The Texas Senate Transportation Committee voted against Senate Bill 684, which aimed to eliminate Texas’ vehicle safety inspection program, at the end of last month.
The legislation required only one member of the nine-person committee to change their vote in order to be re-examined, but the bill failed by a vote of three in favor and five against, per The Houston Chronicle.
Passing a vehicle safety inspection is a requirement to renew registration in the state of Texas. Some vehicles are required to have an emissions test in addition to the safety inspection, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The two-step process of vehicle inspection and emissions testing has drawn criticism from drivers, particularly in Houston, where the assessments are completed simultaneously.
Members of the transportation committee have maintained that the inspections should continue as long as the state continues to get some of the money and the populations in the metro areas continue to want a test, per The Houston Chronicle.
The Automotive Service Association (ASA), a long-time supporter of vehicle safety inspections, opposed this bill, as well as an earlier version that would have changed the state’s inspection requirement from every year to every five years.
“Today, the Texas Senate Transportation Committee did the right thing for the state by defeating this bill,” said Bob Redding, ASA’s Washington, D.C. representative, per Auto Body News.
“Texas has a successful vehicle inspection program that protects the motoring public,” Redding continued. “This private-public partnership program should not be eliminated. Instead, the legislature should heed its own 2018 study’s recommendations and consider adding additional inspection items to the program.”
Mechanics and others argue that the inspections identify problems that could put drivers at risk such as faulty tires, seatbelts, or airbag systems. Mike Sullivan, the former tax assessor-collector for Harris County and the current director of governmental affairs for Group 1 Automotive, claims that cars are made safer due to inspections.
“We know it makes our roadways safer,” said Sullivan, per The Houston Chronicle.
Critics claim that many states, including Texas and New York, are not significantly different from others that stopped doing yearly inspections. The bill’s author, Senator Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), argues that the checks are pointless and don’t make the roadways safer.
Drivers would still be required to pay the state $7.50 in addition to the registration fee for the bill to be revenue-neutral. If Hall’s measure is passed, the second step would be eliminating the cost, saving drivers the $7 they would have otherwise paid to the technician or business doing the inspection.
The future of vehicle inspections in Texas remains unclear, as this is not the first attempt to eliminate them. Lawmakers have been grappling with the issue for years, and the latest failure of Senate Bill 684 has highlighted the difficulty in achieving a resolution.
The University of Texas is researching the outcomes of safety inspections on Texas highways and comparing Texas to other states without yearly checks to determine if there are more accidents and stranded vehicles due to not discovering problems, per The Houston Chronicle.
The study’s findings could affect how car inspections are conducted in Texas in the future.
