                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF HEALTH REGULATORY BOARDS (§ 54.1-2400)

The general powers and duties of health regulatory boards shall be:

1. To establish the qualifications for registration, certification, licensure,
permit, or the issuance of a multistate licensure privilege in accordance with
the applicable law that are necessary to ensure competence and integrity to
engage in the regulated professions.

2. To examine or cause to be examined applicants for certification, licensure,
or registration. Unless otherwise required by law, examinations shall be
administered in writing or shall be a demonstration of manual skills.

3. To register, certify, license, or issue a multistate licensure privilege to
qualified applicants as practitioners of the particular profession or
professions regulated by such board.

4. To establish schedules for renewals of registration, certification,
licensure, permit, and the issuance of a multistate licensure privilege.

5. To levy and collect fees for application processing, examination,
registration, certification, permitting, or licensure or the issuance of a
multistate licensure privilege and renewal that are sufficient to cover all
expenses for the administration and operation of the Department of Health
Professions and the health regulatory boards.

6. To promulgate regulations in accordance with the Administrative Process Act
(&#xA7; 2.2-4000 et seq.) that are reasonable and necessary to administer
effectively the regulatory system, which shall include provisions for the
satisfaction of board-required continuing education for individuals registered,
certified, licensed, or issued a multistate licensure privilege by a health
regulatory board through delivery of health care services, without compensation,
to low-income individuals receiving health services through a local health
department or a free clinic organized in whole or primarily for the delivery of
those health services. Such regulations shall not conflict with the purposes and
intent of this chapter or of Chapter 1 (&#xA7; 54.1-100 et seq.) and Chapter 25
(&#xA7; 54.1-2500 et seq.).

7. To revoke, suspend, restrict, or refuse to issue or renew a registration,
certificate, license, permit, or multistate licensure privilege that such board
has authority to issue for causes enumerated in applicable law and regulations.

8. To appoint designees from their membership or immediate staff to coordinate
with the Director and the Health Practitioners&#8217; Monitoring Program
Committee and to implement, as is necessary, the provisions of Chapter 25.1
(&#xA7; 54.1-2515 et seq.). Each health regulatory board shall appoint one such
designee.

9. To take appropriate disciplinary action for violations of applicable law and
regulations and to accept, in their discretion, the surrender of a license,
certificate, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege in lieu of
disciplinary action.

10. To appoint a special conference committee, composed of not less than two
members of a health regulatory board or, when required for special conference
committees of the Board of Medicine, not less than two members of the Board and
one member of the relevant advisory board, or, when required for special
conference committees of the Board of Nursing, not less than one member of the
Board and one member of the relevant advisory board, to act in accordance with
&#xA7; 2.2-4019 upon receipt of information that a practitioner or permit holder
of the appropriate board may be subject to disciplinary action or to consider an
application for a license, certification, registration, permit, or multistate
licensure privilege in nursing. The special conference committee may (i)
exonerate; (ii) reinstate; (iii) place the practitioner or permit holder on
probation with such terms as it may deem appropriate; (iv) reprimand; (v) modify
a previous order; (vi) impose a monetary penalty pursuant to &#xA7; 54.1-2401,
(vii) deny or grant an application for licensure, certification, registration,
permit, or multistate licensure privilege; and (viii) issue a restricted
license, certification, registration, permit, or multistate licensure privilege
subject to terms and conditions. The order of the special conference committee
shall become final 30 days after service of the order unless a written request
to the board for a hearing is received within such time. If service of the
decision to a party is accomplished by mail, three days shall be added to the
30-day period. Upon receiving a timely written request for a hearing, the board
or a panel of the board shall then proceed with a hearing as provided in &#xA7;
2.2-4020, and the action of the committee shall be vacated. This subdivision
shall not be construed to limit the authority of a board to delegate to an
appropriately qualified agency subordinate, as defined in &#xA7; 2.2-4001, the
authority to conduct informal fact-finding proceedings in accordance with &#xA7;
2.2-4019. The recommendation of such subordinate may be considered by a panel
consisting of at least five board members, or, if a quorum of the board is less
than five members, consisting of a quorum of the members, convened for the
purpose of issuing a case decision. Criteria for the appointment of an agency
subordinate shall be set forth in regulations adopted by the board.

