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Rules Studies Subcommittee

Monday, March 2, 2026·1h 10m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Rules Studies Subcommittee advanced more than two dozen bills and resolutions, reporting measures on discretionary parole, AI safety frameworks, the Brown v. Board scholarship, and correctional visitation policy — while carrying over several symbolic and study bills, including the peanut state snack and brown belted bumblebee designations, to 2027.

Key Actions

·SJR 26 – Discretionary Parole Expansion StudyNo Vote

+ 13 more actions

Controversies

SB 276 conformance error — HB 296 vs. HB 173

Senator Williams Graves questioned whether SB 276 had been conformed to Delegate Anthony's HB 173, stating: 'It is my understanding that you all conformed my SB 276 to Delegate Anthony's. Is that accurate?' The bill had in fact been conformed to HB 296 (Seibold), requiring the subcommittee to reconsider and redo two votes. The Chair acknowledged the error, offering 'worst case scenario, we will figure it out in conference if we need to,' but the correction was made in the hearing.

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“When I was out at Red Onion talking to some of the folks out there, it occurred to me in 1995, when we abolished discretionary parole, everybody was eligible on that day. And now, 30 years later, we have folks who are getting desperate, desperate to be considered. They think they've done everything they could possibly do to be considered for it.”

Senator Marsden — Senator Marsden was presenting SJR 26, which would direct JLARC to study potential expansion of discretionary parole, arguing that the population of incarcerated individuals aging toward geriatric parole eligibility has grown substantially since Virginia abolished discretionary parole in 1995.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Report SJR 26 — discretionary parole expansion studyPassed
Report SB 832 — vulnerable road user safety zones (vote count unclear per transcript)Passed
Report SB 223 with substitute (conformed to HB 285)Passed
Report SB 276 with substitute conformed to HB 173 (after reconsideration)Passed
Report SB 658 with substitute conformed to HB 319Passed
Carry over Brown Belted Bumblebee native state pollinator bill to 2027No Vote
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TranscriptPreview
Subcommittee will come to order. The subcommittee will be at ease. The committee will come to order. Welcome to study subcommittee. The clerk will open the roll. The clerk will close the roll. There is a quorum present. All right, we're gonna go ahead and just take the senators who are in here. Who is here first? Senator Deeds. Senator Deeds. Okay. You were here bright and early. Go ahead. Senator Deeds, I think you have. I've got two bills. The first one is a bill you've seen before. 515 is a sewer recommendation. Delegate Kilgore carried it in the House, and I think it met an unpleasant state on the floor. What this bill has done different in the Senate. They changed the makeup to just add members. Surville wanted the opportunity to appoint people as the subcommittees. And the Senate said, we want to appoint the people that are going to be on your. So they added two Senate members to the commission. But essentially, this. What this does is it incorporates. It recognizes the fact that the Mining Commission has not met in what, five years? Five or six years, and just incorporates that work into this…
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