In response to a resolution of the State Board of Health to the Virginia Code Commission, the 1979 General Assembly enacted House Joint Resolution 198, requesting the Code Commission to study and recodify Title 35 of the Code of Virginia. The State Board of Health noted that this title had not been revised in many years and that the State Health Commissioner was encountering increasing difficulty in enforcing the provisions of the title in a uniform and fair manner because of archaic language which was not compatible with current technology in the areas regulated by Title 35.

The title has been revised extensively insofar as format is concerned. Rather than devoting a single chapter to each area regulated by the title, the Code Commission has employed a format which would consolidate by chapter the Board's various responsibilities and powers. For example, Chapter 2 concerns regulations, and in that chapter may be found statutory provisions which deal with regulations governing the various subject areas of the title.

Of all the chapters, attention should first be drawn to Chapter 1, which contains the general provisions of the title. A familiarity with Chapter 1 is essential to interpreting subsequent chapters of the revised title. It contains all of the necessary definitions for the entire title; it speaks to the ability to enforce the title; and it contains several other provisions concerning compliance with other laws of the Commonwealth.