Last March, I brought together community members, law enforcement, and state-level representatives for a town hall on excessive vehicle noise. At that time, the already difficult task of enforcing and prosecuting excessive noise violations had been further constrained when a 2020 state law relegated this nuisance to a secondary offense.
I worked with my colleagues on the Board to have this issue added to our 2022 Legislative Agenda, urging the state to give localities more leeway in curbing excessive vehicle noise. One of the bills which we supported – HB-632 – cleared the General Assembly this year and has been signed into law. It allows localities to once again put into place ordinances that make excessive vehicle noise violations a primary offense.
In May, I directed county staff to update our County Code updates to reflect the authority re-granted to Prince William by HB-632. While this measure will not eliminate some of the pre-existing challenges to enforcement, it is a welcomed step in the right direction.