PAROLE/CONDITIONAL RELEASE BILLS - 2025
​PENDING BILL​
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HB1589 Powers and duties of Parole Board; voting requirements; meetings.
Status: Passed House and Senate with amendments.
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
01/23/2025 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to Appropriations (3-Y 2-N)
01/24/2025 Reported from Public Safety with substitute and referred to Appropriations (14-Y 8-N)
01/29/2025 Reported from Appropriations with amendment(s) (21-Y 0-N)​
02/04/2025 Read third time and passed House (61-Y 38-N)
02/12/2025 Senate: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
02/14/2025 Senate: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
02/18/2025 Senate: Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to
02/18/2025 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
02/18/2025 Passed Senate with substitute (40-Y 0-N)
02/19/2025 Senate substitute rejected by House (0-Y 96-N)
02/20/2025 Senate insisted on substitute (39-Y 0-N)
02/20/2025 Senate requested conference committee
02/20/2025 House acceded to request
02/20/2025 Conferees appointed by Senate
02/20/2025 Senators: Obenshain, Perry, Favola
02/20/2025 Conferees appointed by House
02/20/2025 elegates: Simon, Seibold, Williams
02/22/2025 Conference: Amended by conference committee
02/22/2025 Conference report agreed to by House (71-Y 28-N)
02/22/2025 Conference report agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N)
03/07/2025 Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1589ER)
03/11/2025 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m.,March 24, 2025
03/24/2025 Governor's recommendation received by House
04/02/2025 House rejected Governor's recommendation (9-Y 86-N)
04/02/2025 Communicated to Governor
04/02/2025 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., May 2, 2025
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APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR
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HB1692 Parole; Virginia Parole Board; Investigations of cases of executive clemency
Introduced by: Ellen H. Campbell [R]
Requires all public bodies engaged in criminal law-enforcement activities to provide, to the extent permitted by law, copies of 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 30 working days of receiving the request. Additionally, the bill specifies that records obtained pursuant to such request shall be excluded from mandatory public disclosure in the same manner as the correspondence and working papers of the Office of the Governor under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
01/04/25 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
01/14/25 Assigned PS sub: Public Safety
01/23/2025 Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (6-Y 0-N)
01/24/2025 Reported from Public Safety with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N)​
01/29/2025 Public Safety Amendments agreed to
01/30/2025 Read third time and passed House (96-Y 0-N)
01/31/2025 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1692)
01/31/2025 Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
02/17/2025 Senate: Courts of Justice Amendments agreed to
02/18/2025 Amendments agreed to by House (97-Y 0-N)
02/20/2025 Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1692ER)
03/18/2025 Approved by Governor-Chapter 12 (Effective 07/01/25)
03/18/2025 Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0012)
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FAILED BILLS
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HB2220 Parole; exception to limitation on the application of parole statutes.
Introduced by: Delores L. McQuinn [D]
Bill will not be heard in 2025. Status; FAILED
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.
01/07/2025 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
01/18/2025 Assigned Courts sub: Criminal
01/24/2025 Subcommittee recommends striking from the docket (8-Y 0-N)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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HB2272 Virginia Freedom of Information Act; Virginia Parole Board; meetings.
Introduced by Chris Obenshain [R]
Status: FAILED
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.
01/07/2025 Referred to Committee on Public Safety
01/17/2025 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB2272)
01/21/2025 Assigned PS sub: Public Safety
01/30/2025 Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (4-Y 2-N)
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HB2576 Geriatric prisoners; conditional release.
Introduced by Eric Phillips [R]
Status: FAILED
View the bill here.
Expands the list of offenses that prohibit a person from petitioning the Parole Board for conditional release as a geriatric prisoner.
01/12/2025 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
01/13/2025 Impact statement from VCSC (HB2576)
02/04/2025 House: Left in Courts of Justice
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SB1155 Postrelease supervision; revocation of parole, supervision of certain felons, etc.
Status: FAILED
Introduced by Mark D. Obenshain [R]
View the bill here.
Revocation of postrelease supervision. Moves the supervision and oversight related to postrelease supervision from the Virginia Parole Board to the circuit court and probation office of the original sentencing jurisdiction.
01/07/2025 Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services
01/24/2025 Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services with substitute and rereferred to Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N)
01/29/2025 Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N)
02/03/2025 Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute agreed to
02/03/2025 Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N)
02/04/2025 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB1155)
02/06/2025 House: Referred to Committee on Public Safety
02/14/2025 House: Reported from Public Safety with substitute (11-Y 10-N)
02/19/2025 House: Public Safety Substitute agreed to
02/19/2025 Passed House with substitute (54-Y 43-N)
02/20/2025 Substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 39-N)
02/20/2025 House insisted on substitute
02/20/2025 House requested conference committee
02/20/2025 Senate acceded to request (38-Y 0-N)
02/20/2025 Conferees appointed by House
02/20/2025 House Delegates: Herring, Hope, Obenshain
02/20/2025 Senate: Conferees appointed by Senate
02/20/2025 Senators: Obenshain, Perry, Favola
02/22/2025 Senate: No further action taken
02/22/2025 Senate: Failed to Pass from conference
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