The Senate Transportation Committee voted to report SB 1024 as amended and re-refer it to the Finance Committee after the bill’s sponsor described a voluntary donation option at DMV transactions to support the Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Fund.

Sponsor Sen. Rom told the committee the bill would add a voluntary donation step for driver renewals, certain ID renewals and vehicle registrations, enabling customers to contribute to the Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program. “The whole point of that is to save lives on the road,” the sponsor said, referencing a recent four‑year trend of more than 900 road fatalities per year in Virginia.

The bill would limit the donation option to specified DMV transactions, which agency staff told the committee would require a small, absorbable cost to update point-of-sale software. Mike Doyle, founding member of Virginia Families for Safe Streets, testified in support and urged the committee to approve a mechanism that would fund quick-build safety projects and corridor improvements. Doyle said the funds would not solve the problem but could speed up safety fixes that VDOT approves but lacks funding to implement.

Committee members asked about the DMV’s ability to implement the option without passing costs to customers. The sponsor said DMV estimated it could absorb the cost of a limited update; committee discussion referenced an earlier $50,000 budget amendment that was not necessary after the agency review.

Sen. Sutilin moved to report SB 1024 as amended and re-refer it to the Finance Committee; the motion carried Ayes 15, No 0.

SB 1024 now goes to Senate Finance for consideration of fiscal implications and possible budget language.

Votes on SB 1024
Senate Transportation Committee — Motion: report and re‑refer to Finance. Mover: Sen. Sutilin. Second: not specified in transcript. Vote: Ayes 15, No 0. Outcome: reported as amended and re‑referred to Finance.