11. To convene, at their discretion, a panel consisting of at least five board
members or, if a quorum of the board is less than five members, consisting of a
quorum of the members to conduct formal proceedings pursuant to &#xA7; 2.2-4020,
decide the case, and issue a final agency case decision. Any decision rendered
by majority vote of such panel shall have the same effect as if made by the full
board and shall be subject to court review in accordance with the Administrative
Process Act. No member who participates in an informal proceeding conducted in
accordance with &#xA7; 2.2-4019 shall serve on a panel conducting formal
proceedings pursuant to &#xA7; 2.2-4020 to consider the same matter.

12. To issue inactive licenses or certificates and promulgate regulations to
carry out such purpose. Such regulations shall include, but not be limited to,
the qualifications, renewal fees, and conditions for reactivation of licenses or
certificates.

13. To meet by telephone conference call to consider settlement proposals in
matters pending before special conference committees convened pursuant to this
section, or matters referred for formal proceedings pursuant to &#xA7; 2.2-4020
to a health regulatory board or a panel of the board or to consider
modifications of previously issued board orders when such considerations have
been requested by either of the parties.

14. To request and accept a confidential consent agreement, in lieu of
disciplinary action, from a certified, registered, or licensed practitioner; a
facility holding a license, certification, registration, or permit; or a person
holding a multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing. A confidential
consent agreement shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions of &#xA7;
54.1-2400.2 and shall not be disclosed by a practitioner or facility. A
confidential consent agreement shall include findings of fact and may include an
admission or a finding of a violation. A confidential consent agreement shall
not be considered either a notice or order of any health regulatory board, but
it may be considered by a board in future disciplinary proceedings. A
confidential consent agreement shall be entered into only in cases involving
minor misconduct where there is little or no injury to a patient or the public
and little likelihood of repetition by the practitioner or facility. A board
shall not enter into a confidential consent agreement if there is probable cause
to believe the practitioner or facility has (i) demonstrated gross negligence or
intentional misconduct in the care of patients or (ii) conducted his practice in
such a manner as to be a danger to the health and welfare of his patients or the
public. A certified, registered, or licensed practitioner, a facility holding a
license, certification, registration, or permit, or a person holding a
multistate licensure privilege to practice nursing who has entered into two
confidential consent agreements involving a standard of care violation within
the 10-year period immediately preceding a board&#8217;s receipt of the most
recent report or complaint being considered shall receive public discipline for
any subsequent violation within the 10-year period unless the board finds there
are sufficient facts and circumstances to rebut the presumption that the
disciplinary action be made public.

15. When a board has probable cause to believe a practitioner is unable to
practice with reasonable skill and safety to patients because of excessive use
of alcohol or drugs or physical or mental illness, the board, after preliminary
investigation by an informal fact-finding proceeding, may direct that the
practitioner submit to a mental or physical examination. Failure to submit to
the examination shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action. Any
practitioner affected by this subsection shall be afforded reasonable
opportunity to demonstrate that he is competent to practice with reasonable
skill and safety to patients. For the purposes of this subdivision,
&#8220;practitioner&#8221; shall include any person holding a multistate
licensure privilege to practice nursing.

16. To promulgate regulations establishing a licensure by endorsement pathway
for qualified applicants as practitioners of the particular profession or
professions regulated by such health regulatory board. Each such health
regulatory board&#8217;s initial adoption of regulations shall be exempt from
the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (&#xA7; 2.2-4000 et seq.),
except that the enacting health regulatory board shall provide an opportunity
for public comment on the regulations prior to adoption of such regulations.

HISTORY: 1988, c. 765; 1992, cc. 659, 890; 1997, cc. 439, 564; 1998, c. 469;
2002, cc. 455, 698; 2003, cc. 753, 762; 2004, cc. 49, 64; 2009, cc. 472, 534;
2010, c. 414; 2014, c. 426; 2016, c. 82; 2017, c. 423; 2023, c. 191; 2025, cc.
341, 553, 561.