Subcommittee tables bill extending inspection grace period for returning service members

A House transportation subcommittee laid on the table, by a recorded vote of 5 to 3, House Bill 1747, a proposal to extend from 14 to 30 days the time returning service members would have to renew a Virginia vehicle inspection after returning to the Commonwealth.

Delegate Ennis, sponsor of the measure, said the bill responded to a constituent who returned from deployment, took leave out of state and then was pulled over for an expired inspection sticker. "Like my constituent, many members of the military go on extended leave after deployments. This bill would simply extend the grace period for them to get their vehicle in order," he told the subcommittee.

Committee members raised enforcement and equity questions about whether officers or courts would require service members to produce orders or other documentation at the time of a stop. Several members observed that military orders can be voluminous and that service members do not always carry copies in their vehicles.

Major Ron Maxey of the Virginia State Police testified that the State Police administer the vehicle-inspection program, not DMV, and that current practice does not create a paperwork requirement at the time of a stop; paperwork would typically be produced in court if a summons were issued. Major Maxey said the existing statutory grace period for returning service members is 14 days and that other motorists may in some cases have a 90-day grace period created by prior legislation.

After questioning and discussion, the subcommittee voted to lay HB 1747 on the table by a 5-3 roll call. The chair urged the sponsor to work on more specific, "black-and-white" language to resolve process concerns and invited the sponsor to return with clarified bill text in a future session.