# Virginia HB209: Peer recovery specialists; VDH & DOC to develop guidelines for hiring.

Virginia HB209, Peer recovery specialists; VDH & DOC to develop guidelines for hiring., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Marcia S. "Cia" Price (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0090)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB209-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB209
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Peer recovery specialists; VDH & DOC to develop guidelines for hiring.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-07
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0090)
- Sponsor: Marcia S. "Cia" Price (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 8 (235 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Department of Health; Department of Corrections; peer recovery specialists. Directs the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Department of Corrections to develop agency guidelines for hiring peer recovery specialists with previous criminal convictions for compensated employment. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care. This bill is identical to SB 608.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Easier hiring for peer recovery specialists with records: benefit, low. The law requires the Virginia Department of Health and the Department of Corrections to set hiring guidelines for paid peer recovery specialists with past criminal convictions. The guidelines must spell out job requirements for each program and position. They must allow hiring that is no stricter t…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Marcia S. "Cia" Price (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services Block Vote | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Rereferred from Education and Health to Rehabilitation and Social Services Block Vote | pass | 13 | 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 (31)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0090) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 90 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-10: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB209) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB209ER) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-03: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services Block Vote (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Rereferred from Education and Health to Rehabilitation and Social Services Block Vote (13-Y 0-N) (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)
- 2026-02-17: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB209) (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: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-10: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-22: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB209) (House)
- 2026-01-16: Assigned sub: Health Professions (House)
- 2026-01-07: Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services (House)
- 2026-01-07: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102528D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216312.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216311.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197807.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197806.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-16: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145673.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145672.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143283.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-02-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135959.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136499.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-07: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083091.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083090.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/1216312.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216311.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197807.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197806.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145673.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145672.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143283.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135959.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1136499.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083091.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083090.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-HB209-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).