Virginia House adopts judicial appointments conference report, orders EMS pharmacy work group and clears a slate of bills

The Virginia House of Delegates adopted a conference report on Senate Bill 1327 and approved a floor substitute to create a work group on emergency medical services (EMS) controlled-substance handling, then passed a large bundle of mostly uncontested bills and several commemorative resolutions during its Feb. 19 session.

The conference report for Senate Bill 1327, which the clerk made available to members earlier in the morning, was explained on the floor by Delegate Elizabeth B. Hope (Arlington). Hope said the conference agreement would add three judges — a general district court judge in Prince William County, a JDR (juvenile and domestic relations) judge in Virginia Beach’s 2nd circuit and another general district court judge in the Middle Peninsula — and outlined a process for localities and the Supreme Court to make further caseload assessments in coming months. "What we're gonna be doing, the process going forward... is a bill that's gonna be coming through here to ask JLARC to do a study to help us go in and figure out the case load so we can properly assess how many judges are supposed to be in each district," Hope said on the floor. The conference report was agreed to by recorded voice and roll-call, Ayes 96, Noes 0.

Separately, lawmakers debated and approved a floor substitute to Senate Bill 1318 (as printed in the calendar as Senate Bill 13 18), which addresses access to certain controlled-substance registrations for emergency medical service agencies and tasks the Department of Health/Board of Health with further study. Delegate Marcus A. Sickles (Fairfax) offered and described the floor substitute as a Section 1, work-group measure that will expire in June 2027. "The work group that comes out of this section 1 bill shall consist of 6 members, including 3 members appointed by the Board of Health... and the work group shall be staffed by the board and meet at least quarterly," Sickles said. Delegate Michael G. Orrock (Spotsylvania) spoke in support on the floor after having opposed an earlier committee version, saying the floor substitute resolved his concerns. The House adopted the substitute and passed the bill on a roll-call vote, Ayes 88, Noes 9.

Votes at a glance

- Conference report on Senate Bill 1327 (judicial positions): adopted; recorded vote Ayes 96, Noes 0. Mover: Delegate Hope (explanation on floor). Notes: conference report available in IHOD; JLARC study referenced for longer-term caseload analysis.

- Senate Bill 13 18 (Board of Pharmacy / EMS controlled substances) — floor substitute adopted; bill passed by roll-call Ayes 88, Noes 9. Floor substitute sponsors: Delegate Sickles (mover). Notes: creates a Board/Department-staffed work group to study administrative and regulatory changes; the act is set to expire in June 2027 per the substitute language.

- Commemorative resolutions adopted (voice votes): House Joint Resolution 616 (commending Colonel Gary T. Settle on his retirement as superintendent of the Virginia State Police); House Resolution 628 (triple negative breast cancer awareness); House Resolution 694 (celebrating the life of Wesley Isaiah Harrison James Jr.); House Joint Resolution 682 (commemorating William Flora). Each resolution was moved and agreed to by voice vote when put before the body.

- Conference and committee business: The Speaker appointed House conferees to multiple House and Senate bills earlier in the morning (appointments listed in the official record). The clerk also announced a conference report on SB 1327 was available online in IHOD prior to the vote.

- Major bills passed on third reading (uncontested/regular calendar): The House advanced a broad block of Senate bills reported from committees and moved from the uncontested calendar. Examples announced on the floor and advanced without extended debate include SB 750 (unlawful vehicle operation, adults authorizing unlicensed minor drivers), SB 838 (recovery residences certification via the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services), SB 847 (improper driving as lesser included offense), SB 873 (town charter updates), SB 924 (drug-checking product carve-out), SB 935 (city charter clarifications), SB 945 (campaign finance appeals process), SB 950 (judicial retirement system change for judges), SB 956 (Central Criminal Records Exchange reporting change), SB 986 (assault on sports officials), SB 999 (Court of Appeals procedure changes), SB 1010 (subpoena duces tecum procedures), SB 1106 (Virginia National Guard tuition assistance adjustments), SB 1158 (eminent domain procedures), SB 1174 (referendum materials at polling places), SB 1206 (Danville charter), SB 1272 (unmanned aircraft system trespass/penalties), and others that were read as part of the uncontested block. For most of those bills the clerk and sponsors moved committee substitutes or committee amendments on the floor and the motions were agreed to; individual roll-call vote tallies were not recorded in the transcript for each item and are listed below as "vote not specified" where no tally was read during the excerpt.

- Select roll-call tallies called on the floor (examples recorded in transcript): SB 1474 (Senate Bill 14 74, six‑year financial plan alternative recession estimate requirement) — Ayes 97, Noes 0; SB 760 (absentee ballot receipt deadline change) — Ayes 54, Noes 43; SB 814 (conversion to single-member districts where required by court order, with clarifying floor amendment) — Ayes 51, Noes 46; SB 882 (licensure of anesthesiologist assistants) — Ayes 84, Noes 13; SB 1013/other bills included various roll-call totals as announced by the clerk in separate moments of the calendar.

What this means and what comes next

The adoption of the SB 1327 conference report puts new judgeships into the pipeline and signals near-term judicial appointments for the specified circuits; members also outlined a longer-term caseload review process to run through JLARC and Supreme Court assessment. The SB 13 18 floor substitute directs state health authorities to convene a targeted work group to resolve regulatory and operational questions about EMS access to controlled-substance registrations and handling; that study is time-limited and intended to produce recommendations before the substitute expires in mid-2027. The remainder of the day’s business advanced many technical and locality-charter bills on largely uncontested procedures.

The clerk and the House calendar indicate additional bills and committee reports remain on subsequent calendars and that conference reports (which supersede regular business) may return to the floor in upcoming days. Recorded votes and the full text of conference reports and floor substitutes are posted in IHOD and on the General Assembly website.