stands for Chapter, a Chapter in the Acts of Assembly for that year. #) mean in a Code section history reference? Copyrighted material includes annotations and editor's notes, which may be found in the print version of the Code of Virginia. The Code of Virginia online database excludes material copyrighted by the publisher. Does the online Code of Virginia contain material copyrighted by the publisher? This section was first implemented in 1950 and it has changed 8 times, as noted by the years indicated, since 1950.Ĭode 1950, § 37-145 1950, p. Take the following code section history as an example. You can check when a Code section was implemented or amended by checking the section's history which is listed at the bottom of each section. 477, you would ask for the Virginia Acts of Assembly for 1968, and look for Chapter 477. For example, if the reference is to Code 1968, c. If you need to find older legislation you can call or visit a local law or public library and ask for the Acts of Assembly for the particular year you are researching. The Code of Virginia has cross references to the legislation / Acts of Assembly Chapters that amend it back to 1994. How can I see the history of a particular Code section? The VA Code on our site is updated every July 1, and contains even the sections that have effective dates after July 1. Sometimes they may have a different effective date than July 1 and if they do, the date is written in an enactment clause at the very bottom of the legislation. When is the Code of Virginia updated?īills that pass during a General Assembly session are effective on July 1 of that session year. The organizational framework for the Code was adopted in 1950, and has resulted in some complex code references. Section numbers can range into the thousands, and some have decimal-points and colons. Code title numbers appear in a variety of formats, such as 1, 2.2, 8.01, or 8.1A. Another example is § 55-248.7, which is one of the laws that make up the Va. For example, a simple code section reference would be § 55-1, referring to Title 55, Section 1. Sections are designated by the symbol "§," followed by the title number, a dash, and the section number. Sections, or laws, are the fundamental building blocks of the Code of Virginia. What is a Code section and how is it referenced? For example, the budget, claims bills, charter bills, bills of strictly local application, or miscellaneous bills are designated as a "§ 1", or uncodified bill. An uncodified bill contains a law that is not given a Code section number and may be of limited duration or effect. A codified bill amends, repeals, or adds a section to the Code and is considered permanent. The Acts of Assembly include both codified and uncodified bills.
A bill might contain not only the law but also other special provisions for that bill.
The Acts of Assembly are all the bills passed by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor during a particular legislative session. Articles are simply numbered and referred to as Article 1, or 2, etc. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act has sections subdivided into 6 ranges of articles with an average of about 15 sections contained within each article. In Title 55, Property and Conveyances, Chapter 13.2, the Va. What is an article?Įach chapter can be subdivided into ranges of sections, i.e. Sometimes the chapter name describes an Act of Assembly, for example, the "Condominium Act." Acts of Assembly that are referred to by their short name, such as the "Condominium Act," are listed in the link Popular Names, found on the left sidebar. Chapter names provide a general idea about the subject matter of the sections contained in the chapter. What are Code chapters?Įach title is divided by subject area into chapters, and some chapters are further divided into articles (see next). Titles are numbered from Title 1 to Title 67. Code titles are organized alphabetically by subject and numbered sequentially.
The Code of Virginia is a compilation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia that is arranged alphabetically by subject, with each subject heading being referred to as a “title.” What are Code titles?Ĭode titles are the first level of organization for the Code of Virginia.