10/5/2023 0 Comments State inspection near mePending the governor’s approval, the legislation goes into effect Jan. Greg Abbott’s desk Monday after lawmakers approved a compromise version of the bill on Sunday. The bill passed on a 109-32 vote in the House chamber and a 20-11 vote in the Senate. Johnson urged fellow members to vote the bill down, saying people’s lives are at stake. "I would at least vote this bill down until one of you brings out a study that says they’re not effective. "It’s really not going to take any time, and if they want to sell me a windshield wiper while I’m there, I’m OK," Johnson said. Nathan Johnson, a Dallas Democrat, spoke against the bill on the Senate floor before it passed. No alternatives were considered for the bill, but there was some pushback from other lawmakers. The Texas transportation department estimates that the state’s economy lost $51.4 billion due to car crashes in 2021. The money will go toward the Texas mobility fund, general revenue fund and the clean air account.įor drivers with new cars - either the current model or preceding model year that has not been previously registered in Texas or another state - there will instead be an initial fee of $16.75 to cover two years. How much will it cost Texans?ĭrivers will still be paying the annual $7.50 when they register their vehicles. Representatives with the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas, the Dallas Police Association, the Houston Police Officers’ Union, the Texas State Inspection Association, Toyota Motor North America and more spoke against the bill. Huffines, whose family owns a car dealership empire in North Texas, has been a vocal supporter of the bill. Don Huffines’ Liberty Foundation, Continental Automotive Group, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texas Conservative Coalition and Tesla - were all witnesses in favor of the bill. Other groups and businesses - such as former Texas Sen. "Texans are responsible, fiercely independent, and I trust them to keep their cars and trucks safe while on the road." "These inspections are a waste of time for Texas citizens and a money-making Ponzi scheme used by some shady dealerships to upsell consumers with unnecessary repairs," Harris said in a statement to ABC 13 in Houston. Mayes Middleton of Galveston and Bob Hall of Edgewood sponsored the bill to do away with annual vehicle inspections. According to the most recent state data, 4,489 people were killed in auto crashes in Texas during 2021, or about 1.56 deaths per 100,000 miles traveled by drivers. At least one person dies on a Texas highway each day. Texas highways are notoriously dangerous. Another report found that defective cars in Texas were more than three times as likely to be involved in a crash that resulted in a fatality. Annual inspections are used to determine if certain features of a car, such as the tires, seat belts or brakes, are safe to drive with.Ī study mandated by the Texas Legislature in 2017 shows that cars with defects, such as bald tires or bad brakes, were three years older than the average registered vehicle, which is nine years old.Īlmost a quarter of the people surveyed in the study were asked by a mechanic to fix slick or defective tires during an inspection, potentially preventing more accidents. According to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, there are 22 million registered cars in the state. Who is affected?Īll Texas drivers outside of the exempted counties stand to be affected by the legislation. These are Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis and Williamson counties. The 17 Texas counties that require emissions inspections will still mandate annual tests regardless of the bill becoming law. However, the $7.50 fee remains intact under a new name: the inspection program replacement fee. The Legislature repealed provisions in state law that mandate annual vehicle inspections. Bill would allow temporary change in speed limits due to construction, weather on Texas highwaysĪn investigation of the deadly pileup on I-35W in February 2021 suggested variable speed limits.
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