PENDING BILLS

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HB1589 Powers and duties of Parole Board; voting requirements; meetings.

Introduced by: Wren M. Williams [R]

View the bill here.

Increases the Parole Board from up to five members to 10 members. The bill provides that except for a public meeting convened for conducting the final deliberation and vote regarding whether the Parole Board will grant parole to a prisoner, a meeting of the Parole Board members, regardless of whether such members invite staff or other guests to participate in such meeting, shall not be deemed a meeting subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

The bill also provides that the final deliberation and vote of whether to grant parole to a person serving life imprisonment shall be attended by four or more members of the Parole Board, and a decision to grant such person discretionary parole shall require the concurrence of four or more members present. A final deliberation and vote of whether to grant parole to a person not sentenced to life imprisonment requires the attendance of a panel of no fewer than three members of the Parole Board and a concurrence of the majority of members present for such final deliberation and vote. The bill also removes the authority of the Parole Board to establish the conditions or revoke any period of postrelease supervision of a felon serving a period of postrelease supervision.

01/02/25 Referred to Committee on Public Safety​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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HB1692 Parole; Virginia Parole Board; Investigations of cases of executive clemency

Introduced by: Ellen H. Campbell [R]

View the bill here.

Requires all public bodies engaged in criminal law-enforcement activities to provide certain specified records upon request by the Virginia Parole Board related to cases in which executive clemency is sought or the Virginia Parole Board believes action on the part of the Governor is proper or in the best interest of the Commonwealth. The bill specifies that records of any general district court, juvenile and domestic relations district court, or circuit court and the Department of Forensic Science shall be subject to such provisions and that any records requested shall be provided to the Virginia Parole Board at no cost. The bill requires any requested records be provided within five working days of receiving the request. Additionally, the bill specifies that records obtained pursuant to such request are for the internal use of the Virginia Parole Board, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and the Office of the Governor and shall not be further disseminated.
01/04/25 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice    
01/13/25 Referred from Courts of Justice and referred to Public Safety (Voice Vote)    
01/14/25 Assigned PS sub: Public Safety
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HB2220 Parole; exception to limitation on the application of parole statutes.
Introduced by: Delores L. McQuinn [D]

View the bill here.

Provides that a person is eligible to be considered for parole if such person (i) was sentenced by a jury after the date of the Supreme Court of Virginia decision in Fishback v. Commonwealth, 260 Va. 104 (2000), in which the Supreme Court held that a jury should be instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished, for a felony committed on or after the abolition of parole going into effect on January 1, 1995; (ii) can prove by the preponderance of the evidence that the jury in his case was not instructed on the fact that parole has been abolished; and (iii) remained incarcerated for the offense on July 1, 2025, and the offense was not one of the following: (a) a Class 1 felony; (b) if the victim was a minor, rape, forcible sodomy, object sexual penetration, or aggravated sexual battery or an attempt to commit any such act; or (c) carnal knowledge. The bill also requires the Parole Board to establish procedures for consideration of parole of persons entitled to it and also provides that any person who is eligible for parole as of July 1, 2025, shall be scheduled for a parole interview no later than July 1, 2026, allowing for extension of time for reasonable cause.

​01/7/25 Committee Referral Pending​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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HB2272 Virginia Freedom of Information Act; Virginia Parole Board; meetings.
Introduced by Chris Obenshain [R]
View the bill here.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; Virginia Parole Board; meetings. Provides that except for a public meeting convened for conducting the final deliberation and vote regarding whether the Virginia Parole Board will grant parole to a prisoner, a meeting of the Virginia Parole Board members, regardless of whether such members invite staff or other guests to participate in such meeting, shall not be deemed a meeting subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
1/7/2025 Committee Referral Pending
 

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