republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/hb-1654.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Schedule VI controlled substances and hypodermic syringes and needles; limited-use license."
description: "Schedule VI controlled substances; hypodermic syringes and needles; limited-use license. Allows the Board of Pharmacy to issue a limited-use license for the purpose of dispensing Schedule VI controlled substances, excluding the combination of misoprostol and methotrexate, and hypodermic syringes and needles for the administration of prescribed controlled substances to a doctor of medicine, osteopathic medicine, or podiatry, a nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant, provided that such limited-use licensee is practicing at a nonprofit facility. The bill requires such nonprofit facilities to obtain a limited-use permit from the Board and comply with regulations for such a permit. This bill directs the Board of Pharmacy to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to SB 1074."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 1654"
citation: "Virginia HB 1654 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Dan I. Helmer"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 31
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2020-01-17"
last_action: "2020-04-02"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1ac90918-a0c4-417d-8c25-bfd21acd8d50"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB1654"
source_hash: "da5b9840cd2d2d34de60543a5c26bac573572a6dbc6b60d9ddf457d3622b233a"
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 1654 (2020) — Schedule VI controlled substances and hypodermic syringes and needles; limited-use license.

Schedule VI controlled substances; hypodermic syringes and needles; limited-use license. Allows the Board of Pharmacy to issue a limited-use license for the purpose of dispensing Schedule VI controlled substances, excluding the combination of misoprostol and methotrexate, and hypodermic syringes and needles for the administration of prescribed controlled substances to a doctor of medicine, osteopathic medicine, or podiatry, a nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant, provided that such limited-use licensee is practicing at a nonprofit facility. The bill requires such nonprofit facilities to obtain a limited-use permit from the Board and comply with regulations for such a permit. This bill directs the Board of Pharmacy to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to SB 1074.

## Version chain

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

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0609)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0609)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1654ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1654ER)
3. **Impact statement from DPB (HB1654)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1654)

## Votes

- Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N) — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Education and Health with amendment (14-Y 0-N) — **14–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Adoption (96-Y 1-N) — **95–1** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (100-Y 0-N) — **99–0** (pass) · lower
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (4-Y 1-N) — **4–1** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate with amendment (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Dan I. Helmer — primary (person)
- Hala S. Ayala — cosponsor (person)
- Kathy K.L. Tran — cosponsor (person)
- Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- Rodney T. Willett — cosponsor (person)
- Suhas Subramanyam — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-01-17** Presented and ordered printed 20105315D `introduction`
- **2020-01-17** Referred to Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-27** Assigned HWI sub: Health Professions `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-28** Impact statement from DPB (HB1654)
- **2020-01-29** Subcommittee recommends reporting (4-Y 1-N)
- **2020-02-04** Reported from Health, Welfare and Institutions (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-05** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-02-06** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-02-07** Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (100-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-02-07** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (100-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-10** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-02-10** Referred to Committee on Education and Health `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-27** Reported from Education and Health with amendment (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-28** Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N)
- **2020-03-02** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-03-02** Reading of amendment waived
- **2020-03-02** Committee amendment agreed to
- **2020-03-02** Passed by for the day
- **2020-03-03** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-03-03** Engrossed by Senate as amended
- **2020-03-03** Passed Senate with amendment (40-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2020-03-04** Placed on Calendar
- **2020-03-04** Senate amendment agreed to by House (96-Y 1-N)
- **2020-03-04** VOTE: Adoption (96-Y 1-N)
- **2020-03-07** Enrolled
- **2020-03-07** Signed by President
- **2020-03-08** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-03-09** Impact statement from DPB (HB1654ER)
- **2020-03-12** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 12, 2020
- **2020-03-12** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
- **2020-04-02** Approved by Governor-Chapter 609 (effective 7/1/20) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1ac90918-a0c4-417d-8c25-bfd21acd8d50`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).