Constitutional amendment (first reference); fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that such right shall not be denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest, defined within the text of the amendment, and achieved by the least restrictive means. The amendment allows the Commonwealth to regulate the provision of abortion care in the third trimester when it is medically indicated to protect the life or health of the pregnant individual or when the fetus is not viable. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing, prosecuting, or taking adverse action against an individual for exercising the individual's right to reproductive freedom or for aiding another individual in the exercise of such right.
Sponsored bills
Certain practical nursing programs; common curriculum; transferability to registered nursing programs; pathway of stackable credentials. Requires the Virginia Community College System, in consultation with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the Board of Nursing, and representatives from associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher education that offer nursing programs, to develop a common curriculum for practical nursing programs that shall be implemented at each comprehensive community college in the System that offers a practical nursing program. The bill requires such common curriculum, to the extent possible, to (i) align with the degree requirements for registered nursing programs offered at associate-degree-granting public institutions of higher education and (ii) be transferable to each registered nursing program offered at an associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education. The bill requires each associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education that offers a registered nursing degree program to participate in a practical nursing program to registered nursing program transfer agreement with the System that aligns with the practical nursing program common curriculum established pursuant to the bill and permits any private institution of higher education that offers a registered nursing degree program to be consulted regarding and participate on a voluntary basis in such a transfer agreement. The bill also (a) requires the System to establish a pathway of stackable nursing credentials that consists of a practical nursing to associate registered nursing to bachelor of science in nursing program pathway; (b) directs the System to develop and implement the common curriculum for practical nursing programs by July 1, 2026; and (c) directs the System to submit a progress report to the chairs of the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the House Committee on Education by December 1, 2025. The provisions of the bill relating to the development of the common curriculum for practical nursing programs have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. The bill incorporates SB 791 and is identical to HB 2548.
Health insurance; cost sharing for breast examinations. Prohibits health insurance carriers from imposing cost sharing for diagnostic breast examinations and supplemental breast examinations, as those terms are defined in the bill, under certain insurance policies, subscription contracts, and health care plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the Commonwealth on and after January 1, 2026. The bill provides that such examinations include examinations using diagnostic mammography, breast magnetic resonance imaging, or breast ultrasound. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Health Insurance Reform Commission. This bill incorporates HB 2133 and is identical to SB 1436.
Children's Services Act; state pool of funds. Makes a number of changes to the Children's Services Act state pool of funds for the provision of public or private nonresidential or residential services for troubled youth and families, including (i) removing from the purpose of the state pool of funds the consolidation of categorical agency funding and the institution of community responsibility for the provision of services; (ii) removing language specifying that references to funding sources and current placement authority for the target population served by the state pool of funds are for the purpose of accounting for the funds and should not be intended to categorize children and youth into funding streams in order to access services; (iii) modifying the target population served by the state pool of funds by (a) removing references to the Department of Education's private tuition assistance and the Interagency Assistance Fund for Noneducational Placement for Handicapped Children and (b) adding children and youth who are determined to be a child in need of services, as such term is defined in relevant law; (iv) removing the requirement that the financial and legal responsibility for certain special education services remains with the placing jurisdiction, unless the placing jurisdiction has transitioned all appropriate services; (v) requiring that the uniform assessment instrument used to determine eligibility for funding through the state pool of funds be approved by the State Executive Council for Children's Services; and (vi) modifying the eligibility criteria for funding through the state pool of funds by adding language that (a) specifies that the child or youth's emotional or behavioral problems have resulted in the child or youth, or place the child or youth at imminent risk of, entering purchased residential care and (b) includes the determination by a court that the child or youth is a child in need of services, as such term is defined in relevant law. The bill also includes technical changes. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth.
Public middle and high schools; student-athletes; pre-participation physical examination required. Provides that no public middle or high school student is permitted to be a participant on or try out for any school athletic team or squad with a predetermined roster, regular practices, and scheduled competitions with other middle or high schools unless such student has submitted to the school principal a signed report from a licensed physician, licensed advanced practice registered nurse, or licensed physician assistant acting under the supervision of a licensed physician attesting that such student has received a physical examination and was found to be physically fit for athletic competition no more than 14 calendar months prior to the date on which such report was signed. Current law requires that the signed report attest that any such student has received a physical examination within the preceding 12 months. The bill prohibits any public middle or high school from becoming a member of any organization or entity that regulates or governs interscholastic programs that does not deem eligible for participation any student who has satisfied the requirements for eligibility in accordance with the provisions of the bill.
Board of Pharmacy; therapeutic interchange; work group; report. Directs the Board of Pharmacy to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to review the current authority of pharmacists to initiate therapeutic interchange and make recommendations to streamline and modernize the therapeutic interchange process in the Commonwealth. The bill also directs the work group to submit a report to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 15, 2025.
Deputy Hunter D. Reedy Memorial Bridge. Designates the bridge on Adwolfe Road and U.S. Route 11/State Route 660 over Interstate 81 in Smyth County the "Deputy Hunter D. Reedy Memorial Bridge." This bill is identical to HB 1853.
Board of Psychology; prescriptive authority for clinical psychologists work group; report. Directs the Boards of Psychology and Medicine to jointly convene a work group with stakeholders to study the education, training, and qualifications of clinical psychologists licensed in the Commonwealth and assess under what conditions it may be appropriate for clinical psychologists to be granted prescriptive authority. The bill requires the work group to report its findings to the Chairs of the House Committee on Health and Human Services and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2025.
Constitutional amendment (first reference); qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled to vote. Provides that every person who meets the qualifications of voters set forth in the Constitution of Virginia shall have the fundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such right shall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convicted of a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting. The amendment provides that a person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarceration for such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration for that felony conviction and without further action required of him, such person shall be invested with all political rights, including the right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote a person convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall not be entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacity has been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitution of Virginia provides that a person who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competency is reestablished.
Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.