Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Overdose Testing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Subcommittee advances 'Malcolm's Law' to require fentanyl in ER urine drug screens
Summary
House Bill 27-42, known as "Malcolm's Law," would add fentanyl testing to standard urine drug screens in hospital emergency departments; the subcommittee voted 5-0 to report the bill.
House Bill 27-42, known in the House as "Malcolm's Law," was reported favorably out of the Senate Health Subcommittee on a 5-0 vote after testimony from the bill's patron and hospital representatives.
The bill would add fentanyl to the standard urine drug screen panel used when clinicians order a urine drug screen for patients presenting with suspected overdose symptoms; it includes a delayed enactment date of Jan. 1, 2026, and applies only to hospitals that operate an emergency department.
Supporters said the change would give clinicians faster, actionable information when patients arrive at emergency departments. "When my son Malcolm admitted to us that he had ingested a pill ... the emergency room did a drug screen, but it did not test for fentanyl," Delegate Gabriel Shin said, reading a statement from a family affected by overdose. "I will never know if the emergency room would have kept him longer had they known he had ingested fentanyl." Delegate Shin asked the committee to look favorably on the bill.
Representatives of hospitals also told the subcommittee they support the measure. "We do support the bill," Julie (hospital staff) said, adding that fentanyl testing can be incorporated into normal drug panels and is not a burden on hospitals. A representative of the Virginia Health and Hospital Association noted fentanyl deaths in Virginia and said testing can be preventive when survivors learn their sample contained fentanyl.
The subcommittee adopted the bill and reported it to the full committee. The roll call recorded five yeas and no nays.
The bill’s backers said the change is narrowly targeted — it only requires fentanyl testing when a urine drug screen is ordered — and is intended to improve clinical decision-making and post-visit follow-up. The Jan. 1, 2026 effective date is intended to give hospitals time to implement testing protocols and reagents.
The measure now moves to the full Education and Health Committee for consideration.
