An Act to amend and reenact § 19.2-389, as it shall become effective, of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 54.1-3707.2, relating to social work; licensure; criminal background check.
HB577 amends Virginia’s criminal history record information law to add a new social work licensure provision and to expand the circumstances under which criminal background information may be shared. The bill adds § 54.1-3707.2 to the Code of Virginia, creating a framework for the Board of Social Work to require or use criminal background checks in connection with licensure. It also amends § 19.2-389, the state’s criminal history dissemination statute, to align background-check access rules with that new licensure authority and other existing public-safety and employment-screening uses.
More broadly, the bill continues Virginia’s practice of limiting criminal history dissemination to specified agencies, employers, licensing bodies, and other authorized users. The text preserves existing restrictions and exceptions governing who may receive criminal history record information, including uses tied to criminal justice administration, statutory screening requirements, court orders, public welfare or safety determinations, and certain child welfare and transportation-related investigations.
The bill affects two areas of Virginia law: criminal records dissemination and social work licensure. By adding § 54.1-3707.2 and amending § 19.2-389, it gives the social work licensing system a clearer statutory basis for criminal background checks and integrates that process into the Commonwealth’s broader criminal history information framework. The practical effect is to authorize and regulate access to criminal history record information for licensure-related screening while keeping the information subject to the state’s confidentiality and use limitations.
The available record shows no committee transcript, vote breakdown, or recorded opposition, and the bill was enacted as Chapter 628. Based on that outcome, the overall sentiment appears to have been favorable or at least noncontroversial. The measure reads as a technical and public-safety-oriented update rather than a major policy change, which is consistent with its successful passage.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. If there was debate, it is not reflected in the available transcripts or votes. The most likely areas of concern would have been the scope of criminal background checks for social work licensure and the privacy implications of expanding access to criminal history records, but the bill text itself preserves the existing limits on dissemination and use.