Delegate Oates introduced HB 2698, asking the subcommittee to create an exception to the Certificate of Public Need (COPN) process to enable the establishment of women’s hospital centers in communities with limited access to maternal care. The sponsor told the panel her community has instances where travel to care can take 45 minutes or longer and cited local first‑responder data: “This has occurred, over 23 times in within, 2024 in just Warren County alone.”

Brent Rawlings of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association testified in the room with reservations. He reminded the committee that 2020 legislation removed obstetric services from COPN and moved those services to a registration process; he said an inpatient hospital would still need a COPN and that an inpatient maternity hospital would likely have to offer emergency services, which raises regulatory and oversight implications.

Jennifer Huberman of the Virginia Society for Human Life spoke in support. The sponsor reiterated the bill’s purpose “to find some sort of solution for the women in our state” and pressed the committee to work toward a compromise.

After testimony, a motion to report was not seconded; the subcommittee instead voted to lay the bill on the table by a recorded vote of 7 to 0. Committee members who opposed immediate advancement cited regulatory overlap, the cost of COPN applications, and concerns that creating a COPN exception could have unintended regulatory consequences; proponents emphasized access issues in rural areas.