republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2017/hb-1786.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	In utero exposure to a controlled substance; departments of social services to collect information.	Requires local departments of social services to collect information during a family assessment to determine whether the mother of a child who was exposed in utero to a controlled substance sought substance abuse counseling or treatment prior to the child's birth. The bill requires mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect to make a report if a finding is made by a health care provider (i) within six weeks following a child's birth that the child was born affected by substance abuse or experiencing withdrawal symptoms resulting from in utero drug exposure; (ii) within four years following a child's birth that the child has an illness, disease, or condition that is attributable to maternal abuse of a controlled substance during pregnancy; or (iii) within four years following a child's birth that the child has a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder attributable to in utero exposure to alcohol. The bill provides that if a local department of social services receives a report or complaint of suspected child abuse or neglect on the basis of one or more of the aforementioned factors, the local department shall (a) conduct a family assessment, unless an investigation is required by law or is necessary to protect the safety of the child, and (b) develop a plan of safe care in accordance with federal law. The bill directs the State Board of Social Services to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2017	HB 1786	Virginia HB 1786 (2017)	bill	Narcotics and Drugs Welfare (Social Services)	enacted	Christopher P. Stolle	4	20	8	2017-01-09	2017-02-23	openstates	ocd-bill/5d85771a-bb39-4851-bffe-83bd9982098f	http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+HB1786	ffc753992a0d6c072445faf8e940e65502dae058fae4492f7b1d643dcdc51ca4	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia HB 1786 (2017) — In utero exposure to a controlled substance; departments of social services to collect information.

Requires local departments of social services to collect information during a family assessment to determine whether the mother of a child who was exposed in utero to a controlled substance sought substance abuse counseling or treatment prior to the child's birth. The bill requires mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect to make a report if a finding is made by a health care provider (i) within six weeks following a child's birth that the child was born affected by substance abuse or experiencing withdrawal symptoms resulting from in utero drug exposure; (ii) within four years following a child's birth that the child has an illness, disease, or condition that is attributable to maternal abuse of a controlled substance during pregnancy; or (iii) within four years following a child's birth that the child has a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder attributable to in utero exposure to alcohol. The bill provides that if a local department of social services receives a report or complaint of suspected child abuse or neglect on the basis of one or more of the aforementioned factors, the local department shall (a) conduct a family assessment, unless an investigation is required by law or is necessary to protect the safety of the child, and (b) develop a plan of safe care in accordance with federal law. The bill directs the State Board of Social Services to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to

Version chain

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

1. Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0176) (committee substitute) — source
2. House: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1786ER) (committee substitute) — source
3. House: Committee substitute printed 17104727D-H1 (committee substitute) — source
4. House: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17101957D (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services — 14–0 (pass) · legislature
• Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions with substitute — 22–0 (pass) · legislature
• Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE — 97–0 (pass) · legislature
• Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute — 6–0 (pass) · legislature
• Passed Senate — 40–0 (pass) · legislature
• Subcommittee recommends reporting — 8–0 (pass) · legislature
• Constitutional reading dispensed — 39–0 (pass) · legislature
• Reported from Appropriations — 20–0 (pass) · legislature

Sponsors

• Christopher P. Stolle — primary (person)
• C. Matthew Fariss — cosponsor (person)
• Charniele L. Herring — cosponsor (person)
• Gordon C. Helsel, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
• J. Randall Minchew — cosponsor (person)
• John J. Bell — cosponsor (person)
• Joseph C. Lindsey — cosponsor (person)
• Mark H. Levine — cosponsor (person)
• Mark L. Cole — cosponsor (person)
• Michael P. Mullin — cosponsor (person)
• Richard P. Bell — cosponsor (person)
• T. Scott Garrett — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

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

• 2017-01-09 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17101957D introduction
• 2017-01-09 Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions referral-committee
• 2017-01-12 Assigned HWI sub: Subcommittee #2 referral-committee
• 2017-01-31 Subcommittee recommends referring to Committee on Appropriations
• 2017-02-02 Referred to Committee on Appropriations referral-committee
• 2017-02-02 Assigned App. sub: Health & Human Resources referral-committee
• 2017-02-04 Read first time reading-1
• 2017-02-06 Read second time reading-2
• 2017-02-06 Committee substitute agreed to 17104727D-H1
• 2017-02-06 Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB1786H1
• 2017-02-07 Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (97-Y 0-N) passage, reading-3
• 2017-02-08 Constitutional reading dispensed
• 2017-02-08 Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services referral-committee
• 2017-02-14 Read third time reading-3
• 2017-02-16 Enrolled
• 2017-02-16 Signed by Speaker
• 2017-02-17 Signed by President
• 2017-02-17 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on 2/17/17
• 2017-02-17 Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, February 24, 2017
• 2017-02-23 Approved by Governor-Chapter 176 (effective 7/1/17) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/5d85771a-bb39-4851-bffe-83bd9982098f. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).