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Northern Virginia localities are one signature away from gaining a new tool to curb excessively loud vehicles after legislation authorizing electronic noise monitoring survived a turbulent path through the General Assembly.

House Bill 55, sponsored by Del. Rip Sullivan, D-6, would establish a two-year pilot program in three state planning districts, including Northern Virginia. Participating localities could use monitoring equipment to enforce vehicle-exhaust noise limits.

The measure now awaits the signature of Gov. Abigail Spanberger. If signed, it would take effect July 1 and expire July 1, 2028.

The bill initially failed in the Virginia Senate on March 3 by a 22-18 vote. Sullivan later said he worked with Fairfax-area senators and persuaded two Republican senators who had opposed the measure to help revive it.

After adopting amendments from Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-36, and the Senate transportation committee, the Senate approved the bill 21-19 on March 9. One amendment allows participating localities to exempt agricultural vehicles.

Several Republicans supported the final Senate version, while some Democrats opposed it.

Rather than sending the legislation to a conference committee, the House accepted the Senate amendments on March 11. The 65-34 vote divided along party lines.

This marks the second consecutive year that legislation targeting vehicle-exhaust noise has reached a Virginia governor. A similar proposal was revived on the final day of the 2025 legislative session but was ultimately vetoed by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Fairfax County has made the issue a major legislative priority for the past two years.

“We compromised, we found a way to get it done,” Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman said during a Tuesday meeting of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

Bierman credited county legislative affairs director Jennifer Van Ee and her team for working with state lawmakers. Board Chair Jeff McKay said he planned to communicate with Spanberger about the bill and other county priorities.

McKay and Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez, who chairs the board’s legislative committee, said Fairfax County secured several victories during the 2026 legislative session.

Under the proposal, owners of vehicles recorded exceeding 95 decibels could face a civil penalty of up to $100 for each violation. The violations would not appear on a driver’s operating record or be reported to insurance companies.

The legislation applies the same privacy and data-storage requirements used for speed-monitoring devices. Localities operating noise-monitoring systems would also have to report annually how many violations were prosecuted, how many prosecutions succeeded and how much money was collected in penalties.

Sullivan described the bill’s journey as unconventional but said its passage would give Fairfax County an effective way to address loud mufflers.