Social Services Subcommittee

Thursday, February 26, 2026·1h 3m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Social Services Subcommittee advanced four bills to the full House while carrying over two others to 2027, with the most contentious debate centering on a gluten-disclosure supplement bill that was shelved after an industry representative identified two direct conflicts with existing federal law, and a registration bill for unlicensed adult residential care homes that drew competing concerns about false perceptions of oversight versus the danger of continued inaction.

Key Actions

·SB 486 – Supplement/Drug Inactive Ingredient Disclosure (Gluten)No Vote

+ 4 more actions

Controversies

SB 486 – Whether state-level labeling requirements are appropriate given federal uniformity

Scott Johnson argued that no other state has set up a reporting or labeling requirement because uniform federal law is the appropriate mechanism, stating 'No other state has set up a reporting or labeling requirement. Everybody has a federal law because you want it consistent.' Senator Stuart maintained that the bill is needed because the problem is real and not being addressed in practice, stating 'There's got to be a way for people to know whether or not there's something in a product that will make them sick.'

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“Federal law today says if wheat is in a product, a supplement or drug, it has to be listed on the label. FDA is currently looking at regulations to say whether oats and barley ought to be on there because that can cause a gluten allergy as well. The situation that Senator Stewart's constituent I think faced is a situation of compliance. It sound like somebody did not comply with federal law as it exists today.”
Scott Johnson, Consumer Health Products Association — Johnson testified in opposition to SB 486, which would require disclosure of inactive ingredients including gluten in supplements, arguing the bill addresses a compliance failure rather than a gap in existing federal law.

+ 4 more quotes

Votes

Carry SB 486 over to 2027 and ask Chairman Willett to write a letter to VDACSPassed

Report SB 409Passed

Adopt line amendment to SB 73Passed

Report SB 73 as amended and refer to AppropriationsPassed

Carry SB 210 over to 2027 with a letterPassed

Report SB 556 and refer to AppropriationsPassed

Report SB 564 and refer to AppropriationsPassed

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TranscriptPreview

We are going to call our social services subcommittee to order, and we will go ahead and take roll. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Please make your presence known and delegate. Okay. And so we have a quorum. All right. We will ask Senator Stewart to come on up. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the committee. Senate Bill 486 is a bill that would require disclosure in supplements in Virginia of inactive ingredients, including gluten. And if I may just tell you the. The story. And then I believe that my constituent is online and would like to testify. Yes, there's somebody on video. I had a constituent back at home who has celiac disease, and it's pretty serious when it comes to wheat gluten. She then developed cancer, and in the course of the cancer treatments discovered that some of the treatments contained gluten but were not disclosed. And even the her physicians didn't know it. And so it brought that to our attention. I'm not sure why. You all know that there are a lot of people who have weed allergies, but celiac goes far beyond that, much like peanuts can give you…

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