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Fairfax County’s push to curb excessively loud vehicle exhausts has hit a major obstacle in Richmond after lawmakers raised concerns about the estimated cost of a proposed enforcement pilot.

The Virginia Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations voted 10-4 on Monday, Feb. 17, to send the legislation to the State Crime Commission for further study. The commission would examine the proposal and report back to the General Assembly.

If the full Senate adopts that change, its version would differ substantially from the measure approved by the House of Delegates. Lawmakers could then need a conference committee to reconcile the two bills.

Del. Rip Sullivan, a Democrat representing the 6th District, introduced the legislation. It would allow participating localities to use automated systems to measure vehicle exhaust noise during a two-year pilot program and mail citations to vehicle owners whose exhaust exceeds the permitted level.

The House passed the measure 54-44 after minor changes. It advanced from the Senate Committee on Transportation on Feb. 13 in an 8-6 party-line vote.

The bill encountered trouble in the finance committee because no budget amendment was filed to cover an estimated $424,000 in state administrative costs over two years. The Virginia Department of Planning and Budget’s projection included hiring a full-time Virginia State Police employee.

Sullivan said he was “blown away” by the estimate. He told the committee that the state’s only responsibility would be collecting paperwork from participating jurisdictions and questioned whether another employee was necessary.

“It didn’t occur to me that [the state police] would need an extra person to do this,” Sullivan said. “I think they can do this without it.”

All four committee members who opposed sending the bill for further study were Republicans. Earlier House and Senate votes also showed significant GOP opposition to advancing the proposal.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors supported the legislation, which would open the pilot to localities in Northern Virginia’s Planning District 8 and the Fredericksburg area’s Planning District 16.

Vehicle owners recorded above 95 decibels would receive $100 civil citations by mail. That noise level is roughly comparable to hearing a jackhammer from 50 feet away.

Sullivan originally proposed a 90-decibel threshold but raised it to 95 decibels to secure greater acceptance among lawmakers. At the Feb. 13 transportation committee hearing, he described the change as an attempt to achieve “peace in the valley.”

Aftermarket mufflers producing unusually loud exhaust have become “a growing issue in lots of parts of Virginia,” Sullivan said. His district includes much of McLean and Great Falls.

Sen. Danica Roem, a Democrat representing parts of Prince William County, said the problem has grown especially severe for people living near Prince William Parkway, where she said conditions are “getting to be unlivable.”

Noelle Dominguez, chief of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s Coordination and Funding Division, told senators that a two-year trial was an appropriate way to evaluate enforcement. The pilot, she said, “will reveal both the challenges and the benefits” of automated noise monitoring.

County staff told the Board of Supervisors’ legislative committee on Friday, Feb. 14, that several other Northern Virginia jurisdictions had shown interest in joining the program.

Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, who chairs the committee, characterized Sullivan’s original proposal as a targeted effort that could generate years of information for deciding whether automated enforcement should become permanent.

Following the finance committee vote, Walkinshaw said Tuesday that officials still hoped to revive the legislation before the General Assembly session ended. If that effort failed, he said, Fairfax County would return the following year to support it again.

Board Chairman Jeff McKay criticized the prospect of another delay.

“There’s got to be a more common-sense solution to this than kicking it to a study and telling our folks that you’re just going to have to live with this for another year,” McKay said.

Tougher Street-Racing Penalties Advance

Fairfax County officials were more optimistic about separate legislation seeking stronger penalties for street racing.

“I don’t want to spike any football, but it’s looking good,” Walkinshaw said at the Feb. 14 legislative committee meeting.

Del. David Bulova, a Democrat representing the 11th District, sponsored the measure. It would expand Virginia’s reckless-driving law to cover street racing, also called exhibiting driving, and establish a process for impounding or immobilizing vehicles operated by people arrested for the offense.

After several amendments, the bill cleared the House 84-12. It also received strong support from the Senate committees on Courts of Justice, which approved it 13-2, and Finance and Appropriations, which advanced it 13-1.

The proposal still required consideration on the Senate floor before the General Assembly’s scheduled adjournment on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Jennifer Van Ee, Fairfax County’s deputy legislative director, said lawmakers softened portions of the bill to build support. One removed provision would have permitted charges against spectators at street-racing events.

Despite those changes, county officials continued to regard the measure as progress. Van Ee said it appeared likely to reach Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

“We’re feeling good about it,” she said.