The Virginia Senate unanimously approved a bill that would prohibit the sale or use of a device that can change some traffic signals from red to green. It now heads to Gov. Mark Warner for his signature.

The Senate voted 38-0 Feb. 24 to advance the measure. It previously won approval in the House.

The bill, sponsored by Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge, is intended to deter anyone other than public safety and transit agencies from using the so-called mobile infrared transmitters, or MIRTs.

“Most Virginians don’t even know what one is,” Lingamfelter told The Daily Press. “My primary goal was to tell Virginians not to waste their money and go out and buy these things because they’re going to be illegal.”

HB87 doesn’t dictate a penalty for using the device, so having one would likely become a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of up to $250, the newspaper reported.

The devices, which sit on a vehicle’s dash, are not regulated by current federal standards because they rely on a beam of light instead of a radio wave to trigger the light-changing mechanisms that have been attached to some intersections.

A traffic-light changer is designed to allow police, fire and other emergency officials to clear intersections before they approach. The device has been in use at intersections since the early 1970s.

A recent U.S. Department of Transportation survey showed the devices are in use at 26,500 intersections in 78 cities across the country.

U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, R-OH, recently introduced a bill in Congress prohibiting the sale or possession of the signal changers, according to a published report. His bill would make the sale of the transmitter to unauthorized users illegal with a fine up to $10,000 and possible jail time.