# Virginia HB456: Health, State Board of, regulations; standards for levels of neonatal care.

Virginia HB456, Health, State Board of, regulations; standards for levels of neonatal care., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Rodney T. Willett (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0145)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB456-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB456
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Health, State Board of, regulations; standards for levels of neonatal care.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-12
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0145)
- Sponsor: Rodney T. Willett (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (218 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 10

## Summary

State Board of Health regulations; standards for levels of neonatal care. Directs the State Board of Health to establish standards for designation of care in neonatal services consistent with, but not necessarily identical to, standards published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The bill directs the Board of Health to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill by July 1, 2027, and prohibits enforcement of such regulations until July 1, 2029. This bill is identical to SB 291.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Contaminated clotting factors trigger patient alerts: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2029, Board-licensed facilities treating hemophilia and stocking clotting factors must track product lots to identify recipients. When a facility finds a known contaminated lot, it must alert each recipient’s attending doctor and request patient notification. If the doctor is unav…
- Fentanyl testing and uninsured overdose medicine: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2029, hospitals with emergency departments must include fentanyl testing in urine drug screenings used for diagnosis. This does not require testing every emergency patient or every urine sample. Hospitals may also make agreements with the Virginia Department of Health to provide u…
- Hospitals must remove planned surgical smoke: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2029, hospitals must adopt a policy requiring smoke removal systems for planned surgeries likely to produce smoke. The rule protects patients and others in the operating area from surgical smoke exposure.
- Newborn care levels follow national standards: benefit, low. The Virginia Board of Health must set standards and maintain a process for designating levels of newborn care. Standards must be consistent with the latest American Academy of Pediatrics guidance for levels II, III, and IV. They do not have to match that guidance exactly. The law requires implement…
- Parents gain access to hospital portals: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2029, hospitals giving minors secure online access to health records must also give parents or guardians access. Access is not required when the hospital cannot prevent disclosure of legally withheld information or information lacking required consent. The law does not require hos…
- Patient visits protected during disease emergencies: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2029, nursing homes and certified nursing facilities must allow visits during a COVID-19 public health emergency. Each patient must be offered at least one visit every 10 calendar days, in person or virtually. Plans must address patient waivers, technology failures, and how the fa…
- Privacy rules for patients’ digital assistants: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2029, hospitals, nursing homes, and certified nursing facilities must set and follow rules for patient-provided digital assistants. These rules cover access and use during inpatient care. They must protect health information under federal health privacy law and other applicable ru…
- Hospital workers gain violence reporting protections: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2029, hospitals must track and analyze workplace violence that employees voluntarily report. Covered incidents involve employees performing their duties on hospital premises. Hospitals must use reports to improve prevention and protect reporting workers from discrimination or reta…
- Care facilities can offer adult daycare: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2029, Board-licensed hospitals, nursing homes, and certified nursing facilities may operate adult day centers. They must obtain an adult day center license when one is required. The law allows these services but does not require any facility to open a center.
- Hospital license fees can rise or fall: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2029, the Board must set hospital and nursing-home license fees to cover licensing and inspection costs fairly. This covers issuing, changing, and renewing licenses, with hospital and nursing-home costs assessed separately. Fees can change no more than once a year. Changes require…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Rodney T. Willett (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | 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 | 8 | 0 |   |

## Actions (30)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0145) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 145 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB456) (House)
- 2026-03-05: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB456ER) (House)
- 2026-03-05: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-05: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-02: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-27: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB456) (House)
- 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: Engrossed by House as amended (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee amendments 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) (8-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB456) (House)
- 2026-01-21: Assigned sub: Health (House)
- 2026-01-12: Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services (House)
- 2026-01-12: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101249D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216670.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216669.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-05: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1193864.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1193863.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-16: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145727.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145726.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143331.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-02-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139155.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139387.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084523.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084522.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/1216670.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216669.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1193864.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1193863.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145727.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145726.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1143331.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139155.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139387.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084523.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084522.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB456-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).