SB 625 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Medical Education Service Grant Program; established, report.

Summary
Public institutions of higher education; financial assistance; Medical Education Service Grant Program established; report. Establishes the Medical Education Service Grant Program (the Program) for the purpose of providing grants to any person enrolled in or admitted to an eligible institution, as defined in the bill, that shall be awarded in whole or in part upon satisfactory completion of a service agreement entered into by a recipient to engage in clinical practice in a designated service area, as defined in the bill, for the requisite period and in accordance with the requirements set forth by the bill. The bill directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (the Council), in partnership with the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (the Authority), to administer the Program. The bill also (i) establishes requirements for the administration of the Program, including (a) requirements for eligibility to apply to and receive a grant under the Program and the prioritization of Program applications and (b) terms and conditions governing the awarding of grants under the Program; (ii) directs the Council and the Authority to establish policies and procedures for the administration of the Program relating to monitoring and enforcing compliance of recipients with Program requirements and terms and conditions; and (iii) directs the program administrator to annually collect data on the activities of the Program for the preceding fiscal year and submit to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committees on Education, Health and Human Services, and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations a report on such data by January 1 of each year in which funds are made available for the Program.
Bill status passed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Governor
Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Mar 9, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Finance and Appropriations Substitute · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended from a loan-based program to a grant-based program. This changes the financial obligation for recipients, removing the requirement to repay funds if service agreements are not completed. The title and program name were also updated to reflect this shift from loans to grants.
Scope change
The program scope changed from providing forgivable loans to providing grants, fundamentally altering the financial relationship between the state and medical students.
FISCAL

The program was changed from a loan program to a grant program, eliminating the requirement for recipients to repay funds if they fail to complete their service agreement.

DEFINITION

The term 'Loan' was removed from definitions and replaced with 'grant' terminology throughout the bill, including changes to 'Service agreement' to reflect grant recipients rather than loan recipients.

ENFORCEMENT

Provisions requiring cash repayment of funds, penalties for non-compliance, and debt collection procedures were removed since grants do not carry repayment obligations.

TITLE

The bill title was changed from 'Medical Education Loan-for-Service Fund and Program' to 'Medical Education Service Grant Program' to accurately reflect the funding mechanism.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 12, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 9, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 12, 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
24
Key actions
6
Committee
6
Amendments
1
Mar 9, 2026
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (21-0)
house of delegates
Feb 19, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Appropriations
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (38-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 13, 2026
Amended
Education and Health Amendments rejected
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Education and Health with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate subcommittee amendments offered
upper
Feb 2, 2026
Committee
Assigned Education sub: Higher Education
upper
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Creigh Deeds
Creigh Deeds
DDemocratic
VA
11