Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Two Year Inspection New Vehicles topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Subcommittee lays on table bill to change inspections for new vehicles after debate
Summary
Delegate Batten’s substitute bill to allow a two-year state safety inspection for new vehicles, paid upfront by dealers and with doubled fees to keep the Virginia State Police whole, was laid on the table by a 4-1 vote after testimony from both dealer/fleet representatives in favor and independent repair associations opposed.
Delegate Batten presented a substitute for House Bill 2334 that would institute a two-year state safety inspection for new cars: the dealer would pay an upfront, doubled inspection fee at point of sale and owners would receive a two-year sticker; after that the existing annual inspection cadence would resume. "This legislation establishes a new 2 year state inspection program for new cars only," Delegate Batten said.
Supporters included Mike Bruce of Enterprise Mobility, who said modern new vehicles rarely fail inspections in the first year and that the change would reduce customer inconvenience and fleet downtime. Opponents included Mariah Merich Fitzhugh of the Virginia Automotive Association, representing independent repair shops and safety inspectors, who argued the existing inspection cadence protects public safety and expressed concern about carve-outs for fleet vehicles that accumulate many miles.
Committee members questioned fleet-mileage differences and raised long-running debates about whether two-year inspections would maintain inspection integrity for high‑mileage or fleet-operated vehicles. After debate the committee voted 4-1 to lay the bill on the table. The clerk recorded the result but the transcript does not list individual member votes for this roll call. Delegate Batten’s substitute was made available online for review; the committee noted the matter has been revisited in prior sessions.
