Bill to end state vehicle inspections advances in the Texas Legislature
AUSTIN — The annual reminder that most Texas drivers need to make sure their vehicle inspections are up to date may be coming to an end now that the House and Senate have each passed legislation to end that mandatory once-a-year scramble.
Even though the two chambers must reconcile the differences in the two versions of the legislation before it can be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk, backers of the initiative that has come close but failed in previous sessions hailed what they hope will be a long-awaited victory.
"Repealing a 70-year-old worthless tax on our time and our money is great win for all Texans," said former state Sen. Don Huffines, who made a failed bid for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2022 and filed similar measures during his Senate tenure.
State Rep. Cody Harris, an East Texas Republican who carried the legislation this year, said Texas is an outlier when it comes to vehicle inspections.
“While most states have done away with outdated vehicle inspection mandates, Texas has continued its program even though the impact no longer justifies its existence," Harris said in a statement when the measure first won passage in the House.
But the automobile service industry and some law enforcement organizations said the annual inspections contribute to public safety. A 2017 study by the University of Texas found that states with required vehicle inspections had lower percentages of vehicles with defects on the road than states without those requirements.
"While design and manufacture of vehicle parts (such as brakes, tires, and steering) has improved over the years, the fact is that poor maintenance still causes crashes," the study states. "Researchers have conducted a series of studies investigating the contribution of vehicle defects to accidents and crashes. In general, researchers have found that vehicle defects directly contribute to under 10% of all accidents."
Bob Redding, a national lobbyist for the Automotive Service Association, said research indicates that inspecting such vital auto parts as tires, brakes, windshield wipers and headlights helps prevent traffic crashes.
"This private-public partnership program should not be eliminated. Instead, the Legislature should heed its own study’s recommendations and consider adding additional inspection items to the program,” Redding said on the organization's website.
Emissions testing in areas of the state where it is currently required would not be affected by the legislation.
The state sets the cost for inspecting passenger vehicles, motorcycles and trailers at $7 a year. The cost of inspecting commercial vehicles is $40. Mopeds are inspected at a cost of 25 cents.
John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Measure would end mandatory state inspections for Texas vehicles
