---
type: "Bill"
title: "Handheld personal communications devices; holding devices while driving a motor vehicle, penalty."
description: "Holding handheld personal communications devices while driving a motor vehicle. Prohibits any person from holding a handheld personal communications device while driving a motor vehicle. Current law prohibits (i) the reading of any email or text message and manually entering letters or text in such a device as a means of communicating and (ii) holding a personal communications device while driving in a work zone. The bill expands the exemptions to include handheld personal communications devices that are being held and used (a) as an amateur radio or a citizens band radio or (b) for official Department of Transportation or traffic incident management services. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This bill incorporates SB 136 and SB 944 and is identical to HB 874."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "SB 160"
citation: "Virginia SB 160 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Scott A. Surovell"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 37
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2019-12-19"
last_action: "2020-03-31"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/29785fb1-0de7-46f5-b930-81cf8212e128"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+SB160"
source_hash: "f38784ae63df52086d46b38bd922154d94977893521ec498937b56d8a02b64ec"
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 160 (2020) — Handheld personal communications devices; holding devices while driving a motor vehicle, penalty.

Holding handheld personal communications devices while driving a motor vehicle. Prohibits any person from holding a handheld personal communications device while driving a motor vehicle. Current law prohibits (i) the reading of any email or text message and manually entering letters or text in such a device as a means of communicating and (ii) holding a personal communications device while driving in a work zone. The bill expands the exemptions to include handheld personal communications devices that are being held and used (a) as an amateur radio or a citizens band radio or (b) for official Department of Transportation or traffic incident management services. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. This bill incorporates SB 136 and SB 944 and is identical to HB 874.

## Version chain

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

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0543)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0543)
2. **Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB160ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB160ER)
3. **Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB160S1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB160S1)
4. **Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB160S1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB160)
5. **Impact statement from DPB (SB160H1)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB160H1)

## Votes

- Reported from Transportation with substitute (12-Y 3-N) — **12–3** (pass) · upper
- Read third time and passed Senate (33-Y 7-N) — **33–7** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Passage (69-Y 29-N) — **68–29** (pass) · lower
- House substitute agreed to by Senate (32-Y 8-N) — **32–8** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 1-N) — **7–1** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Transportation with substitute (18-Y 4-N) — **18–4** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Scott A. Surovell — primary (person)
- Adam P. Ebbin — cosponsor (person)
- Barbara A. Favola — cosponsor (person)
- David W. Marsden — cosponsor (person)
- George L. Barker — cosponsor (person)
- Ghazala F. Hashmi — cosponsor (person)
- J. Chapman Petersen — cosponsor (person)
- Janet D. Howell — cosponsor (person)
- Jennifer B. Boysko — cosponsor (person)
- Jennifer L. McClellan — cosponsor (person)
- Jeremy S. McPike — cosponsor (person)
- John A. Cosgrove, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- John J. Bell — cosponsor (person)
- John S. Edwards — cosponsor (person)
- Joseph D. Morrissey — cosponsor (person)
- Kaye Kory — cosponsor (person)
- L. Louise Lucas — cosponsor (person)
- Lionell Spruill, Sr. — cosponsor (person)
- Lynwood W. Lewis, Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- Mamie E. Locke — cosponsor (person)
- R. Creigh Deeds — cosponsor (person)
- Richard H. Stuart — cosponsor (person)
- Richard L. Saslaw — cosponsor (person)
- T. Montgomery "Monty" Mason — cosponsor (person)
- William M. Stanley, Jr. — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2019-12-19** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20100741D `introduction`
- **2019-12-19** Referred to Committee on Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-23** Reported from Transportation with substitute (12-Y 3-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-23** Incorporates SB136 (Stuart)
- **2020-01-23** Incorporates SB944 (Saslaw)
- **2020-01-23** Committee substitute printed 20106310D-S1 `substitution`
- **2020-01-27** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-28** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2020-01-28** Reading of substitute waived
- **2020-01-28** Committee substitute agreed to 20106310D-S1
- **2020-01-28** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB160S1
- **2020-01-29** Read third time and passed Senate (33-Y 7-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-02-03** Placed on Calendar
- **2020-02-03** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-02-03** Referred to Committee on Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-11** Assigned Transportation sub: Motor Vehicles `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-17** Impact statement from DPB (SB160S1)
- **2020-02-17** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 1-N)
- **2020-02-20** House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2020-02-20** Reported from Transportation with substitute (18-Y 4-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-20** Committee substitute printed 20108445D-H1 `substitution`
- **2020-02-21** Impact statement from DPB (SB160H1)
- **2020-02-24** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2020-02-25** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-25** Committee substitute agreed to 20108445D-H1
- **2020-02-25** Engrossed by House - committee substitute SB160H1
- **2020-02-25** Passed House with substitute (69-Y 29-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-25** VOTE: Passage (69-Y 29-N)
- **2020-02-26** House substitute agreed to by Senate (32-Y 8-N)
- **2020-02-26** Title replaced 20108445D-H1
- **2020-03-03** Enrolled
- **2020-03-03** Impact statement from DPB (SB160ER)
- **2020-03-03** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-03-04** Signed by President
- **2020-03-12** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 12, 2020
- **2020-03-12** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
- **2020-03-31** Approved by Governor-Chapter 543 (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/29785fb1-0de7-46f5-b930-81cf8212e128`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).