The Virginia General Assembly Transportation DMV Subcommittee on an internal session moved Senate Bill 13‑02, patroned by Senator McPike, to report by a vote of 4 to 3. The bill would align the expiration period for driver privilege cards with the durations used for ordinary Virginia driver’s licenses (presenter cited “8 years or 5 years depending on the length”).

The measure’s sponsor told the subcommittee the change is limited to the duration of the credential and does not alter other requirements. “The only thing that changes here is the duration,” the sponsor said, adding the change is intended to reduce the frequency with which people must take time off work to renew credentials and thereby reduce the chance of driving on expired credentials.

During questioning, Delegate Anthony asked about access to personally identifying information and whether law-enforcement access or reporting requirements would change: “Can you confirm … whether law enforcement can have access to this information? Will it be subject to any additional oversight such as reporting requirements on how often and for what purpose this data will be requested?” The sponsor responded that “the existing code language provides all these protections as originally crafted when the bill was passed in 2020 … so it provides … protections for all user data.”

Supporters said the change would reduce administrative burden. Christian Martinez of CASA said the organization “greatly support[s] the bill.” Brad Cope, speaking on behalf of the Virginia Agribusiness Council, said the longer duration would help farmers who rely on temporary foreign workers who return year after year and would avoid repeated DMV visits.

Opposition speakers said the change would impair the ability of officials to distinguish citizen and noncitizen credentials and could create security risks. Melody Clark of Virginia Institute Action said, “We oppose SB 13‑02. The bill removes the limited duration identifier, making it harder for law enforcement, employers, and election officials to differentiate ID, creating security risks and administrative challenges. It erases critical distinctions between citizen and non citizen credentials, weakens eligibility verification, and extends non citizen IDs up to 16 years, allowing non citizens to retain state issued IDs far beyond the individual's legal author authorization to stay.”

The subcommittee moved and seconded a motion to report the bill; the clerk recorded the outcome as a 4‑3 report to the next stage.

The bill was described as focused on administrative efficiency and public-safety goals tied to ensuring drivers understand the rules of the road and carry insurance. No change to those substantive requirements was described in testimony.