# Virginia HB548: Uniform Health Care Decisions Act; civil penalty.

Virginia HB548, Uniform Health Care Decisions Act; civil penalty., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Patrick A. Hope (Democratic); status passed house, last action 2026-03-11 (Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (3/11/2026 2:17 pm)) (as of 2026-10-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB548-2026
- As of: 2026-10-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB548
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Uniform Health Care Decisions Act; civil penalty.
- Status: passed house
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-03-11, Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (3/11/2026 2:17 pm)
- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Finance and Appropriations
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 5 (108 yes, 49 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Uniform Health Care Decisions Act; civil penalty. Repeals most provisions of the Health Care Decisions Act and enacts the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act. The bill creates a process for the execution of advance health care directives, as defined in the bill; establishes criteria for determining the capacity of an individual to make health care decisions; provides for the establishment of a default surrogate in the absence of an appointed agent for health care decisions; establishes powers and duties of agents appointed by powers of attorney for health care; and establishes duties of health care professionals.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 9 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 62 | 34 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute | pass | 15 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 7 | 3 |   |

## Actions (23)

- 2026-03-11: Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (3/11/2026 2:17 pm) (House)
- 2026-03-06: Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 6-N) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB548) (House)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House (62-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Committee substitute printed 26106652D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-13: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (15-Y 6-N) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (2/12/2026 9:47 am) (House)
- 2026-02-11: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-11: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-02-10: Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal (House)
- 2026-01-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB548) (House)
- 2026-01-13: Fiscal Impact statement From VCSC (1/13/2026 1:31 pm) (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104963D (House)

## Bill text

- Substitute, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187678.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187677.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1148811.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1148810.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142915.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142803.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142802.PDF), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142914.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084925.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084924.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
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187678.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1187677.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1148811.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1148810.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142915.HTML)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142803.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142802.PDF)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1142914.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084925.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084924.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-HB548-2026 (as of 2026-10-13).