---
type: "Bill"
title: "Suffocation by blocking or obstructing the airway of another; penalty."
description: "Suffocation by blocking or obstructing the airway of another; penalty."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 1156"
citation: "Virginia SB 1156 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Boysko"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 35
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2023-01-10"
last_action: "2023-03-27"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2378e69f-cb65-4e77-a108-702e01263433"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+SB1156"
source_hash: "38cfd738eec642bdd8d68ac504d5d877077ae223835d5bcbaac31fbd305b710a"
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 1156 (2023) — Suffocation by blocking or obstructing the airway of another; penalty.

## Version chain

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

1. **CHAP0710** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+CHAP0710)
2. **Committee substitute printed 23105372D-S1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB1156S1)
3. **Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23101406D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB1156)
4. **SB1156ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB1156ER)

## Votes

- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (99-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- Reported from Finance and Appropriations (16-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Reported from Judiciary with substitute (15-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Reported from Courts of Justice (19-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper

## Sponsors

- Boysko — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-01-10** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23101406D `filing, introduction`
- **2023-01-10** Referred to Committee on the Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-12** Impact statement from VCSC (SB1156)
- **2023-01-25** Senate committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2023-01-26** Impact statement from DPB (SB1156)
- **2023-01-30** Reported from Judiciary with substitute (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-30** Committee substitute printed 23105372D-S1 `substitution`
- **2023-01-30** Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-31** Impact statement from VCSC (SB1156S1)
- **2023-02-02** Reported from Finance and Appropriations (16-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-03** Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N)
- **2023-02-05** Impact statement from DPB (SB1156S1)
- **2023-02-06** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2023-02-06** Reading of substitute waived
- **2023-02-06** Committee substitute agreed to 23105372D-S1 `substitution`
- **2023-02-06** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB1156S1 `substitution`
- **2023-02-06** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2023-02-06** Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-07** Placed on Calendar
- **2023-02-07** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2023-02-07** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-13** Reported from Courts of Justice (19-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-15** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2023-02-16** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2023-02-16** Passed House BLOCK VOTE (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-16** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-21** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2023-02-21** Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1156ER) `passage`
- **2023-02-21** Impact statement from DPB (SB1156ER)
- **2023-02-21** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-02-24** Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-03-02** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 2, 2023 `enrolled`
- **2023-03-02** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 27, 2023 `executive-receipt`
- **2023-03-27** Approved by Governor-Chapter 710 (effective 7/1/23) `executive-signature`
- **2023-03-27** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0710)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2378e69f-cb65-4e77-a108-702e01263433`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).