---
type: "Bill"
title: "Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance prohibited; penalties."
description: "Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance prohibited; penalties. Removes the distinction between cocaine, which refers to powder cocaine, its salts, optical and geometric isomers, and salts of isomers and a mixture or substance that contains cocaine base, which refers to crack cocaine, for the offense of manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance. This bill is identical to SB 888."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 1955"
citation: "Virginia HB 1955 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Debra D. Gardner"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 26
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2025-01-06"
last_action: "2025-03-24"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5db2a56e-181b-498d-938a-baa5f1eb8597"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HB1955"
source_hash: "5082b16f2c458cc75844c119d7db0c874fdddab1f441c5c03d7bb85e6335bce1"
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 HB 1955 (2025) — Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance prohibited; penalties.

Manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance prohibited; penalties. Removes the distinction between cocaine, which refers to powder cocaine, its salts, optical and geometric isomers, and salts of isomers and a mixture or substance that contains cocaine base, which refers to crack cocaine, for the offense of manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture, sell, give, or distribute a controlled substance or an imitation controlled substance. This bill is identical to SB 888.

## Version chain

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

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1014177.PDF)
2. **Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1074213.PDF)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1046352.PDF)

## Votes

- Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N) — **8–0** (pass) · lower
- Read third time and passed House (96-Y 0-N) — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N) — **14–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (38-Y 0-N) — **38–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Debra D. Gardner — primary (person)
- Karen Keys-Gamarra — cosponsor (person)
- Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler — cosponsor (person)
- Marty Martinez — cosponsor (person)
- Patrick A. Hope — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-01-06** Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-08-2025 25101715D `filing, introduction`
- **2025-01-06** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2025-01-08** Impact statement from VCSC (HB1955)
- **2025-01-16** Assigned Courts sub: Criminal `referral-committee`
- **2025-01-17** Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N)
- **2025-01-24** Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-28** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2025-01-29** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2025-01-30** Read third time and passed House (96-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-01-31** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- **2025-01-31** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-05** Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-07** Rules suspended
- **2025-02-07** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (38-Y 0-N)
- **2025-02-07** Passed by for the day
- **2025-02-10** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2025-02-10** Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2025-02-12** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2025-02-12** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1955ER) `passage`
- **2025-02-12** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1955)
- **2025-02-12** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-02-15** Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-02-18** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on February 18, 2025 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
- **2025-02-18** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025 `executive-receipt`
- **2025-03-24** Approved by Governor-Chapter 394 (Effective 07/01/25) `executive-signature`
- **2025-03-24** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0394)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/5db2a56e-181b-498d-938a-baa5f1eb8597`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).