republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2026/hb-942.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	Custody and visitation of a child; possession or consumption of authorized substances.	Custody and visitation; possession or consumption of authorized substances. Provides that no person shall be denied custody or visitation of a child, based only on the fact that the child's parent or other person responsible for his care, or the person petitioning for custody or visitation of the child, possessed or consumed legally authorized substances. The bill directs the Board of Social Services to amend its regulations, guidance documents, and other instructional materials to ensure that such regulations, documents, and materials comply with, and that investigations and family assessments are conducted by local departments of social services in accordance with, the provisions of the bill.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2026	HB 942	Virginia HB 942 (2026)	bill		enacted	Nadarius E. Clark	6	34	8	2026-01-13	2026-04-13	openstates	ocd-bill/68c29d94-2b7c-4396-bd74-d5b456ab1e71	https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB942	4171f7163cb34e88eb811a788a95c621dfb3e3cb9c4f2d512035e6c158db11b7	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia HB 942 (2026) — Custody and visitation of a child; possession or consumption of authorized substances.

Custody and visitation; possession or consumption of authorized substances. Provides that no person shall be denied custody or visitation of a child, based only on the fact that the child's parent or other person responsible for his care, or the person petitioning for custody or visitation of the child, possessed or consumed legally authorized substances. The bill directs the Board of Social Services to amend its regulations, guidance documents, and other instructional materials to ensure that such regulations, documents, and materials comply with, and that investigations and family assessments are conducted by local departments of social services in accordance with, the provisions of the bill.

Version chain

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

1. Introduced (filed) — source
2. Civil Subcommittee Amendment (committee substitute) — source
3. Courts of Justice Amendment (committee substitute) — source
4. Courts of Justice Substitute (committee substitute) — source
5. Engrossed (committee substitute) — source
6. Enrolled (enrolled) — source

Votes

• Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) — 5–3 (pass) · lower
• Passage R — 22–17 (pass) · upper
• Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute — 8–6 (pass) · upper
• H VOTE: — 62–34 (pass) · lower
• Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• H VOTE: — 62–36 (pass) · lower
• S VOTE: — 13–0 (pass) · upper
• Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) — 15–7 (pass) · lower

Sponsors

• Nadarius E. Clark — primary (person)
• Virgil Thornton — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

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

• 2026-01-13 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101866D filing, introduction
• 2026-01-13 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
• 2026-01-26 Assigned HCJ sub: Civil referral-committee
• 2026-01-28 House subcommittee offered
• 2026-01-28 Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (5-Y 3-N)
• 2026-02-04 Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (15-Y 7-N) committee-passage
• 2026-02-06 Read first time reading-1
• 2026-02-09 Read second time reading-2
• 2026-02-09 committee amendment agreed to amendment-passage
• 2026-02-09 Engrossed by House as amended
• 2026-02-09 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB942)
• 2026-02-10 Read third time and passed House (62-Y 36-N 0-A) passage, reading-3
• 2026-02-11 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
• 2026-02-11 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
• 2026-02-17 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB942)
• 2026-03-02 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (8-Y 6-N 1-A) committee-passage
• 2026-03-03 Committee substitute printed 26108970D-S1 substitution
• 2026-03-03 Rules suspended
• 2026-03-03 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
• 2026-03-03 Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
• 2026-03-04 Read third time reading-3
• 2026-03-04 Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to
• 2026-03-04 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute substitution
• 2026-03-04 Passed Senate with substitute (22-Y 17-N 0-A) passage
• 2026-03-04 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB942)
• 2026-03-06 Senate substitute agreed to by House (62-Y 34-N 0-A) substitution
• 2026-03-13 Enrolled enrolled
• 2026-03-13 Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB942ER) passage
• 2026-03-13 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB942)
• 2026-03-13 Signed by Speaker passage
• 2026-03-13 Signed by President passage
• 2026-03-14 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 enrolled, executive-receipt
• 2026-03-14 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 executive-receipt
• 2026-04-13 Approved by Governor-Chapter 711 (effective 7/1/2026) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/68c29d94-2b7c-4396-bd74-d5b456ab1e71. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).