SB 239 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

State Health Services Plan Task Force; designated areas of state in need of additional project.

Summary

Certificate of public need; expedited review of certain projects; duties of the State Health Services Plan Task Force. Directs the State Health Services Plan Task Force to develop recommendations for designating areas of the state with an identifiable need for additional projects, taking into account numerous barriers of access to health care. The bill also directs the Board of Health to promulgate updated regulations for expedited application and review processes for certain projects. This bill is identical to HB 1337.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Feb 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Education and Health Substitute → Enrolled · 4 edits · Feb 26, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act, removing the draft substitute header and adding official session and approval details. The core policy text regarding the State Health Services Plan Task Force and the Board of Health was slightly refined to clarify the types of barriers the Task Force must consider and to correct a formatting error in the legal citation for the expedited review process.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains unchanged; it still directs the Task Force to identify areas with specific access barriers and the Board of Health to update regulations for expedited project reviews.

REQUIREMENT

The Task Force's mandate was expanded to explicitly include 'transportation' and 'cultural' barriers alongside geographic and socioeconomic factors when identifying areas in need.

TECHNICAL

A formatting error in the legal citation for the Board of Health's regulatory authority was corrected to ensure the reference to § 32.1-102.2 is accurate.

Standard legislative headers indicating the bill is from the 2026 session and has been enrolled (approved) were added.

Drafting metadata, including the 'Substitute' designation and the specific date of proposal, was removed as the bill is now final.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 6, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 24, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 39

Feb 6, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% 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

Apr 13, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 780 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB239ER)

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed House (98-Y 0-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Health and Human Services (21-Y 0-N)

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate subcommittee offered

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Committee

Assigned Education sub: Health

upper

Jan 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Education and Health

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor