Senate pulls a U-turn on bill to get rid of auto inspections
The state Senate took a sharp U-turn Thursday, kicking back to committee a controversial bill that would eliminate mandatory safety inspections for all cars and trucks in New Hampshire.
Keeping leaders of groups on both sides of the issue in suspense for five hours, Sen. Dan Innis, R-Bradford, the lead senator on the issue, declared at day's end that he lacked support for his compromise program.
'I am going to make a motion to re-refer this bill (HB 649), much to my dismay,' said Innis, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee.
Innis said the state Department of Environmental Services weighed in late in the process, saying that it still had problems with the language of his proposal.
'I think it is better to re-refer and revisit it when we come back' in 2026, Innis said.
A clearly frustrated Sen. Tim McGough, R-Merrimack, said he had worked with both sides on his own proposal to seek a middle ground and thought he had found it.
Senate takes U-turn, punts repeal of inspections bill back to committee
State Sen. Tim McGough, R-Merrimack, standing at left, was one of only three senators who opposed the move to kick back to committee the House-passed bill to eliminate annual safety inspections for all cars and trucks.
'After months of work on this with many stakeholders, countless thousands of emails, we all expected an 'ought to pass' on this and to get real progress down the road to get rid of this onerous inspection process,' McGough said.
'This ongoing yearly parade into the mechanic to try and chase problems with your check engine light — people want action now. They need action now.'
Sen. Howard Pearl, R-Loudon, said he also wanted to vote on the bill, but he agreed with Innis.
'When a bill isn't ready, it isn't ready, and that's the hard part. We have to make that hard decision to slow things down a bit,' Pearl said.
'It was a disappointment to me as well. We don't have an agreement within the 24 of us in this room that we have a positive path forward.'
The re-referral vote was 19-3, with Sens. Keith Murphy and Victoria Sullivan, both R-Manchester, and McGough the lone opponents.
Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua, was absent Thursday.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte has avoided taking a position on the bill.
Innis's compromise would require inspections only every other year for new cars and to eliminate the unpopular annual emissions tests for most vehicles.
That plan deadlocked, 3-3, before Innis's committee.
While the legislation has been a popular topic for debate, previous efforts have failed to get far due to the opposition of the New Hampshire Auto Dealers Association lobbying group and the New Hampshire Municipal Association.
House Deputy Speaker Steven Smith, R-Charlestown, became a convert after he changed the law to reduce inspection failures due to rust only to have state officials and the auto industry restore it in agency rules.
The House passed the full-repeal bill overwhelmingly, 212-143.
This does not end the debate.
The trailer bill to the House-approved state budget would get rid of all the jobs in the Division of Motor Vehicles and Department of Safety related to the inspection program.
What's Next: The Senate Finance Committee is expected to strike changes to vehicle inspections from its version of the budget trailer bill.
Prospects: Thanks to the House's state budget trigger, the issue will only be resolved when the Legislature and Gov. Ayotte come together on a compromise two-year spending plan.
klandrigan@unionleader.com
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