---
type: "Bill"
title: "Motor carriers; financial responsibility."
description: "Motor carriers; financial responsibility."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 1238"
citation: "Virginia SB 1238 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Obenshain"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 25
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2023-01-10"
last_action: "2023-03-22"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/bbb73e1f-7c46-45e0-842b-593476de65f9"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+SB1238"
source_hash: "f4175750e52ea888354f1f19388bd876b9183df82b69d8b47e27aacc396fe580"
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 1238 (2023) — Motor carriers; financial responsibility.

## Version chain

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

1. **CHAP0242** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+CHAP0242)
2. **Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23103910D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB1238)
3. **SB1238ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+SB1238ER)

## Votes

- Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Reported from Transportation (22-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- Reported from Transportation (14-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- VOTE: Block Vote Passage (99-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N) — **0–0** (fail) · lower

## Sponsors

- Obenshain — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-01-10** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23103910D `filing, introduction`
- **2023-01-10** Referred to Committee on Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-19** Reported from Transportation (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-01-23** Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N)
- **2023-01-24** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2023-01-25** Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-01-27** Impact statement from DPB (SB1238)
- **2023-02-10** Placed on Calendar
- **2023-02-10** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2023-02-10** Referred to Committee on Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-10** Assigned Transportation sub: Subcommittee #1 Department of Motor Vehicles `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-14** Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N)
- **2023-02-16** Reported from Transportation (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-20** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2023-02-21** Passed House BLOCK VOTE (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-21** VOTE: Block Vote Passage (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2023-02-24** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2023-02-24** Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1238ER) `passage`
- **2023-02-24** Signed by President `passage`
- **2023-02-24** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2023-02-27** Impact statement from DPB (SB1238ER)
- **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 242 (effective 7/1/23) `executive-signature`
- **2023-03-22** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0242)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/bbb73e1f-7c46-45e0-842b-593476de65f9`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).