TITLE 12. HEALTH
STATE BOARD OF HEALTH
Initial Agency Notice
Title of Regulation: 12VAC5. None specified.
Statutory Authority: §§ 32.1-2 and 32.1-12 of the Code of Virginia.
Names of Petitioners: Réka György, Lily Mullens, Carter Satterfield.
Nature of Petitioner's Request:
Pursuant to § 2.2-4007 of the Code of Virginia, the petitioners, who are all female athletes in Virginia who have been directly harmed by males competing in female collegiate sports, formally request that the State Board of Health add or amend regulations within 12VAC5 to prevent biological males from participating in organized female-only athletic teams and competitions in Virginia and to prevent biological males from using designated female spaces where females are likely to be in any state of undress. The public health of Virginians, particularly of women and girls, demands that the Virginia Department of Health take action to prevent further harm, both physical and psychological, from males claiming or pretending to be females and gaining access to female-only athletic competitions and private spaces. The State Board of Health has authority to promulgate such regulations pursuant to §§ 32.1-2 and 32.1-12 of the Code of Virginia. Specifically:
"§ 32.1-2. Finding and purpose.
The General Assembly finds that the protection, improvement and preservation of the public health…are essential to the general welfare of the citizens of the Commonwealth. For this reason, the State Board of Health…shall administer and provide a comprehensive program of preventive…health services, … and abate hazards and nuisances to the health…, both emergency and otherwise, thereby improving the quality of life in the Commonwealth.
This comprehensive program of preventive…health services shall include prevention…focused on women's health, including, but not limited to…conditions unique to or more prevalent among women."; and
"§ 32.1-12. Regulations, variances and exemptions.
The Board may make, adopt, promulgate and enforce such regulations…as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this title and other laws of the Commonwealth administered by it, the Commissioner or the Department."
Agency Plan for Disposition of Request: The petition for rulemaking will be published in the Virginia Register of Regulations on May 5, 2025. The petition will also be published on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall at www.townhall.virginia.gov to receive public comment, which opens May 5, 2025, and closes May 26, 2025. Following receipt of public comment and within 90 days of the end of the public comment period, the board will issue a written decision to grant or deny the petition.
Public Comment Deadline: May 26, 2025.
Agency Contact: Joe Hilbert, Director of Governmental and Regulatory Affairs, Virginia Department of Health, 109 Governor Street, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 864-7006, or email joe.hilbert@vdh.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. PFR25-432; Filed April 10, 2025, 5:00 p.m.