# Virginia HB1287: Veterinarians; amending applications of licensure, etc.

Virginia HB1287, Veterinarians; amending applications of licensure, etc., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Laura Jane Cohen (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0768)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1287-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1287
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Veterinarians; amending applications of licensure, etc.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0768)
- Sponsor: Laura Jane Cohen (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 8 (238 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Board of Veterinary Medicine; applications for licensure or renewal; indication of interest to serve as a veterinarian for a public or private animal shelter. Directs the Board of Veterinary Medicine to amend its applications for licensure and renewal of licensure to allow applicants to indicate interest in serving as a veterinarian for public or private animal shelters and to provide disclosure that, if the applicant indicates such interest, the Board shall provide the applicant's name and contact information to the State Veterinarian for inclusion on a list distributed to animal shelters quarterly.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Veterinarians can join shelter list: benefit, low. On your Virginia veterinary license or renewal application, you can indicate interest in working with private or public animal shelters. If you opt in, the Board shares your name and contact information with the State Veterinarian every three months for distribution to shelters. Only veterinarians…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Laura Jane Cohen (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 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | Senate | Rereferred from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources to Education and Health | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-09 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (33)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0768) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 768 (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 (HB1287) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1287ER) (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)
- 2026-02-24: Rereferred from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources to Education and Health (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1287) (House)
- 2026-02-10: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-06: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-05: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-03: Committee substitute printed 26105609D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-03: Reported from Health and Human Services with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-28: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-28: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1287) (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 26101713D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222607.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222606.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209092.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209091.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1114626.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1114625.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101778.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101777.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-28: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100032.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100031.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088054.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088053.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/1222607.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222606.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209092.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209091.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1114626.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1114625.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101778.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1101777.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100032.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100031.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088054.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088053.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-HB1287-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).