Representative Ridley seeks grant program to help law enforcement add ballistic glass to vehicles

Representative Lee Ridley asked the Senate Subcommittee on Public Safety, First Responders to back HB 967, a bill that would establish a grant program administered by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to fund ballistic glass installation in police vehicles if the General Assembly appropriates money.

The measure, Ridley said, does not carry an appropriation this year; it sets up the framework so future budgets can fund grants. "Law enforcement agencies can apply for the grant," Ridley said, and the CJCC would "set the criteria and handle the grant process." He said some state vehicles already have ballistic glass but many local and rural agencies do not.

Former Cobb County officer David Gavender and vendor Dana Marsh told the panel ballistic glass is effective in live demonstrations. Gavender described a South Fulton demonstration in which the glass absorbed multiple rounds and allowed an officer to drive afterward. He said a frontline ballistic windshield was generally quoted in testimony at about $4,000 installed, while full-vehicle outfitting can reach higher figures. "If you use $10,000 in a 2,080-hour year, you get down to less than like about 90¢ an hour while the officer's on the road," Gavender said.

Committee members pressed on costs and scope. Senator John Albers and others asked how many law-enforcement vehicles exist statewide; witnesses did not provide a precise statewide count. Ridley and witnesses gave a range of per-vehicle costs in testimony — roughly $4,000 for a ballistic windshield to up to $10,000 for full-door and window protection — and said prices fall as purchase volume and supplier capacity increase.

Members also asked whether federal grants exist; Ridley said he was not aware of federal funding but modeled the bill after Texas programs that were largely state-funded and supplemented by private donations. Multiple senators urged consulting sheriffs' and chiefs' associations and gathering data on need, particularly for underfunded rural departments.

Chair Randy Robertson said the subcommittee will make a recommendation to the chair of Public Safety on HB 967. No appropriation or formal vote was recorded in the hearing.

The subcommittee's next step: committee staff and the sponsor were asked to work with law-enforcement stakeholders and the CJCC to refine cost estimates and to prepare a recommendation to the full committee.