Licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners; licensure by endorsement, etc.
Summary
Licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners; licensure by endorsement; licensure without examination. Directs the Board of Counseling to establish a pathway to licensure by endorsement as a licensed substance abuse treatment practitioner for applicants who have held certification as a certified substance abuse counselor for at least 10 years without a history of disciplinary action, have completed at least five years of documented supervised experience, hold at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of counseling, and hold a Master Addiction Counselor credential issued by NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals. The bill provides that such pathway to licensure by endorsement does not require examination.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 14, 2026
Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossed
→
Enrolled
·
2 edits
·
Mar 14, 2026
MINOR
The bill transitioned from an 'Engrossed' draft to an 'Enrolled' final version, incorporating minor formatting adjustments and standard legislative headers required for signing into law. The substantive policy content regarding licensure requirements for substance abuse treatment practitioners remains unchanged.
TECHNICAL
Added standard Enrolled Act headers, including session year, chapter title, and bill number formatting, which are necessary for the final legal publication but do not alter the bill's substance.
Adjusted line breaks and spacing within the text of the new section to conform to the official formatting standards of the Enrolled Acts of Assembly.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 6, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026
How they voted
38–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 39
Mar 6, 2026
D
Democratic20
100% Yea
R
Republican19
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
29
Key actions
11
Committee
7
Amendments
2
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 766 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 14, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1282ER)
lower
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 27, 2026
Committee
Assigned Education sub: Health Professions
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Introduced
Engrossed by House as amended
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
committee amendment agreed to
lower
Feb 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Health and Human Services with amendment(s) (21-Y 0-N)
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Committee
Assigned sub: Health Professions
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Introduced
Presented and ordered printed 26104275D
lower
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Josh Cole
DDemocratic
Co
Rod Willett
DDemocratic
Co
Virgil Thornton
DDemocratic
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