HB231 • 2026

Autism Advisory Council; name change, membership, staffing, powers and duties.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 30-329.1 and 30-329.2 of the Code of Virginia, to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 50.1 of Title 30 a section numbered 30-329.5, and to repeal § 30-329.4 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Autism Advisory Council; name change; membership; staffing; powers and duties.</p>

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Cohen
Last action: 2026-03-14
Official status: Failed
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill failed to pass from conference, but it is unclear if this affects the summary or what changes might be made in future versions.

Autism Advisory Council Changes

This bill changes the Autism Advisory Council to become the Autism Commission, extends its existence indefinitely, updates membership rules, and provides staff support.

What This Bill Does

Changes the name of the Autism Advisory Council to the Autism Commission.
Makes the Autism Commission a permanent part of state government without an expiration date.
Updates how members are chosen for the new Autism Commission.
Provides staff support from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

Who It Names or Affects

People with autism spectrum disorders in Virginia
Government agencies involved in providing services for people with autism
Members of the new Autism Commission

Terms To Know

Autism Spectrum Disorders: A range of conditions related to brain development that affect social skills, communication, and behavior.
Executive Director: The top staff person who manages the day-to-day operations of an organization or agency.

Limits and Unknowns

It is unclear how much funding will be provided for staffing and operations of the new Autism Commission.
The exact details of future reports by the Commission are not specified.

Bill History

2026-03-14 House
No further action taken
2026-03-14 House
Failed to Pass from conference
2026-03-14 House
Failed to Pass from conference
2026-03-12 Senate
Senate requested conference committee
2026-03-12 Senate
Senate Conferees: Aird, Locke, McDougle
2026-03-12 Senate
Conferees appointed by Senate
2026-03-12 Senate
Senate insisted on substitute
2026-03-12 Senate
Senate insisted on substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-12 House
House acceded to request
2026-03-12 House
Conferees appointed by House
2026-03-12 House
House Conferees: Cohen, Tran, McLaughlin
2026-03-11 House
Senate substitute rejected by House (1-Y 98-N 0-A)
2026-03-10 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-10 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
2026-03-10 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
2026-03-10 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
2026-03-10 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
2026-03-10 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
2026-03-10 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
2026-03-10 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-10 Senate
Passed Senate with substitute
2026-03-10 Rules
Rules Substitute agreed to
2026-03-10 Senate
Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-09 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-03-09 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-03-09 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-09 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-03-06 Finance and Appropriations
Reported from Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
2026-03-02 Rules
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB231)
2026-02-27 Rules
Reported from Rules with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (14-Y 0-N)
2026-02-27 Rules
Committee substitute printed 26108863D-S1
2026-02-09 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
2026-02-09 Rules
Referred to Committee on Rules
2026-02-06 House
Read third time and passed House (93-Y 4-N 0-A)
2026-02-05 House
Read second time
2026-02-05 House
committee substitute agreed to
2026-02-05 House
Engrossed by House - committee substitute
2026-02-05 House
Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar
2026-02-04 House
Read first time
2026-02-02 Appropriations
Reported from Appropriations (22-Y 0-N)
2026-01-30 General Government and Capital Outlay
Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 0-N)
2026-01-28 Rules
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB231)
2026-01-27 General Government and Capital Outlay
Assigned HAPP sub: General Government and Capital Outlay
2026-01-27 Rules
Reported from Rules with substitute and referred to Appropriations (18-Y 0-N)
2026-01-27 Rules
Committee substitute printed 26105307D-H1
2026-01-23 Studies Subcommittee
House subcommittee offered
2026-01-23 Studies Subcommittee
Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to Appropriations (5-Y 0-N)
2026-01-22 Studies Subcommittee
Assigned HRUL sub: Studies Subcommittee
2026-01-13 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB231)
2026-01-08 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103423D
2026-01-08 Rules
Referred to Committee on Rules

Official Summary Text

Autism Advisory Council; name change; membership; staffing; powers and duties.
Provides for the Autism Advisory Council to be reconstituted as a permanent, independently staffed agency in the legislative branch of state government. Currently, the Autism Advisory Council is set to expire on July 1, 2027. The bill repeals the expiration date and renames the agency as the Autism Commission. The bill also modifies the membership of the Commission to more closely align with the membership makeup of other independently staffed legislative agencies and directs the Commission to appoint and employ an executive director and other staff to assist in carrying out the duties of the Commission.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HOUSE BILL NO. 231

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Rules

on February 27, 2026)

(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Cohen)

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 24 of Title 2.2 an article numbered 31, consisting of sections numbered
2.2-2499.9
through
2.2-2499.13
, and to repeal Chapter 50.1 (§§
30-329.1
through
30-329.4
) of Title 30 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Autism Advisory Council repealed; Autism Advisory Board established.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 24 of Title 2.2 an article numbered 31, consisting of sections numbered
2.2-2499.9
through
2.2-2499.13
, as follows:

Article 31.

