Virginia legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Virginia SB270: An Act to amend and reenact § 37.2-431.1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend and reenact the second enactment of Chapter 608 of the Acts of Assembly of 2025, relating to recovery residences; regulations.
Status: Chaptered, April 22, 2026
Recovery residences; regulations. Establishes certain requirements for recovery residences and directs the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Board) to promulgate regulations to establish minimum certification standards for recovery residences. The bill also requires that the regulations promulgated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department) related to the certification of recovery residences include provisions that no recovery residence, or operator, employee, or agent of a recovery residence, may require a resident to participate in medical or psychological services, including clinical substance use treatment, that such recovery residence receives financial benefit from, either directly or indirectly, as a condition of entering or continuing residence at such recovery residence. The bill requires the Department to monitor credentialing agencies providing credentials to recovery residences to ensure criteria related to certification comply with regulations and specifies that no such credentialing agency shall provide credentials to a recovery residence that is owned or operated by an individual who is employed by or in a position of authority at such credentialing agency, or an immediate family member of any such individual. The bill also requires that referrals to recovery residences made by the Department, any agency of the Commonwealth, or a court may only be made to recovery residences that are certified. This bill is identical to HB 931.
What the bill says
An Act to amend and reenact § 37.2-431.1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend and reenact the second enactment of Chapter 608 of the Acts of Assembly of 2025, relating to recovery residences; regulations. [S 270] Approved April 22, 2026 1. That § 37.2-431.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as penalty. A. As used in this section: "Credentialing entity" means a nonprofit organization that develops and administers professional certification programs according to standards of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences or standards endorsed by Oxford House, Inc. "Level of support.
From the enrolled text, April 22, 2026:
An Act to amend and reenact § 37.2-431.1 of the Code of Virginia and to amend and reenact the second enactment of Chapter 608 of the Acts of Assembly of 2025, relating to recovery residences; regulations. [S 270] Approved April 22, 2026 1. That § 37.2-431.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as penalty. A. As used in this section: "Credentialing entity" means a nonprofit organization that develops and administers professional certification programs according to standards of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences or standards endorsed by Oxford House, Inc. "Level of support" means the level of support and structure that a recovery residence provides to residents, as specified in the standards of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences. "Recovery residence" means a housing facility that provides alcohol-free and illicit-drug-free housing to individuals with substance [DELETED: abuse] use disorders and individuals with co-occurring mental illnesses and substance [DELETED: abuse] use disorders that does not include clinical treatment services. B. Every recovery residence shall disclose to each prospective resident its credentialing entity. If the credentialing entity is the National Alliance for Recovery Residences, the recovery residence shall disclose the level of support provided by the recovery residence. If the credentialing entity is Oxford House, Inc., the recovery residence shall disclose that the recovery residence is self-governed and unstaffed. …