State Sen. Mary Wills Bode (D-Granville), the primary sponsor of the Shine Like Hailey Parade Safety Act, said she and others are looking to create a statewide safety standard to prevent deaths and injuries during community celebrations.
The bill's namesake, Hailey Brooks, 11, was hit and killed when the driver of a truck pulling a float in the 2022 Raleigh Christmas Parade lost control of his brakes. That driver, Landen Glass, 20, of Goode, Va., is on house arrest on a charge of manslaughter.
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The purpose of the bill, Bode told WRAL News, is "to create safety measures across North Carolina and heighten awareness for municipalities regardless of size.
"In many towns across North Carolina after the parade in Raleigh, they did take initiative and implemented new safety measures, but we want to implement this statewide."
The Shine Like Hailey Parade Safety Act would apply to communities with a population of over 35,000 people.
Anyone driving a vehicle in a parade would be required to be 25 years or old and provide proof of a recent vehicle safety inspection by law enforcement and verification of a valid drivers license and registration.
Bode said the bill's sponsors want to make sure that parade organizers ensure vehicle safety.
"Many families think this is part of the process and it's not," she said. "There is a big gap here."