Autism Advisory Board.

§
2.2-249
9.9
.
Autism
Advisory Board
; purpose
.

The
Autism
Advisory Board (the Board) is established as an advisory board, within the meaning of §
2.2-2100
, in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Board is to advise the Governor, cabinet members, and the General Assembly on strategies to
promote coordination of services and resources among agencies involved in the delivery of services to Virginians with autism spectrum disorders and to increase public awareness of such services and resources.

§
2.2-249
9
.10.
Membership; terms;
quorum; meetings;
compensation and expenses.

A. The Board shall
have a total membershi
p of 12 members that shall consist of six legislative members and

six
nonlegislative citizen members
. Members
shall be
appointed
as follows: three members of the Senate
,
to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; three members o
f
the House of
Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the
House of Delegates; and six nonlegislative citizen members
to be
appointed
by the Governor who represent or have experience with

persons with autism spectrum disorder
s
,
autism advocacy organizations, parents of children with autism, clinician
s
in the autism field,
or
representatives from autism programs at
public schools or
institution
s
of higher education
. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Board shall be
citizens
of the Commonwealth.

Legislative members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office.

B. Appointments to fill vacancies
, other than by expiration of a term,
shall be for the unexpired terms.
Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All members may be reappointed.
After the initial staggering of terms, nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of four years. No nonlegislative citizen member shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms; however, the remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility for reappointment.

C. The Board shall elect from its membership a chair and vice-chair. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. Meetings of the Board shall be limited to four per year and shall be held upon the call of the chair or whenever the majority of the members so request.

D.
Legislative members of the Board shall receive such compensation as provided in §
30-19.12
.
Nonlegislative citizen m
embers shall receive no compensation for their services but
all members
shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§
2.2-2813
and
2.2-2825
.

§
2.2-249
9
.
11.
Powers and duties;
report;
acceptance of gifts and grants.

A. The Board shall have the
following
power
s
and dut
ies
:

1. Advise the Governor on ways to improve
the coordination of services and resources among agencies involved in the delivery of services to Virginians with autism spectrum disorder
s
;

2. Undertake studies, symposiums, research, and factual reports to gather information to formulate and present recommendations to the Governor related to issues of concern and importance to
individuals
with autism spectrum disorders
in the Commonwealth;

3. Advise the Governor as needed regarding any statutory, regulatory, or other issues of importance to
individuals with autism spectrum disorders
in the Commonwealth;

4.
Determine services, resources, and policies that may further address the needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorders
; and

5. Report annually by December 1 to the Governor and the General Assembly on the activities of the
Board
and provide recommendations for improving state policies and programs
related to the

coordination of services and resources among agencies involved in the delivery of services to Virginians with autism spectrum disorders and to increase public awareness of such services and resources
. The chair of the Board shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Board no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as a report document as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted to the General Assembly's website.

B. The Board may apply for, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from public or private sources to enable it to carry out its objectives.

§
2.2-2499
.
12.
Staff; cooperation from other state agencies.

The Department of
Behavioral
Health and Developmental Services
shall provide staff support to the Board. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Board, upon request.

§
2.2-2499.13
. Sunset.

This article shall expire on July 1,
2029.

2. That Chapter 50.1 (§§
30-329.1
through
30-329.4
) of Title 30 of the Code of Virginia is repealed.

3. That the terms of persons currently serving as members of the Autism Advisory Council pursuant to Chapter 50.1 (§
30-329.1
et seq.) of Title 30 of the Code of Virginia, as repealed by this act, shall expire on July 1, 2026.

4. That the initial appointments of nonlegislative citizen members of the Autism Advisory Board, as created by this act, shall be staggered as follows: one member for a term of one year, two members for a term of two years, two members for a term of three years, and one member for a term of four years.