# Virginia HB257: Comprehensive plan; social determinants of health.

Virginia HB257, Comprehensive plan; social determinants of health., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0375)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB257-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB257
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Comprehensive plan; social determinants of health.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-09
- Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0375)
- Sponsor: Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (162 yes, 58 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 6

## Summary

Comprehensive plan; social determinants of health. Encourages localities to utilize relevant and available data and research related to social determinants of health to consider how the locality's adopted comprehensive plan will impact the locality's overall public health and access to health care services.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Localities must adopt full plans: benefit, low. Every locality prepares and adopts a comprehensive plan. The plan guides growth to protect health, safety, order, convenience, and welfare, including for seniors and people with disabilities. Plans may show where roads, parks, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, utilities, recycling centers, zoning,…
- Use health and resilience data in planning: benefit, low. Local plans are encouraged to use data on social determinants of health to judge health impacts and access to care. Plans are also encouraged to include strategies to improve resilience to many hazards.
- Plan for broadband in every community: benefit, low. Local plans must consider strategies to provide broadband for homes and businesses now and in the future. Planning commissions can get technical help from the Center for Innovative Technology.
- Transportation plans aligned with state system: benefit, low. Each locality must include a transportation plan in its comprehensive plan. It lists needs across roads (by type), transit, bike and pedestrian routes, rail, bridges, ports, airports, waterways, and freight. The plan maps improvements and uses cost estimates from VDOT. It must match the Statewide T…
- Affordable housing must be planned: benefit, low. Local plans must set areas and actions to build, fix, and keep affordable homes. Plans aim to meet current and future needs at all income levels and consider the wider planning district.
- Funds to bury utilities on transit routes: mixed, low. If a local plan names a corridor for mass transit, the locality can use some state‑related funds to put utilities underground there. The locality must match 100% of the state allocation. Eligible sources include the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority distribution, certain commercial and ind…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Shelly A. Simonds (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Passed Senate | pass | 21 | 19 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-03 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Reported from Local Government | pass | 8 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 68 | 30 |   |
| 2026-01-30 | House | Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns | pass | 19 | 2 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 6 | 0 |   |

## Actions (24)

- 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0375) (Governor)
- 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor-Chapter 375 (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)
- 2026-03-12: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-11: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB257ER) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-11: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Reported from Local Government (8-Y 7-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Referred to Committee on Local Government (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Read third time and passed House (68-Y 30-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-04: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-03: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-30: Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (19-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-28: Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3 (House)
- 2026-01-09: Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns (House)
- 2026-01-09: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100530D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217650.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217649.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199879.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199878.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083300.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083299.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/1217650.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217649.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199879.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199878.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083300.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083299.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-HB257-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).