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Health Professions Subcommittee

Thursday, January 29, 2026·1h 43m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Health Professions Subcommittee advanced eleven bills and tabled one, covering nursing home oversight, bias reduction training for medical professionals, death certificate delays, radiologic technologist licensure, and healthcare workforce shortages. The most contentious debate erupted over HB 1147 on bias reduction training, where Delegate Griffin called the bill 'divisive' and 'crazy' before the chair sharply rebuked him from the dais.

Key Actions

·HB 1147 – Bias Reduction Training for Physicians and NursesPassed

+ 10 more actions

Controversies

HB 1147 – Bias reduction training; whether the bill is divisive or necessary

Delegate Griffin called the bill 'one of those, solutions in search of a problem,' described it as 'divisive,' and stated it is 'crazy that politicians would lecture our doctors and nurses on morality and racism.' The chair responded directly: 'This bill is not crazy. This bill is not divisive. This bill is in response to the division of being judged by race,' and stated 'it is ignorant if you cannot read a 2016 report from University of Virginia where actual doctors trained, board certified doctors, believe that black people experience pain differently.' Delegate Tran added that she 'cannot let the conversation end without noting' that the situations described 'are things that are in the control of those that are operating' facilities and stated 'I don't think anybody's trying to take a moral high ground.'

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“There's no way that a 15 year old girl who was crying and screaming, screaming in pain, would have been sent home to pass away 24 hours later if she'd come from a different background. And that is a hard reality for me to accept, even after years of hearing from the sickle cell community about the treatment and the lack of knowledge.”

Candy Munden King [Madam Secretary — Testifying in favor of HB 1147, which requires bias reduction continuing education for physicians and nurses, she described the death of her 15-year-old daughter who had sickle cell disease.

+ 2 more quotes

Votes

Report HB 1147 with substitute (bias reduction training)Passed
Report HB 1116 with substitute and refer to Appropriations (nursing home transparency portals)Passed
Report HB 156 with substitute and refer to Appropriations (death certificates)Passed
Report HB 841 with amendments (athletic trainers; dry needling)Passed
Report HB 815 (nursing workforce center; scholarship administration)Passed
Report HB 1139 (Board of Medicine; congressional district representation)Passed
Report HB 452 (radiologic technology licensure exceptions)Passed
Lay HB 782 on the table (healthcare practitioner communication; caller ID)Failed
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TranscriptPreview
Subcommittee, if the clerk will please open the rolls and members cast your vote for attendance. Ana quorum is present. All right, we are going to start first with Delegate Cohen, and that is House Bill 465. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. I sure appreciate you getting me to my next committee for my bills may not fare quite as well. So good morning, everybody. Thank you so much for the opportunity to present. First, we're starting with 460 in consultation with VDHP. House Bill 465 is a technical bill that revises the composition of the current advisory board on behavior analysis. Under current law, the composition of the advisory board requires two licensed behavior analysts who've practiced for at least three years and one licensed assistant behavior analyst who's practiced for at least three years. HB 47465 changes the language to three members to who are either licensed behavior analysts or licensed assistant behavior analysts who have practiced for at least three years. This is very much in line with a lot of the bills that you've been seeing this session of boards that struggle to keep membership. So not only does this help the board stay full,…
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