2026 SESSION

SENATE SUBSTITUTE

26107252D

SENATE BILL NO. 308

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations

on February 5, 2026)

(Patron Prior to Substitute—Senator Pekarsky)

A BILL to direct the Department of Health to develop a strategic plan for opioid response to reduce rates of drug overdose and drug overdose deaths in the Commonwealth.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 1. That the Department of Health (the Department) shall develop a strategic plan for opioid response to reduce rates of drug overdose and drug overdose deaths in the Commonwealth. In developing such strategic plan, the Department shall (i) conduct an evaluation and needs assessment of existing opioid overdose prevention, intervention, and treatment efforts in the Commonwealth and (ii) collaborate with the Secretaries of Education, Health and Human Services, and Public Safety and Homeland Security, representatives of state agencies, and other appropriate stakeholders. The Department shall provide a report on the status of the strategic plan and implementation thereof to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committees on Appropriations and Health and Human Services, the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations, and the Joint Commission on Health Care by November 1, 2026, and annually thereafter.