HB1139 • 2026

Medicine, Board of; membership, removal of residence requirements.

An Act to amend and reenact § 54.1-2911 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Board of Medicine; membership; removal of residence requirements.

Healthcare

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Downey
Last action: 2026-04-13
Official status: Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changes to Virginia's Board of Medicine Membership Rules

This act changes the membership requirements for Virginia's Board of Medicine by removing specific residence rules and setting a fixed number of physicians on the board.

What This Bill Does

Removes the requirement that each congressional district must have one physician member on the Board of Medicine.
Sets the total number of physician members to eleven, regardless of congressional districts.
Eliminates provisions related to changes in residence for physician board members.

Who It Names or Affects

Members of Virginia's Board of Medicine
Physicians who serve or wish to serve on the Board

Terms To Know

Board of Medicine: A group that oversees medical practices and licensing in Virginia.
Congressional district: An area within a state represented by an elected member of Congress.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how the new physician members will be chosen.
It is unclear what happens to existing board members who no longer meet the old residence requirements.

Bill History

2026-04-13 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 741 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-13 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0741)
2026-03-31 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-31 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1139)
2026-03-30 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-30 House
Enrolled
2026-03-30 House
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1139ER)
2026-03-02 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-02 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-02 Senate
Passed Senate (24-Y 16-N 0-A)
2026-02-27 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-02-27 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-02-27 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-27 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-02-26 Education and Health
Reported from Education and Health (10-Y 5-N)
2026-02-20 Health Professions
Assigned Education sub: Health Professions
2026-02-10 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
2026-02-10 Education and Health
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
2026-02-09 House
Read third time and passed House (63-Y 35-N 0-A)
2026-02-06 House
Read second time and engrossed
2026-02-05 House
Read first time
2026-02-03 Health and Human Services
Reported from Health and Human Services (21-Y 1-N)
2026-01-29 Health Professions
Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 1-N)
2026-01-23 Health Professions
Assigned sub: Health Professions
2026-01-16 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1139)
2026-01-14 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103443D
2026-01-14 Health and Human Services
Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services

Official Summary Text

Board of Medicine; membership; removal of residence requirements.
Removes the requirement that the Board of Medicine have one physician from each congressional district and instead requires that 11 physicians be on the Board. The bill removes references to change of residence provisions for physician Board members.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend and reenact §
54.1-2911
of the Code of Virginia, relating to Board of Medicine; membership; removal of residence requirements.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
54.1-2911
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
54.1-2911
. Board; membership; terms of office; executive director; etc.
The Board of Medicine shall consist of
one
11
medical
physician from each congressional district
physicians
, one osteopathic physician, one podiatrist, one chiropractor, and four citizen members.
No two citizen members shall reside in the same congressional district.
Citizen members shall have all voting and participation rights of other members. The term of office of the members of the Board shall be four years.
If any medical physician member of the Board ceases to reside in the district from which he was appointed, except by reason of redistricting, his office shall be deemed vacant.
The officers of the Board shall be a president, vice-president and a secretary, who shall also act as treasurer, who shall be members of and selected by the Board.
Regular meetings of the Board shall be held at such times and places as prescribed by the Board. Special meetings may be held upon the call of the president and any 11 members. Twelve members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
The Board may establish an executive committee composed of the president, vice-president, the secretary and five other members of the Board appointed by the president. The executive committee shall include at least two citizen members. In the absence of the Board, the executive committee shall have full powers to take any action and conduct any business authorized by this chapter. Five members of the executive committee shall constitute a quorum. Any actions or business conducted by the executive committee shall be acted upon by the full Board as soon as practicable.
There shall be an executive director for the Board of Medicine who shall be licensed or eligible for licensure in the Commonwealth as a physician or as an attorney.