The Senate Finance Committee approved changes to vehicle-inspection law that reduce the number of inspection items and change the inspection schedule for new and older vehicles.

Under the approved amendment, new vehicles would be inspected at sale to confirm they meet state safety standards and then generally would not require another inspection until about three years later; vehicles older than three years would return to annual inspections but under a reduced list of safety-focused checks. Committee members said the amendment trims about 55 inspection items down to roughly 25 safety-related items.

The amendment requires the Department of Environmental Services (DES) to file a waiver with the federal government within six months (by January 2026) including draft rules; the committee set a one-year federal response window and the bill language is written to act on January 1, 2027, if the waiver process proceeds as expected. A senator also said the changes should produce roughly $4,000,000 that would revert to the highway safety fund by the end of the biennium.

Supporters called the measure a return to a safety-focused inspection program and said it balances consumer concerns about repair costs and the need to preserve road safety. Committee members asked questions about inspection costs; the committee did not finalize a changed inspection fee during the hearing and said the package will be revisited when the committee revotes the full package.

The committee approved the amendment and passed the item.