Highway Safety and Policy Subcommittee

Wednesday, January 21, 2026·38m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Highway Safety and Policy Subcommittee advanced six bills unanimously, including measures exempting EMS personnel from seatbelt requirements while providing patient care, clarifying school bus stop rules on divided highways, and expanding local police authority on the George Washington Parkway, while passing by two bills pending further stakeholder work.

Key Actions

·HB 320 – Passed by pending stakeholder workPassed

+ 6 more actions

Controversies

Procedural question on HB 230 substitute amendment

Delegate Elizabeth Bennett Parker raised a question about whether a substitute amendment had been properly adopted, noting she could see line amendments online and asking for clarification. Attorney Nikhil clarified that the motion would be for a substitute and that the additional amendments online were the substantive changes. The exchange was procedural and did not escalate into disagreement.

+ 1 more controversy

Notable Quotes

“I know, I saw delegate. We'll go back and do these in order. So we'll go back and do Delegate Washman and then we'll come to Delegate Fagans. Delegate Kruznak also has a piece of legislation, but he's chairing a subcommittee and I think he's got four or so bills before the subcommittee. So we're going to take him last and I'm going to go next to last since I have a bill. So Delegate Martinez, you are up. Thank you, chair and committee, for allowing me to come up here and”
Delegate Marty Martinez — Martinez was closing his testimony in favor of HB 343, which would give localities authority to require helmets for riders of motorized and non-motorized scooters under the age of 15.

+ 4 more quotes

Votes

Motion to pass by for the day House Bill 320 and House Bill 365Passed

Motion to report HB 343Passed

Motion to report HB 351Passed

Motion to incorporate House Bill 233 into House Bill 230Passed

Motion to move the substitute amendment for HB 230Passed

Move to report HB 230 as substitutedPassed

Motion to move the technical line amendment for HB 77 requested by the Supreme Court of VirginiaPassed

Motion to report HB 409Passed

Move to report HB 77 as amendedPassed

Motion to adjournPassed

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TranscriptPreview

Attention. The Transportation Highway Safety and Public Policy and Policy subcommittee will come to order. I'd like to welcome everyone here today. It's always fun that we're in the largest of all of the conference rooms, and it's like everybody sits over there together. So I'm going to start today by introducing myself. And then since it's the first meeting of the session, we'll have everybody down here to the right introduce themselves, and it'll just be very short. And then we'll have the folks down to the left. And then I'm going to say a couple words about how we're going to, like, run the committee. We are going to have to make some changes in kind of the agenda that we have here because some people have some other places to be. So we're going to try to accommodate those, and then we'll be able to work through the rest of the bills that we have. So. I'm Delegate David Reed. I represent House District 28, which is in the eastern portion of Loudoun County. Delegate McQuinn, good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am Delegate Dolores McQuinn, representing the 81st District, all of Charles City, a large…

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