republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2021/sb-1315.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	Criminal proceedings; consideration of mental condition and intellectual, etc.	Criminal proceedings; consideration of mental condition and intellectual and developmental disabilities. Permits the admission of evidence offered by the defendant concerning a defendant's mental condition at the time of an alleged offense, including expert testimony, is relevant, is not evidence concerning an ultimate issue of fact, if such evidence (i) tends to show the defendant did or did not have the specific mental state required for the offense charged and (ii) is otherwise admissible pursuant to the general rules of evidence. If a defendant intends to introduce such evidence, the bill requires him or his counsel to give notice in writing to the attorney for the Commonwealth. The bill also clarifies that a diagnosis of an intellectual or developmental disability shall be considered by a judicial officer for the purpose of rebuttal of a presumption against bail and that a court may order that a sentencing report prepared by a probation officer contain any diagnoses of an intellectual or developmental disability. Lastly, the bill adds to the requirements to be met for qualification as a court-appointed attorney two hours of continuing legal education, which shall cover the representation of individuals with behavioral or mental health disorders and individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. This bill incorporates SB 1383.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2021	SB 1315	Virginia SB 1315 (2021)	bill		enacted	Jennifer L. McClellan	6	67	17	2021-01-12	2021-04-07	openstates	ocd-bill/919cde96-4685-450c-926c-ca2d7462c194	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+sum+SB1315	4e18eedd7585b26fc1dd381a570ec978419a56a5ae0e884d74e147d6633eff94	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia SB 1315 (2021) — Criminal proceedings; consideration of mental condition and intellectual, etc.

Criminal proceedings; consideration of mental condition and intellectual and developmental disabilities. Permits the admission of evidence offered by the defendant concerning a defendant's mental condition at the time of an alleged offense, including expert testimony, is relevant, is not evidence concerning an ultimate issue of fact, if such evidence (i) tends to show the defendant did or did not have the specific mental state required for the offense charged and (ii) is otherwise admissible pursuant to the general rules of evidence. If a defendant intends to introduce such evidence, the bill requires him or his counsel to give notice in writing to the attorney for the Commonwealth. The bill also clarifies that a diagnosis of an intellectual or developmental disability shall be considered by a judicial officer for the purpose of rebuttal of a presumption against bail and that a court may order that a sentencing report prepared by a probation officer contain any diagnoses of an intellectual or developmental disability. Lastly, the bill adds to the requirements to be met for qualification as a court-appointed attorney two hours of continuing legal education, which shall cover the representation of individuals with behavioral or mental health disorders and individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. This bill incorporates SB 1383.

Version chain

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

1. CHAP0523 (committee substitute) — source
2. Committee substitute printed 21200174D-H1 (committee substitute) — source
3. Conference substitute printed 21200765D-S2 (committee substitute) — source
4. Governor's substitute printed 21200908D-S3 (committee substitute) — source
5. SB1315ER (committee substitute) — source
6. SB1315ER2 (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• VOTE: Agree To (65-Y 35-N) — 64–35 (pass) · lower
• Reconsideration of House substitute agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• House substitute rejected by Senate (2-Y 37-N) — 2–37 (fail) · upper
• Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) — 22–0 (pass) · lower
• House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 39-N) — 0–39 (fail) · upper
• Senate acceded to request (37-Y 0-N) — 37–0 (pass) · upper
• Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (4-Y 4-N) — 4–4 (fail) · lower
• Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (25-Y 15-N) — 25–14 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: Agreed To (64-Y 35-N) — 63–35 (pass) · lower
• Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• Conference report agreed to by Senate (27-Y 12-N) — 27–12 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: Passage (95-Y 3-N) — 94–3 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Judiciary with substitute (8-Y 3-N) — 8–3 (pass) · upper
• Continued to Special Session 1 in Courts of Justice — 0–0 (fail) · lower
• Read third time and passed Senate (25-Y 13-N) — 25–13 (pass) · upper
• Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (4-Y 4-N) — 4–4 (fail) · lower
• Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 1-N) — 15–1 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• Jennifer L. McClellan — primary (person)
• Barbara A. Favola — cosponsor (person)
• Betsy B. Carr — cosponsor (person)
• Ghazala F. Hashmi — cosponsor (person)
• Jennifer B. Boysko — cosponsor (person)
• Joseph D. Morrissey — cosponsor (person)
• L. Louise Lucas — cosponsor (person)
• Mamie E. Locke — cosponsor (person)
• Mark L. Keam — cosponsor (person)
• Rodney T. Willett — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

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

• 2021-01-12 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/13/21 21102652D introduction
• 2021-01-12 Referred to Committee on the Judiciary referral-committee
• 2021-01-26 Impact statement from DPB (SB1315)
• 2021-01-27 Senate committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
• 2021-01-27 Reported from Judiciary with substitute (8-Y 3-N) committee-passage
• 2021-01-27 Incorporates SB1383 (Favola)
• 2021-01-27 Committee substitute printed 21103834D-S1 substitution
• 2021-01-27 Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations referral-committee
• 2021-02-03 Impact statement from DPB (SB1315S1)
• 2021-02-03 Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 1-N) committee-passage
• 2021-02-03 Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
• 2021-02-04 Read second time reading-2
• 2021-02-04 Reading of substitute waived
• 2021-02-04 Committee substitute agreed to 21103834D-S1
• 2021-02-04 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB1315S1
• 2021-02-05 Passed by temporarily
• 2021-02-05 Read third time and passed Senate (25-Y 13-N) passage, reading-3
• 2021-02-07 Placed on Calendar
• 2021-02-07 Read first time reading-1
• 2021-02-07 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
• 2021-02-08 Continued to Special Session 1 in Courts of Justice
• 2021-02-10 In Committee for Courts of Justice
• 2021-02-18 Assigned Courts sub: Criminal referral-committee
• 2021-02-19 House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
• 2021-02-19 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (4-Y 4-N)
• 2021-02-19 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (4-Y 4-N)
• 2021-02-20 House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
• 2021-02-20 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) committee-passage
• 2021-02-20 Committee substitute printed 21200174D-H1 substitution
• 2021-02-23 Impact statement from DPB (SB1315H1)
• 2021-02-23 Read second time reading-2
• 2021-02-24 Read third time reading-3
• 2021-02-24 Committee substitute agreed to 21200174D-H1
• 2021-02-24 Engrossed by House - committee substitute SB1315H1
• 2021-02-24 Passed House with substitute (95-Y 3-N) passage
• 2021-02-24 VOTE: Passage (95-Y 3-N)
• 2021-02-25 House substitute rejected by Senate (2-Y 37-N)
• 2021-02-25 Reconsideration of House substitute agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N)
• 2021-02-25 House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 39-N)
• 2021-02-25 House insisted on substitute
• 2021-02-25 House requested conference committee
• 2021-02-25 Senate acceded to request (37-Y 0-N)
• 2021-02-25 Conferees appointed by Senate
• 2021-02-25 Conferees appointed by House
• 2021-02-27 Amended by conference committee
• 2021-02-27 Conference substitute printed 21200765D-S2
• 2021-02-27 Conference report agreed to by House (64-Y 35-N)
• 2021-02-27 VOTE: Agreed To (64-Y 35-N)
• 2021-02-27 Conference report agreed to by Senate (27-Y 12-N)
• 2021-03-04 Impact statement from DPB (SB1315S2)
• 2021-03-09 Enrolled
• 2021-03-09 Signed by President
• 2021-03-10 Impact statement from DPB (SB1315ER)
• 2021-03-11 Signed by Speaker
• 2021-03-15 Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 15, 2021
• 2021-03-15 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 31, 2021
• 2021-03-31 Governor's recommendation received by Senate
• 2021-03-31 Governor's substitute printed 21200908D-S3
• 2021-04-07 Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (25-Y 15-N)
• 2021-04-07 House concurred in Governor's recommendation (65-Y 35-N)
• 2021-04-07 VOTE: Agree To (65-Y 35-N)
• 2021-04-07 Governor's recommendation adopted
• 2021-04-07 Reenrolled
• 2021-04-07 Reenrolled bill text (SB1315ER2)
• 2021-04-07 Signed by President as reenrolled
• 2021-04-07 Signed by President as reenrolled
• 2021-04-07 Enacted, Chapter 523 (effective 7/1/21) became-law

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/919cde96-4685-450c-926c-ca2d7462c194. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).