# Virginia HB1282: Licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners; licensure by endorsement, etc.

Virginia HB1282, Licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners; licensure by endorsement, etc., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Joshua G. Cole (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0766)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1282-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1282
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners; licensure by endorsement, etc.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0766)
- Sponsor: Joshua G. Cole (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (222 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners; licensure by endorsement; licensure without examination. Directs the Board of Counseling to establish a pathway to licensure by endorsement as a licensed substance abuse treatment practitioner for applicants who have held certification as a certified substance abuse counselor for at least 10 years without a history of disciplinary action, have completed at least five years of documented supervised experience, hold at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of counseling, and hold a Master Addiction Counselor credential issued by NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals. The bill provides that such pathway to licensure by endorsement does not require examination.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New Virginia license path for experienced addiction counselors: benefit, medium. The law creates a licensure-by-endorsement path to become a licensed substance abuse treatment practitioner in Virginia. The Board grants a license if you meet all four rules. You held certified substance abuse counselor status for at least 10 years before applying, practiced during that time, and…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Joshua G. Cole (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Reported from Education and Health | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Reported from Health and Human Services with amendment(s) | pass | 21 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (30)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0766) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 766 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-25: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-25: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-17: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1282) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1282ER) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-14: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-14: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-09: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Assigned Education sub: Health Professions (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on Education and Health (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1282) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House as amended (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee amendment agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from Health and Human Services with amendment(s) (21-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-10: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1282) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Assigned sub: Health Professions (House)
- 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services (House)
- 2026-01-14: Presented and ordered printed 26104275D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222599.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222598.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209085.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209084.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-16: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145665.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145664.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143323.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-02-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136564.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088009.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088008.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222599.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222598.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209085.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209084.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145665.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145664.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143323.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136564.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088009.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088008.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1282-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).