# Virginia HB717: Nursing homes; application to Commissioner of Health for change of operator license, civil penalty. Virginia HB717, Nursing homes; application to Commissioner of Health for change of operator license, civil penalty., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Rodney T. Willett (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0414)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB717-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia HB717 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Nursing homes; application to Commissioner of Health for change of operator license, civil penalty. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-13 - Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0414) - Sponsor: Rodney T. Willett (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 10 (265 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary Nursing homes; change of operator; application to Commissioner of Health for change of operator license; civil penalty. Requires a person taking over the daily operations and management of a nursing home when change of ownership or control occurs to apply to the Commissioner of Health for a change of operator license. The bill establishes the requirements for the application for and for the granting of such license and establishes a civil penalty for failing to provide the Commissioner with information or documentation, effectuating a change of operator without applying for a change of operator license, or providing fraudulent information on an application for a change of operator license. This bill is identical to SB 247. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Five-year safety bond for nursing homes: benefit, high. The new operator or the property owner must post a bond equal to $10,000 per licensed bed. The bond can be waived if the operator (or a 50% owner of it) also owns at least 50% of the nursing home and its assets. The bond must be kept for five years. The state can use it to pay costs from a closure,… - Penalties for unapproved nursing home takeovers: benefit, medium. Operators must report application errors or changes right away, and updates within 30 days after the change. They must not finish the transfer until the state issues a notice of intent and must file a completion document within five days. If they fail to notify or provide information, they owe a $2… - Stronger vetting for new nursing home operators: benefit, medium. A new nursing home operator must get a state license before taking over. They must file at least 45 days before the start date, or 90 days if residents will be moved. They must list all owners with 5% or more, related parties, and any serious problems at other homes in the last five years. The oper… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Rodney T. Willett (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-09 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-03-06 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 | | | 2026-02-26 | Senate | Reported from Education and Health and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 14 | 0 | | | 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 7 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | House | Reported from Appropriations | pass | 22 | 0 | | | 2026-02-12 | House | Reported from Health and Human Services and referred to Appropriations | pass | 21 | 0 | | | 2026-02-10 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations | pass | 10 | 0 | | ## Actions (30) - 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0414) (Governor) - 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor-Chapter 414 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor) - 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB717) (House) - 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor) - 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House) - 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB717ER) (House) - 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House) - 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Read third time (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Reported from Education and Health and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-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) - 2026-02-16: Read second time and engrossed (House) - 2026-02-15: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-13: Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-13: Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-12: Reported from Health and Human Services and referred to Appropriations (21-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-12: Assigned HAPP sub: Health & Human Resources (House) - 2026-02-10: Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations (10-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-02-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB717) (House) - 2026-01-23: Assigned sub: Health Professions (House) - 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services (House) - 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104892D (House) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217927.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217926.PDF) - Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210849.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210848.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085638.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085637.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/1217927.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217926.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210849.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210848.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085638.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085637.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-HB717-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).