HB 456 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Health, State Board of, regulations; standards for levels of neonatal care.

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.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Signed Apr 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled → Chaptered · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 145 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive policy content regarding hospital and nursing home regulations, including organ donation protocols, visitation rules, and workplace violence reporting, remains unchanged. The primary differences are the addition of approval dates, the formal chapter number, and the inclusion of page numbering at the bottom of the text.

Scope change

None; the scope of the regulations applies to the same facilities as before.

TECHNICAL

The document header was updated to reflect the final 'Approved' status and assigned the official chapter number (Chapter 145) and session year (2026).

Page numbering was added to the bottom of the text pages, indicating this is a multi-page document.

The placeholder text '[H 456]' was replaced with the official approval date of April 6, 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 27, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

36–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 39

Feb 27, 2026

D Democratic20

18 Yea 2

90% Yea

R Republican19

18 Yea 1

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 6, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 145 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB456ER)

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N)

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 amendments 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) (8-Y 0-N)

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

House subcommittee offered

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Committee

Assigned sub: Health

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services

lower

1 primary · 10 co-sponsors