---
type: "Bill"
title: "Nursing homes; application to Commissioner of Health for change of operator license, civil penalty."
description: "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."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 717"
citation: "Virginia HB 717 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Rodney T. Willett"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 30
vote_count: 9
first_action: "2026-01-13"
last_action: "2026-04-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/be778fdb-9417-4619-81b6-3f06d24461c9"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB717"
source_hash: "d1bb454d073c141006b9cb837ccd06e52812e20c807bb07d605c3a63e7651213"
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 HB 717 (2026) — Nursing homes; application to Commissioner of Health for change of operator license, civil penalty.

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.

## Version chain

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

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085637.PDF)
2. **Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217926.PDF)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210848.PDF)

## Votes

- Subcommittee recommends reporting — **10–0** (pass) · lower
- H VOTE: — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Finance and Appropriations — **14–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Appropriations — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- Subcommittee recommends reporting — **7–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Education and Health — **14–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Passage R — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Health and Human Services — **21–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Rodney T. Willett — primary (person)
- Barbara A. Favola — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-13** Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104892D `filing, introduction`
- **2026-01-13** Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-23** Assigned sub: Health Professions `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-05** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB717)
- **2026-02-10** Subcommittee recommends reporting and referring to Appropriations (10-Y 0-N)
- **2026-02-12** Reported from Health and Human Services and referred to Appropriations (21-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-12** Assigned HAPP sub: Health & Human Resources `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-13** Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N)
- **2026-02-13** Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-15** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2026-02-16** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2026-02-17** Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-02-18** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- **2026-02-18** Referred to Committee on Education and Health `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-26** Reported from Education and Health and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-06** Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-09** Rules suspended
- **2026-03-09** Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
- **2026-03-09** Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
- **2026-03-10** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2026-03-10** Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) `passage`
- **2026-03-30** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2026-03-30** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB717ER) `passage`
- **2026-03-30** Signed by President `passage`
- **2026-03-31** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB717)
- **2026-03-31** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2026-03-31** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
- **2026-03-31** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 `executive-receipt`
- **2026-04-08** Approved by Governor-Chapter 414 (effective 7/1/2026) `executive-signature`
- **2026-04-08** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0414)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/be778fdb-9417-4619-81b6-3f06d24461c9`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).