Senate Joint Resolution 10 (SJR 10), passed during the 2022 legislative session, established the Joint Subcommittee to Study Pandemic Response and Preparedness in the Commonwealth (the Joint Subcommittee). The Joint Subcommittee was tasked with examining existing laws in the Commonwealth and developing recommendations regarding the pandemic response and future needs of the Governor, the General Assembly, local governments, public and private health care systems and other facilities and providers, health districts, the judicial system, K-12 and higher education systems, and the business regulatory system. SJR 10 also provided for approximately $300,000 to pay for consulting services and initially required the Joint Subcommittee to complete its work by September 1, 2023. To better carry out its charge, the Joint Subcommittee organized itself into the following subject matter subcommittees:

Subcommittee #1 Government and Regulatory Systems

1) Scope of the Governor's power
2) General Assembly and local governments
3) Judicial system
4) Meeting rules: Freedom of Information Act; common interest communities; corporate entities; and the business regulatory system

Subcommittee #2 Health Care Systems and Emergency Management

1) Public and private health care systems
2) Emergency management and public health care systems

Subcommittee #3 Education

K-12 and higher education systems and the need to develop future emergency plans to facilitate better responsiveness.

On January 12, 2024, the Joint Subcommittee contracted with Tidal Basin Government Consulting, LLC (Tidal Basin) to deliver an After Action Report (AAR). Between January and September 2024, Tidal Basin developed the AAR, which included reviewing 250 documents and 429 survey responses from individuals who were engaged in the Commonwealth's responses to the pandemic between 2020 and 2023 and conducting 47 interviews with individuals representing 19 state agencies and partner organizations. In addition, as a component of the study, a public survey was posted on the Joint Subcommittee's website between August 5, 2024, and September 30, 2024, allowing the community to share comments and questions with the Joint Subcommittee related to the Commonwealth's response to the pandemic. A total of 432 responses were received, representing all regions of the Commonwealth.

On September 30, 2025, Tidal Basin submitted the initial AAR to the Joint Subcommittee. The report organized its observations into 12 focus areas generated from data collected relating to the Commonwealth's response to the pandemic through document analysis, surveys, and interviews. The focus areas are as follows:

1. Business Continuity and Continuity of Operations
2. Communications
3. Education
4. Financial Management
5. Judicial/Policy/Regulatory
6. Logistics
7. Operations
8. Planning
9. Public Health/Local Health Districts
10. Public-Private Partnerships
11. Technology
12. Volunteer and Donations Coordination

From the observations, Tidal Basin developed a total of 58 recommendations. The observations and the attendant recommendations were assigned to each of the subject matter subcommittees for review. Prior to that review, staff of the Division of Legislative Services developed a range of policy options for each recommendation for the subcommittees to consider. The three subcommittees met during October 2024 to determine which recommendations to present to the full Joint Subcommittee for approval.

Subcommittee #1 Government and Regulatory Systems

A total of 21 recommendations and 35 policy options were assigned to this subcommittee. Upon review of the recommendations and policy options, the subcommittee voted to recommend six legislative actions, four requests to state agencies to perform additional review, and one budget amendment.

Subcommittee #2 Health Care Systems and Emergency Management

This subcommittee was assigned a total of 31 recommendations and 91 policy options. Upon review of the recommendations and policy options, the subcommittee voted to recommend six legislative actions, one request to a state agency to perform additional review, two budget amendments, and 19 best practice recommendations.

Subcommittee #3 Education

This subcommittee was assigned a total of six recommendations and 13 policy options. Upon review of the recommendations and policy options, the subcommittee voted to recommend four legislative actions and one budget amendment.

Conclusion

The Joint Subcommittee met on January 6, 2025, to receive the recommendations from each of the subcommittees. Members voted unanimously to adopt each subcommittee's range of action items. After establishing the final package of recommendations for legislation, additional study, and budget amendments, the Joint Subcommittee concluded its work.