republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2017/sb-1230.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Opiate prescriptions; electronic prescriptions."
description: "Requires a prescription for any controlled substance containing an opiate to be issued as an electronic prescription and prohibits a pharmacist from dispensing a controlled substance that contains an opiate unless the prescription is issued as an electronic prescription, beginning July 1, 2020. The bill defines electronic prescription as a written prescription that is generated on an electronic application in accordance with federal regulations and is transmitted to a pharmacy as an electronic data file. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group of interested stakeholders to review actions necessary for the implementation of the bill's provisions, to evaluate hardships on prescribers and the inability of prescribers to comply with the deadline for electronic prescribing, and to make recommendations for any extension or exemption processes relative to compliance or disruptions due to natural or manmade disasters or technology gaps, failures, or interruptions of services. The work group shall report on the work group's progress to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2017, and a final report to such Chairmen by November 1, 2018."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2017"
identifier: "SB 1230"
citation: "Virginia SB 1230 (2017)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Computer Services and Uses", "Narcotics and Drugs", "Professions and Occupations", "Study Commissions", "Committees and Reports"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Siobhan S. Dunnavant"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 23
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2017-01-10"
last_action: "2017-03-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e89b5a9f-2dfe-43be-993a-f7c685935e24"
source_url: "http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+SB1230"
source_hash: "61bbccf10757d303da1a3a0d9f79ff1613df5ed7bfc6b6fca65fccbe4dbac93f"
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 1230 (2017) — Opiate prescriptions; electronic prescriptions.

Requires a prescription for any controlled substance containing an opiate to be issued as an electronic prescription and prohibits a pharmacist from dispensing a controlled substance that contains an opiate unless the prescription is issued as an electronic prescription, beginning July 1, 2020. The bill defines electronic prescription as a written prescription that is generated on an electronic application in accordance with federal regulations and is transmitted to a pharmacy as an electronic data file. The bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group of interested stakeholders to review actions necessary for the implementation of the bill's provisions, to evaluate hardships on prescribers and the inability of prescribers to comply with the deadline for electronic prescribing, and to make recommendations for any extension or exemption processes relative to compliance or disruptions due to natural or manmade disasters or technology gaps, failures, or interruptions of services. The work group shall report on the work group's progress to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by November 1, 2017, and a final report to such Chairmen by November 1, 2018.

## Version chain

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

1. **Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0429)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+CHAP0429)
2. **Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1230ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB1230ER)
3. **Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17101418D** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB1230)
4. **Senate: Printed as engrossed 17101418D-E** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB1230E)

## Votes

- Read third time and passed Senate — **39–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions with amendments — **22–0** (pass) · legislature
- Constitutional reading dispensed — **38–0** (pass) · legislature
- House amendments agreed to by Senate — **40–0** (pass) · legislature
- Passed House with amendments — **96–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported from Education and Health with amendment — **15–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- Siobhan S. Dunnavant — primary (person)
- Adam P. Ebbin — cosponsor (person)
- Janet D. Howell — cosponsor (person)
- Jeremy S. McPike — cosponsor (person)
- T. Montgomery "Monty" Mason — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2017-01-10** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17101418D `introduction`
- **2017-01-10** Referred to Committee on Education and Health `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-16** Assigned Education sub: Health Professions `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-23** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2017-01-23** Reading of amendment waived
- **2017-01-23** Committee amendment agreed to
- **2017-01-23** Engrossed by Senate as amended SB1230E
- **2017-01-23** Printed as engrossed 17101418D-E
- **2017-01-31** Placed on Calendar
- **2017-01-31** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2017-01-31** Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-10** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2017-02-13** Passed by for the day
- **2017-02-14** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2017-02-14** Committee amendments agreed to
- **2017-02-14** Engrossed by House as amended
- **2017-02-14** Passed House with amendments (96-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2017-02-20** Enrolled
- **2017-02-20** Signed by Speaker
- **2017-02-21** Signed by President
- **2017-02-21** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on 2/21/17
- **2017-02-21** Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, March 27, 2017
- **2017-03-13** Approved by Governor-Chapter 429 (effective - see bill) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/e89b5a9f-2dfe-43be-993a-f7c685935e24`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).