2026 SESSION

HOUSE SUBSTITUTE

26105889D

HOUSE BILL NO. 674

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the House Committee on Health and Human Services

on February 12, 2026)

(Patron Prior to Substitute—Delegate Maldonado)

A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-23.6 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Department of Health; collection and publication of food insecurity information.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 32.1-23.6 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 32.1-23.6. Information and data related to social determinants of health; food security.

A. As used in this section:

"Demographic data" means data and information regarding the race, ethnicity, age, and gender of residents of the Commonwealth.

"Social determinants of health" means conditions that affect health risks and health outcomes, including health care access and quality, education access and quality, social and community context, economic stability, and neighborhood and built environment.

B. The Department shall (i) collect and analyze information regarding demographics and the social determinants of health and their impacts on health and health risks of residents of the Commonwealth and (ii) make such information and analyses available to the public on its website. Nothing in this section shall allow for the release of personal health information or any other confidential information.

C. The Department shall, as part of its participation in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, collect information on food insecurity using a validated tool. The Department shall publish such information it collects pursuant to this subsection publicly on its website.