republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/hb-388.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Hunting elk; special license created."
description: "Special license to hunt elk. Authorizes the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries (the Board) to create a special license for hunting elk in the elk management zone that is required in addition to a general hunting license. The bill authorizes the Board to establish (i) quotas and procedures for selection to purchase a special elk license, (ii) a nonrefundable application fee of $15 for residents and $20 for nonresidents and a special elk license fee at no more than $40 for residents and $400 for nonresidents, and (iii) guidelines permitting the transfer of special elk licenses to individuals, cooperators who assist in meeting agency hunting objectives, or wildlife conservation organizations whose mission is to ensure the conservation of Virginia's wildlife resources. The bill clarifies that a separate special license to hunt elk is not required to hunt elk outside of the designated elk management zone. This bill is identical to SB 262."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 388"
citation: "Virginia HB 388 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["James E. Edmunds, II"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 23
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-01-02"
last_action: "2020-03-12"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2e77321a-353e-4544-9ded-cbea0b2737d0"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB388"
source_hash: "5c5907f00644255f3d550dc9f4e8eb3e48d835ecb657b3ba0db663b9ca888a51"
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 388 (2020) — Hunting elk; special license created.

Special license to hunt elk. Authorizes the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries (the Board) to create a special license for hunting elk in the elk management zone that is required in addition to a general hunting license. The bill authorizes the Board to establish (i) quotas and procedures for selection to purchase a special elk license, (ii) a nonrefundable application fee of $15 for residents and $20 for nonresidents and a special elk license fee at no more than $40 for residents and $400 for nonresidents, and (iii) guidelines permitting the transfer of special elk licenses to individuals, cooperators who assist in meeting agency hunting objectives, or wildlife conservation organizations whose mission is to ensure the conservation of Virginia's wildlife resources. The bill clarifies that a separate special license to hunt elk is not required to hunt elk outside of the designated elk management zone. This bill is identical to SB 262.

## Version chain

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

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0309)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0309)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB388ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB388ER)
3. **Impact statement from DPB (HB388)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB388)

## Votes

- Passed Senate (38-Y 0-N) — **38–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: (97-Y 0-N) — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (13-Y 0-N) — **13–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N) — **8–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- James E. Edmunds, II — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2020-01-02** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20103981D `introduction`
- **2020-01-02** Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-14** Assigned ACNR sub: Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-14** Impact statement from DPB (HB388)
- **2020-01-22** Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-22** Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-24** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-01-27** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-01-28** Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (97-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-01-28** VOTE: (97-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-29** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-01-29** Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-18** Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (13-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-20** Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-21** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-21** Passed Senate (38-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-26** Enrolled
- **2020-02-26** Impact statement from DPB (HB388ER)
- **2020-02-27** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-02-27** Signed by President
- **2020-03-05** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 5, 2020
- **2020-03-05** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 12, 2020
- **2020-03-12** Approved by Governor-Chapter 309 (effective 7/1/20) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2e77321a-353e-4544-9ded-cbea0b2737d0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).