The Virginia House Highway Safety and Policy Subcommittee held a hearing on January 26 to consider 12 bills, one of which is related to auto glass safety and supported by the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC).
The subcommittee held the bill over to be considered next year. It chose not to vote on the auto glass bill, HB 699, sponsored by Virginia Del. Mark Keam. “The bill was held over to next year,” says Seth Maiman, AGSC’s director of public affairs. Maiman adds that, because Virginia’s legislature meets for only 60 days, it made sense to carry the bill over to 2023 to have time to educate legislators on its importance.
“It was a good result. Holding over the bill to next year gives us an opportunity to meet with some of the legislators, the state police and other industry stakeholders,” Maiman says. “It was obvious that many of the legislators were new to the issues of auto glass safety. So this is an opportunity to educate them.”
After the legislative session, Keam will write a letter to the Virginia State Police and request to meet with other interested parties, Maiman says. The bill directs state police to promulgate auto glass replacement regulations that are consistent with those supported by AGSC.
“It’s a win-win,” Maiman says.
