republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2024/hb-36.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	Abuse and neglect of children; causing or enabling child to gain possession of a firearm, penalty.	Abuse and neglect of children; causing or enabling child to gain possession of a firearm; penalty. Creates a Class 5 felony for any parent, guardian, or other person who is 18 years of age or older and is responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 whose willful act or omission causes or enables that child to gain possession of a firearm (i) after having received notice of a preliminary determination, pursuant to relevant law, that such child poses a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or (ii) when such parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of the child knows or reasonably should know that such child has been charged with, either by warrant or petition, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent of a violent juvenile felony. The bill provides that no person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution regarding knowledge of a preliminary threat determination if such person received notice that the threat assessment team concluded that the child does not indicate a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or that any case or review opened or conducted by that threat assessment team as a result of such preliminary determination has been closed. The bill also provides that no person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution if such person has received notice that any pending charge for a violent juvenile felony has been dismissed or a nolle prosequi has been entered. The bill provides an affirmative defense to prosecution if the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child caused or enabled such child to gain possession of a firearm while in a dwelling because of a reasonable belief that he or such child was in imminent danger of bodily injury. Lastly, the bill provides that the new offense is eligible for the enhanced earned sentence credits. This bill is identical to SB 44.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2024	HB 36	Virginia HB 36 (2024)	bill		enacted	Rodney T. Willett	4	35	7	2023-12-19	2024-03-26	openstates	ocd-bill/0d6d1822-3170-4b4c-8f19-889c51d1b877	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+HB36	12c7b1fbe92ef3034999b2d24f2b97f512aba82233323371002197aeaf603523	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia HB 36 (2024) — Abuse and neglect of children; causing or enabling child to gain possession of a firearm, penalty.

Abuse and neglect of children; causing or enabling child to gain possession of a firearm; penalty. Creates a Class 5 felony for any parent, guardian, or other person who is 18 years of age or older and is responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 whose willful act or omission causes or enables that child to gain possession of a firearm (i) after having received notice of a preliminary determination, pursuant to relevant law, that such child poses a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or (ii) when such parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of the child knows or reasonably should know that such child has been charged with, either by warrant or petition, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent of a violent juvenile felony. The bill provides that no person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution regarding knowledge of a preliminary threat determination if such person received notice that the threat assessment team concluded that the child does not indicate a threat of violence or physical harm to self or others or that any case or review opened or conducted by that threat assessment team as a result of such preliminary determination has been closed. The bill also provides that no person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution if such person has received notice that any pending charge for a violent juvenile felony has been dismissed or a nolle prosequi has been entered. The bill provides an affirmative defense to prosecution if the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child caused or enabled such child to gain possession of a firearm while in a dwelling because of a reasonable belief that he or such child was in imminent danger of bodily injury. Lastly, the bill provides that the new offense is eligible for the enhanced earned sentence credits. This bill is identical to SB 44.

Version chain

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

1. CHAP0161 (committee substitute) — source
2. Committee substitute printed 24107583D-H1 (committee substitute) — source
3. HB36ER (committee substitute) — source
4. Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24101071D (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (12-Y 10-N) — 12–10 (pass) · lower
• Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) — 15–0 (pass) · upper
• Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 3-N) — 5–3 (pass) · lower
• VOTE: Passage (55-Y 43-N) — 54–43 (pass) · lower
• Reported from Courts of Justice (12-Y 0-N) — 12–0 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• Rodney T. Willett — primary (person)
• Amy J. Laufer — cosponsor (person)
• Betsy B. Carr — cosponsor (person)
• Carrie E. Coyner — cosponsor (person)
• Dan I. Helmer — cosponsor (person)
• Kathy K.L. Tran — cosponsor (person)
• Katrina Callsen — cosponsor (person)
• Michael J. Jones — cosponsor (person)
• Rae Cousins — cosponsor (person)
• Vivian E. Watts — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

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

• 2023-12-19 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24101071D filing, introduction
• 2023-12-19 Impact statement from VCSC (HB36)
• 2023-12-19 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
• 2024-01-22 Impact statement from DPB (HB36)
• 2024-01-31 Assigned Courts sub: Criminal referral-committee
• 2024-02-02 House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
• 2024-02-02 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 3-N) substitution
• 2024-02-09 House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
• 2024-02-09 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (12-Y 10-N) committee-passage
• 2024-02-09 Committee substitute printed 24107583D-H1 substitution
• 2024-02-11 Read first time reading-1
• 2024-02-12 Impact statement from VCSC (HB36H1)
• 2024-02-12 Read second time reading-2
• 2024-02-12 Committee substitute agreed to 24107583D-H1 substitution
• 2024-02-12 Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB36H1 substitution
• 2024-02-13 Read third time and passed House (55-Y 43-N) passage, reading-3
• 2024-02-13 VOTE: Passage (55-Y 43-N) passage
• 2024-02-14 Impact statement from DPB (HB36H1)
• 2024-02-14 Constitutional reading dispensed
• 2024-02-14 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
• 2024-02-26 Reported from Courts of Justice (12-Y 0-N) committee-passage
• 2024-02-26 Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations referral-committee
• 2024-02-28 Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) committee-passage
• 2024-02-29 Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
• 2024-03-01 Read third time reading-3
• 2024-03-01 Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) passage
• 2024-03-07 Enrolled enrolled
• 2024-03-07 Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB36ER) 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 (HB36ER)
• 2024-03-26 Approved by Governor-Chapter 161 (effective 7/1/24) executive-signature
• 2024-03-26 Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0161)

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/0d6d1822-3170-4b4c-8f19-889c51d1b877. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).