Animal Welfare
HB1814
Chief Patron:
Ellen Campbell
(R)
Current Status: Failed
Summary as Introduced:
Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish no later than January 1, 2028, and to maintain an Animal Cruelty Conviction List (List) and to make the List publicly available on the Department of State Police's website. The bill specifies that the List include the names of persons convicted of certain felony animal cruelty offenses on or after July 1, 2025. The bill requires persons convicted of any such offense to pay a fee of $50 per conviction to fund the maintenance of the List. The bill also requires the Department to remove a person's name and information from the List 15 years after its listing if he has no additional felony conviction for any such offense.
Drafting
Long before the session started, Delegate Campbell worked with Virginia's Division of Legislative Services (DLS) to put this bill in proper legal form. During this phase, legislators describe their policy goals, and DLS provides nonpartisan legal and research support. This is called the "prefiling period," and typically begins in late fall and ends shortly before the session starts in January.
Jan. 6
Prefiling
Delegate Campbell submitted this bill for pre-filing with the Virginia Division of Legislative Services (DLS) on Jan. 6, 2025.
It was given a title, assigned a unique number and became House Bill 1814 (HB1814) of the 2025 Regular Session.
At this point its text was entered into the official public record. This allows anyone interested in the bill, including citizens and interest groups, to review the proposed legislation in advance.
Official Description: "Animal Cruelty Conviction List; established."
Assigned to Committee
HB1814 was referred to a House committee:
Agriculture, Chesapeake & Natural Resources.
In the House of Delegates, the Speaker of the House (Don Scott) assigns bills to committees based on the subject matter of the bill and the jurisdiction of the committees. The House Rules provide guidelines for which topics go to which committees (Download House Rules). The Speaker has considerable decision-making power in determining which committee is most appropriate.
In the U.S. Congress, committee jurisdictions — where bills should go — is more strictly defined, so leadership in Congress has more power to decide where bills should be assigned. Another difference is that bills in the GA are generally assigned to a single committee in each chamber, where in Congress bills are frequently referred to multiple committees in the House and sometimes in the Senate.
Jan. 14
Assigned to Subcommittee
HB1814 was referred to a House subcommittee:
Agriculture.
Subcommittees are smaller groups within a committee that review bills in detail and make recommendations to the full committee. In contrast to the federal government, subcommittees in Virginia's General Assembly are typically smaller, faster-moving, and more focused on specific issues. In Congress, subcommittees often conduct extensive hearings and may hold bills for long periods for debate or amendment.
Jan. 15
Tabled
The Agriculture committee
voted to "lay the bill on the table." When a bill is tabled, it's unlikely to proceed to the full committee or the floor for a vote. HB1814's journey has most likely ended here with this vote.
The official record reads: "Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (6-Y 4-N)"
Jan. 18
Impact Statement
A fiscal impact statement reports on the bill's potential financial effects: costs or savings to the state budget or local governments (e.g., hiring new staff, implementing programs).
Legislators requested a fiscal impact statement from the Department of Planning and Budget.
Impact statements provide legislators with factual, nonpartisan data, helping them weigh the benefits and drawbacks of a bill.
Feb. 4
Tuesday, February 4 was "Crossover Day": the last day for each house to act on its own legislation (except Budget Bills).
Died in Committee
HB1814 has been "left in committee", meaning that lawmakers in Agriculture, Chesapeake & Natural Resources
have decided not to take action on it. Its journey for the session has ended.
The official record reads: "Left in Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources"