---
type: "Bill"
title: "Mental health conditions & impairment; health regulatory board w/in DHP to amend its applications."
description: "Mental health conditions & impairment; health regulatory board w/in DHP to amend its applications."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 970"
citation: "Virginia SB 970 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Mason"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 31
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2023-01-06"
last_action: "2023-03-16"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/12578fb1-49a0-4f0e-9cf6-5d0ee8ccaa6a"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+SB970"
source_hash: "95961ff2375464e80a808dfd797ce0a943b59819797aadb9fd604c9ec7755711"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia SB 970 (2023) — Mental health conditions & impairment; health regulatory board w/in DHP to amend its applications.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **CHAP0019** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+CHAP0019)
2. **Prefiled and ordered printed with emergency clause; offered 01/11/23 23102876D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB970)
3. **SB970ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB970ER)

## Votes

- Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- House amendments agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (99-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- Rereferred from General Laws and Technology (13-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Reported from Education and Health (14-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions with amendment(s) (21-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower

## Sponsors

- Mason — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-01-06** Prefiled and ordered printed with emergency clause; offered 01/11/23 23102876D `filing, introduction`
- **2023-01-06** Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-10** Impact statement from DPB (SB970)
- **2023-01-11** Rereferred from General Laws and Technology (13-Y 0-N) `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-11** Rereferred to Education and Health `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-17** Assigned Education sub: Health Professions `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-26** Reported from Education and Health (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-27** Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
- **2023-01-30** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2023-01-31** Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-09** Placed on Calendar
- **2023-02-09** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2023-02-09** Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-14** House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2023-02-14** Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions with amendment(s) (21-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-16** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2023-02-17** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2023-02-17** Committee amendments agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2023-02-17** Engrossed by House as amended
- **2023-02-17** Passed House with amendments BLOCK VOTE (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-17** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-20** House amendments agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N) `amendment-passage`
- **2023-02-23** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2023-02-23** Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB970ER) `passage`
- **2023-02-23** Impact statement from DPB (SB970ER)
- **2023-02-23** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-02-25** Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-03-02** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 2, 2023 `enrolled`
- **2023-03-02** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 27, 2023 `executive-receipt`
- **2023-03-16** Approved by Governor-Chapter 19 (effective 3/16/23) `executive-signature`
- **2023-03-16** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0019)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/12578fb1-49a0-4f0e-9cf6-5d0ee8ccaa6a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).