The Virginia House of Delegates’ Courts of Justice Committee is considering legislation that would revise how robbery offenses are classified and treated under state law, as Democrats hold unified control of the state government.
House Bill 244, introduced earlier this month by Democratic Del. Vivian Watts, is described by its sponsors as a measure to update statutory references to robbery to reflect a tiered robbery framework enacted by the General Assembly in 2021.
The bill is currently pending before the House Courts of Justice Committee.
According to the bill text, HB 244 would modify how robbery offenses are defined across several sections of Virginia law, including sentencing guidelines, parole eligibility, and early release provisions.
Under the proposal, only the two highest degrees of robbery would be classified as “acts of violence” for purposes of sentencing and corrections statutes.
Lower-degree robbery offenses would be excluded from the statutory definition of violent crime, a change that would affect how those convictions are treated under sentencing guidelines and eligibility rules for sentence credits and conditional release.
The legislation would also alter how robbery offenses are scored under Virginia’s sentencing guidelines, potentially reducing recommended incarceration ranges for certain offenses.
In addition, offenders convicted of lower-degree robbery could become eligible for enhanced earned sentence credits and conditional release, including retroactive application of those provisions.
The bill includes language allowing certain offenders convicted of lower-degree robbery to qualify for early release in cases involving terminal illness, consistent with other medical release provisions in state law.
HB 244 would also revise Virginia’s so-called three-strikes statute as it applies to robbery convictions.
Under current law, individuals convicted of three qualifying violent felonies may face a mandatory life sentence.
The proposed legislation would limit mandatory life sentences to cases involving the two highest degrees of robbery.
The bill further provides that parole eligibility could be restored if one of the three qualifying convictions involved a lower-degree robbery offense.
Supporters of the legislation have characterized the measure as a technical and conforming update designed to align existing statutes with the robbery framework adopted in 2021.
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They argue that higher-degree robberies would continue to be treated as violent crimes and remain subject to enhanced penalties.
Opponents have raised concerns about the cumulative effect of the changes, arguing that the proposal would reduce penalties for certain robbery offenses and expand opportunities for early release.
The committee’s consideration of HB 244 comes as crime policy has emerged as a recurring issue in state and national political debates, with Democratic-led governments in several states pursuing changes to sentencing, parole, and record-sealing laws.
The legislative debate follows recent executive action by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who this week signed an order rescinding a directive issued by her Republican predecessor, Glenn Youngkin, that required state and local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Spanberger’s order removed mandatory cooperation requirements, a move her office said was intended to restore discretion to state and local authorities.
The governor’s action drew criticism from Republicans, who argued it could undermine public safety, while supporters said it clarified the limits of state involvement in federal immigration enforcement.
Similar criminal justice policy debates are unfolding in other Democratic-led states.
In Illinois, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker recently signed the Clean Slate Act, legislation that will allow the automatic sealing of certain non-violent criminal records.
The law is expected to affect more than 1.7 million people statewide, according to state officials.
Under the Illinois measure, eligible records — including non-violent convictions and dismissed or reversed charges and arrests — must be sealed by 2029.
The law excludes more serious offenses, including sexual violence, driving under the influence, and crimes requiring sex offender registration.
Pritzker said the law is intended to reduce barriers to employment, housing, and education for individuals with criminal records.
“There is no reasonable public safety justification for making it hard for returning citizens to get a job or housing or an education,” Pritzker said during remarks reported by local media. “It’s a policy guided by punishment rather than rehabilitation.”
The Clean Slate Initiative, a national advocacy group, lists multiple states, including Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, and New York, as having enacted legislation meeting its criteria for automated record sealing.
The group’s criteria include automatic sealing of certain arrest and misdemeanor records, with a recommendation that some felony convictions also be eligible under specified conditions.
In Washington state, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said during a January interview that she had not requested investigations into reports of potential welfare fraud involving Somali-run daycare operators.
Democrat Seattle Mayor Kate Wilson says she is REFUSING to investigate Somali daycare fraud in her city.
These Democrats are PROTECTING fraudsters who steal money from the American peoplepic.twitter.com/yy2UK053Mq
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 19, 2026
When asked by a reporter whether city agencies or police had been asked to follow up on the allegations, Wilson responded that she had not directed any such inquiries.
Wilson said she believed the issue was being framed in a way that unfairly targeted an immigrant community.
“This whole issue is not really about fraud,” Wilson said. “It’s about dividing and conquering. It’s about making an immigrant community a target.”
At the federal level, Democratic lawmakers have accused the Trump administration of shifting law enforcement resources away from financial and corporate crime investigations in favor of immigration enforcement.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and several other Democrats sent a letter to inspectors general across multiple federal agencies calling for an investigation into the reallocation of personnel.
The lawmakers alleged that more than 25,000 personnel had been diverted from investigating fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering to support immigration enforcement efforts.
“The Trump Administration is letting white-collar criminals off the hook for all kinds of wrongdoing,” Warren said in a statement accompanying the letter.
“Instead of protecting American families from fraud and predatory behavior, the Administration is diverting resources to pursue its immigration agenda.”
The letter, signed by Warren, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Reps. Dan Goldman of New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, called for a formal assessment of how the personnel shifts have affected financial crime enforcement.
The lawmakers also criticized a series of presidential pardons, citing congressional analyses estimating that fines and restitution totaling approximately $1.3 billion had been eliminated as a result.
The Democrats warned that the combined effect of reduced enforcement and clemency decisions could leave Americans more vulnerable to fraud, market manipulation, and other financial crimes.
Their accusations come as New Jersey Democrat Phil Murphy used one of his final acts as governor to pardon the son of a Democratic fundraiser who was found guilty of a fatal hit and run on Tuesday morning, the same day he left office.
