republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2024/hb-223.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	Cruelty to animals; possession and ownership of animals.	Cruelty to animals; possession and ownership of animals. Provides that any person convicted of felony cruelty to animals may be prohibited by the court from possession or ownership of animals for life and that any person convicted of misdemeanor cruelty to animals may be prohibited by the court from possession or ownership of animals for a period of up to five years. The bill provides that any person who violates such prohibition shall be punished for contempt of court, and the court shall order that any animal possessed or owned by such person may be disposed of by a local governing body or delivered to another person with a right of property in the animal. Under current law, such prohibition is limited to companion animals and a period equal to the statutory maximum period of incarceration. The bill further provides that any person who has his rights to possession or ownership of companion or equine animals prohibited pursuant to a felony conviction may petition the court where such conviction occurred for a restoration of his rights after five years from the date of conviction.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2024	HB 223	Virginia HB 223 (2024)	bill		enacted	Robert D. Orrock, Sr.	6	46	9	2024-01-04	2024-03-28	openstates	ocd-bill/24da4f6b-b8d9-4fe8-841b-ef3f6dcd0e85	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+HB223	e06b5c120ab46bef48071bbdc38028a961ecfb1b52c21df2ce2b81e62221c489	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia HB 223 (2024) — Cruelty to animals; possession and ownership of animals.

Cruelty to animals; possession and ownership of animals. Provides that any person convicted of felony cruelty to animals may be prohibited by the court from possession or ownership of animals for life and that any person convicted of misdemeanor cruelty to animals may be prohibited by the court from possession or ownership of animals for a period of up to five years. The bill provides that any person who violates such prohibition shall be punished for contempt of court, and the court shall order that any animal possessed or owned by such person may be disposed of by a local governing body or delivered to another person with a right of property in the animal. Under current law, such prohibition is limited to companion animals and a period equal to the statutory maximum period of incarceration. The bill further provides that any person who has his rights to possession or ownership of companion or equine animals prohibited pursuant to a felony conviction may petition the court where such conviction occurred for a restoration of his rights after five years from the date of conviction.

Version chain

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

1. CHAP0179 (committee substitute) — source
2. Committee substitute printed 24106189D-H1 (committee substitute) — source
3. Committee substitute printed 24108127D-S1 (committee substitute) — source
4. HB223EH1 (committee substitute) — source
5. HB223ER (committee substitute) — source
6. Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24102092D (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendments (7-Y 1-N) — 7–1 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (18-Y 4-N) — 18–4 (pass) · lower
• Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 3-N) — 7–3 (pass) · lower
• VOTE: Passage (83-Y 15-N) — 82–15 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with substitute (14-Y 0-N) — 14–0 (pass) · upper
• Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (16-Y 6-N) — 16–6 (pass) · lower
• VOTE: Adoption (87-Y 11-N) — 86–11 (pass) · lower
• Passed Senate with substitute (40-Y 0-N) — 40–0 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• Robert D. Orrock, Sr. — primary (person)

Timeline

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

• 2024-01-04 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24102092D filing, introduction
• 2024-01-04 Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources referral-committee
• 2024-01-15 Assigned ACNR sub: Agriculture referral-committee
• 2024-01-24 Impact statement from DPB (HB223)
• 2024-01-24 House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
• 2024-01-24 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 3-N) substitution
• 2024-01-24 Subcommittee recommends referring to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
• 2024-01-31 Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (16-Y 6-N) committee-passage
• 2024-01-31 Committee substitute printed 24106189D-H1 substitution
• 2024-01-31 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
• 2024-01-31 Assigned Courts sub: Criminal referral-committee
• 2024-02-02 Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendments (7-Y 1-N)
• 2024-02-07 Impact statement from DPB (HB223H1)
• 2024-02-09 Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (18-Y 4-N) committee-passage
• 2024-02-11 Read first time reading-1
• 2024-02-12 Read second time reading-2
• 2024-02-12 Committee substitute agreed to 24106189D-H1 substitution
• 2024-02-12 Committee amendment agreed to amendment-passage
• 2024-02-12 Engrossed by House - committee substitute with amendment HB223EH1 substitution
• 2024-02-12 Printed as engrossed 24106189D-EH1
• 2024-02-13 Read third time and passed House (83-Y 15-N) passage, reading-3
• 2024-02-13 VOTE: Passage (83-Y 15-N) passage
• 2024-02-13 Impact statement from DPB (HB223EH1)
• 2024-02-14 Constitutional reading dispensed
• 2024-02-14 Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources referral-committee
• 2024-02-19 Assigned ACNR sub: Companion Animals referral-committee
• 2024-02-27 Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with substitute (14-Y 0-N) committee-passage
• 2024-02-27 Committee substitute printed 24108127D-S1 substitution
• 2024-02-29 Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
• 2024-03-01 Read third time reading-3
• 2024-03-01 Reading of substitute waived
• 2024-03-01 Committee substitute agreed to 24108127D-S1 substitution
• 2024-03-01 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute HB223S1 substitution
• 2024-03-01 Passed Senate with substitute (40-Y 0-N) passage
• 2024-03-04 Senate substitute agreed to by House 24108127D-S1 (87-Y 11-N) substitution
• 2024-03-04 VOTE: Adoption (87-Y 11-N)
• 2024-03-04 Impact statement from DPB (HB223S1)
• 2024-03-07 Enrolled enrolled
• 2024-03-07 Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB223ER) passage
• 2024-03-07 Signed by Speaker passage
• 2024-03-08 Signed by President passage
• 2024-03-11 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 11, 2024 enrolled, executive-receipt
• 2024-03-11 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 8, 2024 executive-receipt
• 2024-03-12 Impact statement from DPB (HB223ER)
• 2024-03-28 Approved by Governor-Chapter 179 (effective 7/1/24) executive-signature
• 2024-03-28 Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0179)

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/24da4f6b-b8d9-4fe8-841b-ef3f6dcd0e85. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).