---
type: "Bill"
title: "Handheld personal communications devices; holding devices while driving a motor vehicle, penalty."
description: "Holding handheld personal communications devices whiledriving a motor vehicle. Prohibits any person from holding a handheldpersonal communications device while driving a motor vehicle. Current lawprohibits (i) the reading of any email or text message and manually enteringletters or text in such a device as a means of communicating and (ii) holding apersonal communications device while driving in a work zone. The bill expandsthe exemptions to include handheld personal communications devices that arebeing held and used (a) as an amateur radio or a citizens band radio or (b) forofficial Department of Transportation or traffic incident management services.The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This billincorporates HB 377, HB 387, HB 512, and HB 1672 and is identical to SB 160."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 874"
citation: "Virginia HB 874 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jeffrey M. Bourne"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 41
vote_count: 9
first_action: "2020-01-07"
last_action: "2020-03-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/eee6bc98-66fb-48d9-9674-470f76cc1f18"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB874"
source_hash: "f0c7f0d39c0dceef2ea195a22c0b5b44df8cea401d0a010bd83421b0526d3707"
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 HB 874 (2020) — Handheld personal communications devices; holding devices while driving a motor vehicle, penalty.

Holding handheld personal communications devices whiledriving a motor vehicle. Prohibits any person from holding a handheldpersonal communications device while driving a motor vehicle. Current lawprohibits (i) the reading of any email or text message and manually enteringletters or text in such a device as a means of communicating and (ii) holding apersonal communications device while driving in a work zone. The bill expandsthe exemptions to include handheld personal communications devices that arebeing held and used (a) as an amateur radio or a citizens band radio or (b) forofficial Department of Transportation or traffic incident management services.The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This billincorporates HB 377, HB 387, HB 512, and HB 1672 and is identical to SB 160.

## Version chain

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

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0250)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0250)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB874ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB874ER)
3. **Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB874H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB874H1)
4. **Impact statement from DPB (HB874)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB874)
5. **Impact statement from DPB (HB874S1)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB874S1)

## Votes

- VOTE: Adoption (71-Y 26-N) — **70–26** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate with substitute (30-Y 7-N) — **30–7** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Passage (72-Y 24-N) — **71–24** (pass) · lower
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 0-N) — **8–0** (pass) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate with substitute (29-Y 9-N) — **29–9** (pass) · upper
- Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (37-Y 0-N 1-A) — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Transportation with substitute (11-Y 4-N) — **11–4** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Transportation with substitute (19-Y 3-N) — **19–3** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Jeffrey M. Bourne — primary (person)
- Alex Q. Askew — cosponsor (person)
- David L. Bulova — cosponsor (person)
- Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- Jerrauld C. "Jay" Jones — cosponsor (person)
- Lamont Bagby — cosponsor (person)
- Paul E. Krizek — cosponsor (person)
- Rodney T. Willett — cosponsor (person)
- Scott Wyatt — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-01-07** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20101920D `introduction`
- **2020-01-07** Referred to Committee on Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-14** Impact statement from DPB (HB874)
- **2020-01-15** Assigned Transportation sub: Motor Vehicles `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-27** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-30** House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2020-01-30** Reported from Transportation with substitute (19-Y 3-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-30** Committee substitute printed 20106899D-H1 `substitution`
- **2020-01-30** Incorporates HB512 (Bulova)
- **2020-01-30** Incorporates HB387 (Edmunds)
- **2020-01-30** Incorporates HB1672 (Ware)
- **2020-01-30** Incorporates HB377 (Willett)
- **2020-02-03** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-02-04** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2020-02-04** Committee substitute agreed to 20106899D-H1
- **2020-02-04** Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB874H1
- **2020-02-05** Read third time and passed House (72-Y 24-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-02-05** VOTE: Passage (72-Y 24-N)
- **2020-02-06** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-02-06** Referred to Committee on Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-13** Reported from Transportation with substitute (11-Y 4-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-13** Committee substitute printed 20108193D-S1 `substitution`
- **2020-02-17** Impact statement from DPB (HB874S1)
- **2020-02-17** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-18** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-18** Reading of substitute waived
- **2020-02-18** Committee substitute agreed to 20108193D-S1
- **2020-02-18** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute HB874S1
- **2020-02-18** Passed Senate with substitute (30-Y 7-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-18** Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (37-Y 0-N 1-A)
- **2020-02-18** Passed Senate with substitute (29-Y 9-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-20** Placed on Calendar
- **2020-02-20** Senate substitute agreed to by House 20108193D-S1 (71-Y 26-N)
- **2020-02-20** VOTE: Adoption (71-Y 26-N)
- **2020-02-25** Enrolled
- **2020-02-25** Impact statement from DPB (HB874ER)
- **2020-02-25** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-02-26** Signed by President
- **2020-03-03** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 3, 2020
- **2020-03-03** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 10, 2020
- **2020-03-10** Approved by Governor-Chapter 250 (effective 1/1/21) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/eee6bc98-66fb-48d9-9674-470f76cc1f18`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).