitute) — source
3. Senate: Presented and ordered printed 17103998D (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Constitutional reading dispensed — 40–0 (pass) · legislature
• Reported from Appropriations — 21–0 (pass) · legislature
• Passed Senate — 40–0 (pass) · legislature
• Constitutional reading dispensed — 40–0 (pass) · legislature
• Reported from Finance — 16–0 (pass) · legislature
• Passed House BLOCK VOTE — 99–0 (pass) · legislature

Sponsors

• Janet D. Howell — primary (person)

Timeline

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

• 2017-01-17 Presented and ordered printed 17103998D introduction
• 2017-01-17 Referred to Committee on Finance referral-committee
• 2017-02-02 Read second time and engrossed reading-2
• 2017-02-06 Placed on Calendar
• 2017-02-06 Read first time reading-1
• 2017-02-06 Referred to Committee on Appropriations referral-committee
• 2017-02-06 Assigned App. sub: General Government & Capital Outlay referral-committee
• 2017-02-14 Read second time reading-2
• 2017-02-15 Read third time reading-3
• 2017-02-15 Passed House BLOCK VOTE (99-Y 0-N) passage
• 2017-02-17 Enrolled
• 2017-02-17 Signed by Speaker
• 2017-02-20 Signed by President
• 2017-02-21 Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on 2/21/17
• 2017-02-21 Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, March 27, 2017
• 2017-03-20 Approved by Governor-Chapter 658 (effective 7/1/17) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/6a17bb91-c493-432e-af37-9802b70d25de. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).