Virginia House Bill HB1287

Virginia 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/14/26
• Refer: 1/14/26
• Report Pass: 2/3/26
• Engrossed: 2/6/26
• Refer: 2/10/26
• Report Pass: 3/5/26
• Enrolled: 3/14/26
• Chaptered: 4/13/26
• Passed: 4/13/26

Caption

An Act to direct the Board of Veterinary Medicine to amend its licensure application for veterinarians to include an option for veterinarians to indicate interest in serving as a veterinarian for animal shelters and to maintain a list of veterinarians who indicate such interest.

Summary

HB1287 directs the Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine to revise its licensure and renewal applications so veterinarians can voluntarily indicate whether they are interested in serving private or public animal shelters. If a veterinarian opts in, the application must disclose that the Board will share the veterinarian’s name and contact information with the State Veterinarian on a quarterly basis for distribution to shelters. The bill also requires the Board to maintain and forward a quarterly list of active-license veterinarians who have expressed this interest. The measure is administrative in nature and does not create a new licensing category or mandate service; it establishes a referral mechanism intended to help animal shelters identify available veterinary professionals.

Impact

HB1287 amends the licensure process administered by the Board of Veterinary Medicine and creates a new data-sharing workflow between the Board and the State Veterinarian. It affects veterinarians who apply for or renew licensure by adding an opt-in disclosure, and it affects animal shelters by improving access to a list of veterinarians willing to serve them. The bill does not change substantive veterinary practice standards, but it does require the Board to collect, maintain, and transmit contact information for active-license veterinarians who consent to be included.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It advanced through subcommittee, committee, and floor votes in both chambers without any recorded opposition, passing the House and Senate unanimously or by voice/block vote margins reflected as 0 nays. The legislative history suggests general agreement that the measure is a practical administrative tool to help connect shelters with veterinarians.

Contention

No significant opposition is reflected in the available record. The only potentially sensitive issue is the privacy and consent aspect of sharing veterinarians’ contact information, but the bill addresses that by making participation voluntary and by requiring disclosure on the application. Any discussion likely centered on implementation details and the usefulness of creating a statewide referral list rather than on the policy itself.