House Labor and Commerce committee advances dozens of bills; energy, health and insurance measures move forward

The Virginia House Committee on Labor and Commerce met Jan. 21 and voted on a large slate of bills covering health insurance requirements, utility regulation, renewable energy programs and consumer protections. Most measures were reported to the full House or referred to the Appropriations Committee; a handful failed or were stricken from the docket.

Why it matters: The committee’s actions send multiple policy changes into further consideration by the full House or, in several cases, to the Appropriations Committee for fiscal review. Items that advanced affect insurance coverage for diagnostic exams and midwifery services, emergency provisions for prior authorization, wildfire funding, renewable energy procurement and local electric-vehicle charging incentives.

Votes at a glance (bill — short description — committee action/outcome — vote): - HB 1828 — Prohibits cost sharing for diagnostic breast examinations, as amended and incorporating HB 2133 — Reported to Appropriations with substitute; reported out of full committee (measure passed) — final recorded passage in committee: passed (22 yes, roll closed). - HB 1923 — Requires parity in coverage for licensed certified midwives and licensed midwives; substitute clarifies reimbursement parity — Reported and referred to Appropriations; final committee vote: passed 21–0. - HB 1956 — At the patron's request the bill was stricken from the docket — Stricken from docket; recorded vote 20–0 to strike. - HB 269 — (listed as 02/69 in committee) Increases certain insurance company assessment from 1% to 1.5% and establishes the Virginia at-risk fire grant program funded by part of the assessment — Reported with substitute and referred to Appropriations — full committee vote: passed 17–3. - HB 2073 — Prohibits certain financial institutions from denying services based on political opinion or affiliations — Motion to pass by indefinitely carried in committee (bill effectively defeated) by voice vote following subcommittee recommendation to pass by indefinitely (subcommittee 4–3). Outcome recorded in committee as passed by indefinitely (defeated). - HB 2083 — Requires a Virginia Health Benefits Exchange special enrollment period for pregnancy (effective Jan. 1, 2026) — Reported with substitute — committee passage 21–0. - HB 2097 — Updates mandated prostate cancer screening coverage to reflect American Cancer Society guidance — Reported with substitute — committee passage 21–0. - HB 2099 — Establishes prior-authorization process timelines (expedited 72 hours, standard 7 days) and allows carriers to remove prior authorization during pandemics/emergencies — Reported with substitute — committee passage 21–0. - HB 1725 — Medical Debt Protection Act (creates prohibitions on interest/late fees, limits certain extraordinary collection actions, ties violations to the Virginia Consumer Protection Act) — Subcommittee adopted a substitute and the committee reported the bill with substitute to the next stage; committee vote: reported out 12–9. - HB 2003 — Requires incumbent electric utilities and suppliers to disclose regional transmission entity recorded votes and explanations — Reported out of subcommittee but failed in committee on final vote (9–11). - HB 2084 — Directs the State Corporation Commission to review customer classifications and consider data center classifications (substitute narrowed scope and left final determinations to the SCC) — Reported with substitute — committee passage 14–6. - HB 1791 — Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and fund; grants may cover up to 70% of a private developer's non‑utility costs for public chargers on eligible public land; expires July 1, 2030 — Reported with substitute and referred to Appropriations — committee passage 11–9. - HB 1821 — Modifies accelerated renewable energy buyer procurement to implement JLARC recommendation tied to data-center study — Reported with substitute — committee passage 11–9. - HB 1822 — Requires use or consideration of advanced conductors for certain transmission lines and authorizes SCC prudency review — Reported with substitute — committee passage 20–0. - HB 1883 — Amends renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requirements for Dominion Energy Virginia, including behind-the-meter resources and pilot PPA thresholds — Reported with substitute — committee passage 20–0. - HB 1934 — If low-income qualifying projects are unavailable, allows projects located on or adjacent to public elementary/secondary schools to satisfy part of RPS targets — Reported and referred to Appropriations — committee passage 15–5. - HB 1999 — Recommended to be stricken by subcommittee and stricken from the committee docket — recorded as stricken 19–0. - HB 2090 — Modifies the multi-family shared solar program (substitute narrows proximity from 25 miles to facilities sharing or adjacent to a common substation; clarifies minimum-bill calculation and SCC review factors) — Reported with substitute — committee passage 11–9. - HB 2136 — Creates an Office of the Public Utility Ombudsman within the SCC to protect residential customers (substitute narrows coverage to certain co-ops and non-jurisdictional customers) — Reported with substitute and referred to Appropriations — committee passage 11–9.

Details and notable clarifications: Several bills were reported with substitutes that narrowed original language after stakeholder discussions. For example, the Medical Debt Protection substitute removed a hard payment-plan requirement because of potential conflicts with existing law, instead prohibiting interest and late fees and barring certain “extraordinary collection actions” (arrest, forced sale of a primary residence, wage garnishment) while retaining flexibility for providers and collectors. The EV rural infrastructure substitute added a population‑density threshold to target grants to lower-density communities and set program administration rules for the Department of Energy. The multi-family shared solar substitute narrowed an initial 25‑mile proximity allowance to facilities that share a substation or are adjacent to a substation, and added SCC factors and enactment timing for establishing a minimum bill.

What did not change in committee: Several technical or noncontroversial bills (for example, HB 2097 and HB 2099 on clinical coverage and prior authorization timelines) passed unanimously in committee. One high‑profile utilities disclosure bill (HB 2003) failed in committee after debate.

Next steps: Bills reported to Appropriations will undergo fiscal review; others reported to the full House may be scheduled for floor consideration. Where substitutes were adopted, committee members were reminded to review substitute text before the next committee hearing.