SB 133: Parental prenatal & postnatal substance use; work group to evaluate Commonwealth's response to use. - Virginia

Health and Human Services Substitute → Chaptered · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill has transitioned from a proposed House substitute amendment to an officially enacted chapter of Virginia law. The substantive policy content regarding the creation of a work group to evaluate substance use responses remains identical, but the document now includes official legislative formatting, approval dates, and chapter numbers.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability are unchanged; it now carries the force of law as Chapter 651 of the 2026 Acts of Assembly.

TECHNICAL

Removed draft metadata including session type, bill status labels, bill numbers, and the specific committee and patron attribution for the substitute amendment.

Added official legislative headers, chapter numbering (Chapter 651), the approval date (April 13, 2026), and bill identifier [S 133].

Changed the text layout from a continuous block with line numbers to a multi-line format with centered headers and justified text typical of published statutes.

Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute → Health and Human Services Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was transferred from the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services to the House Committee on Health and Human Services, changing its legislative home. The text was simplified to remove specific departmental names in the title and streamlined the list of work group members, while retaining the core requirement to study substance use impacts and submit a report by December 1, 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on studying parental substance use and newborn effects, but the legislative jurisdiction shifted from the Senate to the House committee.

SCOPE

The bill's title and committee assignment changed from 'Rehabilitation and Social Services' to 'Health and Human Services', indicating a shift in which legislative body will process the bill.

REQUIREMENT

The detailed list of work group members was condensed; for example, specific roles like 'doulas and midwives' and 'impacted parents' were removed from the explicit list in the new version, though the general mandate to include stakeholders remains.

TECHNICAL

The language was simplified by removing the full list of specific departments in the opening sentence and streamlining the description of the work group's duties.

Enrolled → Rehabilitation and Social Services Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from an 'Enrolled' final version into a 'Substitute' draft version, resetting its status to be offered for consideration rather than approved. While the core requirement to create a work group studying prenatal and postnatal substance use remains, the text was significantly shortened and simplified. Specific details regarding the work group's composition, such as the inclusion of specific organizations like the Virginia Poverty Law Center and the requirement for OB/GYNs certified in addiction medicine, were removed. Additionally, the citation to the federal 'Plans of Safe Care' was deleted, and the bill's language was condensed from a single dense paragraph into a shorter, multi-line format.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing specific mandates for the work group's composition and the explicit requirement to review federal 'Plans of Safe Care' protocols.

REQUIREMENT

The detailed list of required work group members was shortened, removing specific representatives from the Virginia Poverty Law Center, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, and the requirement for an OB/GYN certified in addiction medicine.

The specific instruction to review federal 'Plans of Safe Care' under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was removed from the work group's duties.

The specific instruction to review 'agency guidance' was changed to 'agency guidance' without the word 'existing', and the phrase 'legally and illegally' was removed from the description of substance use.

TECHNICAL

The bill's status changed from 'Enrolled' (final) to 'Substitute' (draft), and the text was reformatted from a single paragraph into a shorter, multi-line layout.

Introduced → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 2, 2026

MODERATE

The bill transitioned from a draft introducing mandatory reporting requirements for prenatal substance exposure to an enrolled act that replaces those requirements with a directive to form a work group. Instead of immediately mandating specific reporting protocols, the final law instructs state agencies to study the issue, evaluate current practices, and submit recommendations by December 1, 2026.

Scope change

The scope shifted from immediate legislative action enforcing reporting duties to a research and evaluation phase. The bill no longer applies new reporting rules but instead applies to state departments, local agencies, and community stakeholders who must participate in the new work group.

REQUIREMENT

All mandatory reporting obligations for physicians, teachers, and other professionals regarding prenatal substance exposure were removed.

A new requirement was added for the Department of Social Services, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and Department of Health to convene a work group to evaluate the state's response to parental substance use.

ENFORCEMENT

Penalties for failing to report suspected prenatal substance abuse, including fines and misdemeanor charges, were removed.

TIMELINE

The work group must submit a written report with findings and recommendations to legislative committee chairs by December 1, 2026.

SCOPE

The bill's focus changed from enforcing immediate child protection reporting to conducting a comprehensive review of statutes, regulations, and service gaps related to prenatal and postnatal substance use.

Parental prenatal & postnatal substance use; work group to evaluate Commonwealth's response to use.

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