SB 207 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

SUDP; Office of Chief Medical Examiner, protocol in referring cases involving manner of death, etc.

Summary

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy; protocol; information. Directs the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to assess the feasibility of implementing a protocol upon the finding that an individual died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), as defined in the bill. Such protocol would require the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to refer cases of SUDEP to certain public or private institutions and publish resources with information on SUDEP on its website.

Bill status passed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Feb 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 9, 2026 Last action Feb 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Finance and Appropriations Substitute → Appropriations Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised from a Senate Finance and Appropriations Substitute to an Appropriations Substitute, shifting the proposing committee from the Senate to the House. The substantive policy content remains largely the same, focusing on establishing a protocol for handling Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) cases, but the version now includes the specific statutory section number 32.1-283.9 and clarifies the role of the Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia in receiving case information.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on SUDEP cases, but the procedural path changed from Senate Finance to House Appropriations, indicating a shift in legislative sponsorship and review process.

TECHNICAL

The proposing committee changed from the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations to the House Committee on Appropriations, with the date updated from February 5, 2026 to February 25, 2026.

Formatting changes include the addition of line numbers and spacing adjustments typical of House Appropriations markup, with some content reorganized for clarity.

REQUIREMENT

The specific statutory section number was added (32.1-283.9), and the definition of SUDEP was slightly refined to include 'status epilepticus' as an excluded cause alongside trauma and drowning.

Added explicit requirement for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to release decedent information directly to the Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia, which then informs next of kin about the North American SUDEP Registry.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 9, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 25, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Feb 9, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

House committee offered

lower

Feb 25, 2026

House Of Delegates · Passed

House of Delegates Vote: pass (21-0)

house of delegates

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Assigned HAPP sub: Health & Human Resources

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Appropriations

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N)

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Education and Health with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (13-Y 0-N 1-A)

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate subcommittee offered

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Committee

Assigned Education sub: Health

upper

Jan 9, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Education and Health

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors