HB 819 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Pedestrians; walking on roadways that are part of divided highways.

Summary
Pedestrians; walking on roadways that are part of divided highways. Permits pedestrians, when walking on a roadway that is part of a highway divided by a physical barrier or barriers or an unpaved area, and when there are no shoulders of the highway present, to keep to the extreme right side or edge of the roadway, regardless of the direction of traffic they face. Under current law, pedestrians, when permitted to walk on a roadway, are required to keep to the extreme left side or edge thereof. The bill also clarifies current law, which requires pedestrians walking on a roadway to face oncoming traffic.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Apr 8, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 2 edits
MINOR
This bill marks the transition of HB 819 from an enrolled draft to an official chapter of the Virginia Acts of Assembly. The change involves updating the session year to 2026, adding the official chapter number (431), and formatting the text for publication, while the actual legal content regarding pedestrian safety remains identical to the previous version.
Scope change
None; the substantive scope and applicability of the law remain unchanged.
TECHNICAL

Updated the session year from 2025 to 2026 and added the official chapter designation (Chapter 431) to finalize the bill as law.

Reformatted the layout and spacing of the text to match the standard style for published Virginia Acts of Assembly.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 3, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 9, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Mar 3, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
26
Key actions
10
Committee
6
Apr 8, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 431 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB819ER)
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Transportation (14-Y 0-N)
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Transportation
upper
Feb 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (88-Y 10-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Transportation (20-Y 1-N)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
Assigned HTRAN sub: Highway Safety and Policy
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Transportation
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors