---
type: "Bill"
title: "Hunting license; bear, deer, or turkey; electronic carry."
description: "Hunting license; bear, deer, or turkey; electronic carry."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2017"
identifier: "SB 968"
citation: "Virginia SB 968 (2017)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Computer Services and Uses", "Game", "Inland Fisheries and Boating", "Hunting Laws and Permits"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["A. Benton \"Ben\" Chafin"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 15
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2017-01-03"
last_action: "2017-03-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/bc40afdb-ae37-49d6-bf89-d75f0c214c83"
source_url: "http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+SB968"
source_hash: "5135ca6fd658ed9a6f331dc40b0bd95913a453ffd345836cc49291c4a2eed715"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia SB 968 (2017) — Hunting license; bear, deer, or turkey; electronic carry.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0363)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+CHAP0363)
2. **Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB968ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB968ER)
3. **Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17101294D** (committee substitute) — [source](http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+SB968)

## Votes

- Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources — **13–0** (pass) · legislature
- Constitutional reading dispensed — **39–0** (pass) · legislature
- Read third time and passed Senate — **40–0** (pass) · legislature
- Passed House BLOCK VOTE — **99–0** (pass) · legislature
- Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources — **22–0** (pass) · legislature

## Sponsors

- A. Benton "Ben" Chafin — primary (person)
- Jeremy S. McPike — cosponsor (person)
- Lynwood W. Lewis, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- T. Montgomery "Monty" Mason — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2017-01-03** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17101294D `introduction`
- **2017-01-03** Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2017-01-17** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2017-01-30** Placed on Calendar
- **2017-01-30** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2017-01-30** Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-16** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2017-02-17** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2017-02-17** Passed House BLOCK VOTE (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2017-02-22** Enrolled
- **2017-02-22** Signed by President
- **2017-02-22** Signed by Speaker
- **2017-02-23** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on 2/23/17
- **2017-02-23** Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, March 27, 2017
- **2017-03-13** Approved by Governor-Chapter 363 (effective 7/1/17) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/bc40afdb-ae37-49d6-bf89-d75f0c214c83`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).