HB2649 amends Virginia’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) reporting rules for covered substances. The bill keeps the general requirement that dispensers report prescription-dispensing information to the Department of Health or its agent within 24 hours or by the next business day, but it updates the list of required data elements and clarifies how certain cannabis-product information is reported. It also preserves and reorganizes several exemptions from PMP reporting, including samples, emergency dispensing, administration, inpatient hospital and nursing facility dispensing, hospice dispensing, and certain veterinary dispensing.
A key substantive change is the addition of an explicit exemption for dispensing within an appropriately licensed narcotic maintenance treatment program, while also directing that any reporting from such programs must comply with applicable federal law and regulations. The bill also clarifies that when the ultimate user is an animal, the report is made using the animal owner’s information, except as otherwise provided for veterinary exemptions. The act takes effect July 1, 2026.
Impact
The bill amends and reenacts Code of Virginia §§ 54.1-2521 and 54.1-2522, changing the statutory reporting and exemption framework for the Prescription Monitoring Program. It expands and clarifies what dispensers must report, codifies an exemption for licensed narcotic maintenance treatment programs, and preserves existing exemptions for hospitals, hospices, veterinarians, and other specified settings. The practical effect is to reduce reporting obligations for certain treatment programs while maintaining PMP oversight for most dispensing activity and aligning program reporting with federal requirements.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It advanced unanimously through subcommittee, full committee, and both chambers, with no recorded dissenting votes in the available history. The vote pattern suggests general agreement that the reporting changes and added exemption were acceptable and likely viewed as a technical or administrative update rather than a major policy dispute.
Contention
No significant opposition is reflected in the available record. The only potentially sensitive policy issue is the new exemption for dispensing within licensed narcotic maintenance treatment programs, which could raise concerns about reduced visibility in prescription monitoring, but the bill addresses that by requiring compliance with applicable federal laws and regulations. Another minor point is the reorganization and renumbering of exemptions, which appears to be a clarifying rather than substantive change.
Controlled substances: other; sentencing guidelines for retail sale of products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine; modify. Amends sec. 13m, ch. XVII of 1927 PA 175 (MCL 777.13m). TIE BAR WITH: HB 4947'25