---
type: "Bill"
title: "Commercial driver's licenses & learner's permits; definitions, training, drug & alcohol violations."
description: "Commercial driver's licenses and commercial learner's permits; definitions; commercial driver training; drug and alcohol violations. Conforms the definition of commercial motor vehicle to federal regulations, codifies the entry-level driver training system required by federal regulations, and removes contradictory provisions. The bill also prohibits the issuance or continued validity of commercial driver's licenses and commercial learner's permits after a drug or alcohol violation by the applicant, licensee, or permittee. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is identical to HB 844."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2024"
identifier: "SB 353"
citation: "Virginia SB 353 (2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Timmy F. French"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 28
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2024-01-09"
last_action: "2024-03-20"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/809fe39b-4d3c-420f-958f-d2c66950a5a5"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+SB353"
source_hash: "fb8f3811c0dd4903cb5fe97001634f40a70970696fa9a27f208fc1542f318ac2"
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 353 (2024) — Commercial driver's licenses & learner's permits; definitions, training, drug & alcohol violations.

Commercial driver's licenses and commercial learner's permits; definitions; commercial driver training; drug and alcohol violations. Conforms the definition of commercial motor vehicle to federal regulations, codifies the entry-level driver training system required by federal regulations, and removes contradictory provisions. The bill also prohibits the issuance or continued validity of commercial driver's licenses and commercial learner's permits after a drug or alcohol violation by the applicant, licensee, or permittee. The bill contains technical amendments. This bill is identical to HB 844.

## Version chain

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

1. **CHAP0121** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0121)
2. **Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24103113D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+SB353)
3. **Printed as engrossed 24103113D-E** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+SB353E)
4. **SB353ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+SB353ER)

## Votes

- Reported from Transportation with amendment (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Transportation (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (97-Y 0-N) — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Timmy F. French — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-01-09** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/24 24103113D `filing, introduction`
- **2024-01-09** Referred to Committee on Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2024-01-18** Senate committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2024-01-18** Reported from Transportation with amendment (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-01-22** Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
- **2024-01-23** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2024-01-23** Reading of amendment waived
- **2024-01-23** Committee amendment agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2024-01-23** Engrossed by Senate as amended SB353E
- **2024-01-23** Printed as engrossed 24103113D-E
- **2024-01-24** Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2024-02-13** Placed on Calendar
- **2024-02-13** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2024-02-13** Referred to Committee on Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-22** Reported from Transportation (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2024-02-26** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2024-02-27** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2024-02-27** Passed House BLOCK VOTE (97-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2024-02-27** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (97-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2024-03-04** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2024-03-04** Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB353ER) `passage`
- **2024-03-04** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2024-03-05** Impact statement from DPB (SB353ER)
- **2024-03-07** Signed by President `passage`
- **2024-03-11** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 11, 2024 `enrolled`
- **2024-03-11** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 8, 2024 `executive-receipt`
- **2024-03-20** Approved by Governor-Chapter 121 (effective 7/1/24) `executive-signature`
- **2024-03-20** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0121)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/809fe39b-4d3c-420f-958f-d2c66950a5a5`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).