Family Time: A Selection of Bills from the Virginia 2023 Legislative Session Relating to Family, Intimate Partner Violence, and Child Welfare

In 2023, the Commonwealth of Virginia was forced to operate without a finalized state budget following the adjournment of the regular session of its legislative body. The Commonwealth waited (luckily without bated breath) for its “caboose” budget for the 2023–2024 budget cycle for nearly six months after the General Assembly adjourned sine die, which it did on its normal date for a “short” (odd-numbered) year on February 25, 2023. However, most other actions taken by the Virginia General Assembly during its 2023 session did go into effect on July 1, 2023, as usual. These include a number of bills that primarily impact the family-related matters heard in Virginia’s juvenile and domestic relations (“JDR”) district courts, as well as circuit courts with jurisdiction over divorces, concurrent jurisdiction over some family law matters, and appeals from the JDR courts. Most of these bills were without controversy. The legislature amended a few that were more contentious in order to be acceptable to both sides of the aisle and these passed, often unanimously.