republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2026/sb-158.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	Judicial district and circuit courts; maximum number of judges.	Maximum number of judges in each judicial district and circuit; study to examine organization and boundaries of certain judicial districts; report. Increases by one the maximum number of authorized general district court judges in the Twelfth and Twenty-sixth Judicial Districts. The bill also increases by one the maximum number of authorized juvenile and domestic relations district court judges in the Twelfth and Fifteenth Judicial Districts. The bill further increases by one the maximum number of authorized circuit court judges in the Twentieth and Twenty-seventh Judicial Circuits. Under the bill, the provisions relating to increasing the number of judges in the Fifteenth and Twentieth Judicial Circuits have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.Finally, the bill directs the Judicial Council of Virginia to study the organization and boundaries of the Fifteenth and Twentieth Judicial Circuits and to submit an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2026.As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts and the Judicial Council of Virginia. This bill incorporates SB 780.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2026	SB 158	Virginia SB 158 (2026)	bill		enacted	Russet Perry	5	50	12	2026-01-07	2026-04-13	openstates	ocd-bill/0b091fd0-84ee-4fab-870b-63abb07f3288	https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB158	9a9f301a814ff97d5426f92bae88f537901d720428f9db7e563573e5b7f39bfe	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia SB 158 (2026) — Judicial district and circuit courts; maximum number of judges.

Maximum number of judges in each judicial district and circuit; study to examine organization and boundaries of certain judicial districts; report. Increases by one the maximum number of authorized general district court judges in the Twelfth and Twenty-sixth Judicial Districts. The bill also increases by one the maximum number of authorized juvenile and domestic relations district court judges in the Twelfth and Fifteenth Judicial Districts. The bill further increases by one the maximum number of authorized circuit court judges in the Twentieth and Twenty-seventh Judicial Circuits. Under the bill, the provisions relating to increasing the number of judges in the Fifteenth and Twentieth Judicial Circuits have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.Finally, the bill directs the Judicial Council of Virginia to study the organization and boundaries of the Fifteenth and Twentieth Judicial Circuits and to submit an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2026.As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Committee on District Courts and the Judicial Council of Virginia. This bill incorporates SB 780.

Version chain

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

1. Introduced (filed) — source
2. Conference Report (committee substitute) — source
3. Conference Report Substitute (committee substitute) — source
4. Courts of Justice Substitute (committee substitute) — source
5. Enrolled (enrolled) — source

Votes

• Adopt Conference Committee Report R — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• H VOTE: — 97–0 (pass) · lower
• H VOTE: — 99–0 (pass) · lower
• Passage R — 38–0 (pass) · upper
• Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute — 22–0 (pass) · lower
• H VOTE: — 99–0 (pass) · lower
• Concur House Substitute R — 0–40 (fail) · upper
• Constitutional reading dispensed R — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• Constitutional reading dispensed (on 3rd reading) — 38–0 (pass) · upper
• Accede Conference Committee R — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• Reported from Finance and Appropriations — 15–0 (pass) · upper
• Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute — 14–0 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• Russet Perry — primary (person)
• Mark D. Obenshain — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

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

• 2026-01-07 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100733D filing, introduction
• 2026-01-07 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
• 2026-01-23 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB158)
• 2026-01-28 Senate committee offered
• 2026-01-28 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) committee-passage
• 2026-01-30 Committee substitute printed 26105622D-S1 substitution
• 2026-02-03 Incorporates SB780 (Obenshain)
• 2026-02-11 Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) committee-passage
• 2026-02-12 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
• 2026-02-12 Rules suspended
• 2026-02-12 Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
• 2026-02-13 Read second time reading-2
• 2026-02-13 Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) substitution
• 2026-02-13 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute Block Vote (Voice Vote) substitution
• 2026-02-13 Rules suspended
• 2026-02-13 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) (38-Y 0-N 0-A)
• 2026-02-13 Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (38-Y 0-N 0-A) passage, reading-3
• 2026-02-18 Placed on Calendar
• 2026-02-18 Read first time reading-1
• 2026-02-18 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
• 2026-02-20 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB158)
• 2026-03-02 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) committee-passage
• 2026-03-03 Committee substitute printed 26108033D-H1 substitution
• 2026-03-03 Read second time reading-2
• 2026-03-04 Read third time reading-3
• 2026-03-04 committee substitute agreed to substitution
• 2026-03-04 Engrossed by House - committee substitute substitution
• 2026-03-04 Passed House with substitute (97-Y 0-N 0-A) passage
• 2026-03-04 Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House
• 2026-03-04 Passed House with substitute Block Vote (99-Y 0-N 0-A) passage
• 2026-03-06 House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N 0-A)
• 2026-03-09 House insisted on substitute substitution
• 2026-03-09 House requested conference committee referral-committee
• 2026-03-10 Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
• 2026-03-10 Conferees appointed by Senate
• 2026-03-10 Senate Conferees: Perry, Deeds, Stuart
• 2026-03-11 Conferees appointed by House
• 2026-03-11 House Conferees: Hope, Maldonado, Ballard
• 2026-03-11 Conference Report released
• 2026-03-11 Conference report agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) committee-passage-favorable
• 2026-03-11 Conference report agreed to by House (99-Y 0-N 0-A) committee-passage-favorable
• 2026-03-23 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB158)
• 2026-03-30 Enrolled enrolled
• 2026-03-30 Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB158ER) passage
• 2026-03-30 Signed by President passage
• 2026-03-31 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB158)
• 2026-03-31 Signed by Speaker passage
• 2026-03-31 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 enrolled, executive-receipt
• 2026-03-31 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 executive-receipt
• 2026-04-13 Approved by Governor-Chapter 880 (effective 7/1/2026) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/0b091fd0-84ee-4fab-870b-63abb07f3288. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).