---
type: "Bill"
title: "Fire marshals; police powers, training requirements."
description: "Fire marshals; police powers, training requirements."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 905"
citation: "Virginia SB 905 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["DeSteph"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 31
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2023-01-05"
last_action: "2023-03-22"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/cccedf47-bd15-4b34-8617-994f700c27f4"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+SB905"
source_hash: "06450bc2780fc3f798159413b5928ad2266c06e86935e59d2cc4628582aa9c66"
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 905 (2023) — Fire marshals; police powers, training requirements.

## Version chain

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

1. **CHAP0216** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+CHAP0216)
2. **Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23101310D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB905)
3. **Printed as engrossed 23101310D-E** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB905E)
4. **SB905ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB905ER)

## Votes

- Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Passed Senate (38-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (36-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Reported from General Laws and Technology (14-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Engrossment reconsidered by Senate (38-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Reported from Public Safety (22-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (98-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower

## Sponsors

- DeSteph — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-01-05** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23101310D `filing, introduction`
- **2023-01-05** Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-11** Reported from General Laws and Technology (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-13** Constitutional reading dispensed (36-Y 0-N)
- **2023-01-16** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2023-01-17** Passed by for the day
- **2023-01-18** Engrossment reconsidered by Senate (38-Y 0-N)
- **2023-01-18** Reading of amendment waived
- **2023-01-18** Amendment by Senator McDougle agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2023-01-18** Engrossed by Senate as amended SB905E
- **2023-01-18** Printed as engrossed 23101310D-E
- **2023-01-18** Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N)
- **2023-01-18** Passed Senate (38-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-01-31** Impact statement from DPB (SB905E)
- **2023-02-08** Placed on Calendar
- **2023-02-08** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2023-02-08** Referred to Committee on Public Safety `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-10** Reported from Public Safety (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-14** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2023-02-15** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2023-02-15** Passed House BLOCK VOTE (98-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-15** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (98-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-20** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2023-02-20** Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB905ER) `passage`
- **2023-02-20** Impact statement from DPB (SB905ER)
- **2023-02-20** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-02-21** 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`
- **2023-03-22** Approved by Governor-Chapter 216 (effective 7/1/23) `executive-signature`
- **2023-03-22** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0216)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/cccedf47-bd15-4b34-8617-994f700c27f4`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).