Committee moves to retain ban on aftermarket windshield tinting, removes new numeric tinting provisions

On May 1, 2025, the Vermont House Committee on Transportation moved to keep current state law prohibiting applied tint on windshields and to remove proposed statutory language that would have set a 70% visible light transmission (VLT) standard for front glass, following testimony from the Department of Motor Vehicles and law enforcement about practical and legal hurdles to measuring and enforcing a numeric tint limit.

Committee members said the change aims to avoid imposing a technically difficult standard on inspection stations and police, while preserving a clear prohibition on aftermarket tint applied to the windshield.

Legislative Counsel Damien Leonard told the committee the DMV asked that last year's amendment be repealed because the federal regulation and the referenced ANSI engineering standard cover a wide range of glazing topics and do not provide a simple, enforceable measurement for routine vehicle inspections. "We don't really have a clear standard here that we can put into the inspection manual and expect an inspection station to enforce," Leonard said. He explained that last year's language had attempted to tie state law to the federal standard but that producing inspection guidance that a mechanic or trooper could apply reliably is difficult.

Leonard and others explained the current statutory prohibition (quoted in the hearing as 23 BSA 11 25) already bars material "painted or adhered on or over, hung in back of any transparent part"…