A BILL to amend and reenact § 33.2-613 of the Code of Virginia, relating to free use of toll facilities; campus police officers.
HB943 amends Virginia’s toll-exemption statute to add campus police officers to the list of state and local officials and employees who may use toll bridges, toll ferries, toll tunnels, and toll roads without paying tolls while performing official duties. The bill keeps the existing toll-pass framework and the misdemeanor penalties for misuse of toll passes, and it preserves the separate disability-related toll exemption provisions already in law.
The substitute also retains and clarifies the Department of Transportation’s authority to temporarily suspend toll collection during emergencies or public safety incidents, including mandatory evacuations on designated mass evacuation routes. It continues to allow toll suspension on public and certain private toll facilities when needed for evacuation, and it preserves the ability of courts to assess limited lost toll revenue costs in cases where a person is found responsible for an incident that caused toll suspension. The bill does not broadly expand free toll use to the public; it focuses on official-duty exemptions and emergency operations.
The bill would amend § 33.2-613 of the Code of Virginia by adding campus police officers to the list of persons eligible for toll-free passage while on official duty, and by maintaining related provisions governing toll passes, emergency toll suspension, and penalties for misuse. It affects the Department of Transportation, toll facility operators, and the categories of officers and employees who may receive toll exemptions, including on certain public-private toll facilities and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It also leaves intact existing disability-based exemptions and special rules for evacuation-related toll suspension.
The available legislative history suggests the bill was not controversial in committee, but it ultimately did not advance, as it was passed by indefinitely in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by a 15-0 vote. That outcome indicates unanimous committee support for the motion to set the bill aside, rather than a recorded split on the merits. Because there are no transcript excerpts, the record does not show detailed debate or public testimony.
The main policy issue appears to be whether campus police officers should receive the same toll-free access as other law-enforcement and public-safety personnel when acting in their official capacity. A secondary area of interest is the bill’s emergency toll-suspension authority, especially on public-private toll facilities and evacuation routes, where toll operators and the Department of Transportation must coordinate during emergencies. No specific objections are documented in the provided materials, but the bill’s indefinite disposition suggests the committee chose not to move it forward despite the proposed expansion of exemptions.