2025 SESSION

INTRODUCED

24101284D

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 46

Offered January 10, 2024

Prefiled January 9, 2024

Requesting the Department of State Police to study the need for an alert program, to be known as the Starr Alert Program, to notify vehicle repair shops of nearby hit-and-run incidents. Report.

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Patron—Anthony

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Referred to Committee on Studies Subcommittee

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WHEREAS, in 2022, there were an estimated 122,434 crashes in the Commonwealth, resulting in 1,005 fatalities and 59,404 injuries; and

WHEREAS, in 2022, 2.5 percent of such crashes, totaling 5,517 crashes, were hit-and-run incidents; and

WHEREAS, hit-and-run incidents present a challenge to law enforcement in identifying the offending vehicle; and

WHEREAS, vehicles that have been involved in a reported hit-and-run incident may require repair or maintenance soon or immediately after such reported incident; and

WHEREAS, vehicle repair shops may be able to help law enforcement identify vehicles involved in hit-and-run incidents; and

WHEREAS, the Department of State Police already administers AMBER, Blue, Critically Missing Adult, Missing Person with Autism, and Senior Alert Programs, using various communication systems to transmit data to the community and entities regarding ongoing awareness and response to situations, and a similar program, to be known as the Starr Alert Program, could notify repair shops of vehicles of interest in hit-and-run incidents; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Department of State Police be requested to study the need for an alert program, to be known as the Starr Alert Program, to notify vehicle repair shops of nearby hit-and-run incidents.

In conducting its study, the Department of State Police shall (i) investigate and collect data regarding how an alert program to notify vehicle repair shops of nearby reported hit-and-run incidents may be implemented, the cost of such implementation, how often such a program would be used, and the efficacy of such program in improving post-crash service; (ii) collect traffic incident data, including the number of reported hit-and-run incidents that have occurred in the last three years; (iii) estimate the number of vehicle repair shops that would participate in such a program and any registration process to be part of such system, collect suggestions from such shops to successfully implement such an alert, and investigate the effect of such participation on identifying vehicles involved in hit-and-run incidents; (iv) collaborate with the local law-enforcement agencies to determine needs and capabilities for reporting incidents and associated data through the system, how such a program would affect police efforts in responding to reported hit-and-run incidents, and any problems or insights with the sharing of such data; and (v) determine an appropriate alert radius from a given reported hit-and-run incident site to vehicle repair shops and whether such an alert would be feasible for widespread use in all areas of the Commonwealth.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Department of State Police for this study, upon request.

The Department of State Police shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2024, and shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.