Senate Transportation advances amended S.211 to study and set path for biennial vehicle inspections
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Summary
The Senate Transportation Committee voted to advance an amended S.211 that directs a report and implementation plan for shifting pleasure-vehicle inspections to a biennial schedule, while members debated Clean Air Act compliance, fees, and inspection-manual changes; the panel approved amended drafts 3.1 and 4.1 with roll-call votes.
Damian Leonard of the Office of Legislative Council told the Senate Transportation Committee that a strike-all amendment to S.211 would require a report and an implementation plan to transition pleasure cars to safety-and-emissions inspections once every two years beginning in January.
"This is a strike all amendment of S.211 that would require a report on 2 year motor vehicle inspections, and an implementation plan," Leonard said as he outlined the new draft.
The draft adopted several new elements: a requirement that the report propose an inspection fee structure and address different fees by vehicle class; an analysis of anticipated state revenue impacts during any transition to biennial inspections and options to mitigate those impacts; proposed amendments to mileage-based user-fee (MBUF) reporting for battery-electric vehicles in years they are not inspected; and language carried forward from earlier drafts related to enforcement and testing.
Committee members spent substantial time debating whether the bill should require actions that would "ensure" Vermont remains in compliance with the federal Clean Air Act or instead direct the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to identify actions and any additional issues that could prevent compliance. Leonard said ANR had previously expressed concern that moving to biennial inspections could require changes to the State Implementation Plan and that the committee needed to know what constraints — including federal approval and costs — might limit what the state could do.
One member asked the committee to remove the conditional phrase "if possible" from the draft so the report would be required to identify concrete actions. Another member cautioned that a strict "ensure" requirement could compel the state to take technically or fiscally burdensome steps. Committee members agreed to reword Subdivision 3 so the report must, "in addition to any issues or actions identified pursuant to subdivision 2," identify additional issues related to the change to biennial inspections that could prevent Vermont from remaining in compliance and lay out potential options for addressing those issues.
The committee also discussed the timing and downstream legislative steps needed to implement any change. Leonard noted that if the body were to adopt language shifting inspections to a Jan. 1, 2028, effective date, subsequent legislation could be required to adopt fee schedules identified by the report. He said the department could also propose permanent rule amendments to the inspection manual at any time and — if filed before Aug. 1 — could later pursue emergency rulemaking.
The draft directs the transportation commissioner to provide three short reports to the House and Senate Transportation committees tied to rulemaking filings: a summary and annotated copy of the inspection manual within five days of proposed rule filing; a summary, annotated manual and responsiveness summary within five days after filing final proposed rules; and a brief written statement within five days after filing adopted rules listing filing and effective dates and any LCAR changes.
On inspection content, the amendment includes an intent clause asking that the inspection manual be drafted so a vehicle fails an inspection only when, as determined by the commissioner, the condition constitutes an immediate safety risk; it also directs the department to determine whether tests such as the on-highway road test for brakes and the headlamp-aiming test should be amended or eliminated and to add visual guidance describing when conditions warrant failure.
The draft adds motorcycle exhaust language from prior legislation: an individual would not be permitted to operate a motorcycle that is not labeled in compliance and equipped with a muffler meeting federal standards; the prohibition would not apply to races, contests or demonstrations, and motorcycles that do not meet the subdivision’s requirements would not pass an inspection under the cited inspection section.
The committee voted to move draft 3.1 forward on a roll-call vote (reported 4-1-0). The clerk recorded Senator Brennan voting no and Senators Harrison, Pertzlick, White and Watson voting yes. Later the committee approved the March 26 version 4.1 (described as miscellaneous amendments to motor vehicle laws) by roll-call, reported 5-0-0.
Members asked staff to produce a section-by-section summary and indicated they expect further amendments on the floor and additional work on MBUF and vehicle-miles-traveled provisions in the T bill. Leonard said he would circulate the edited drafts and the committee would receive the three required reports tied to rule filings.
The committee’s action advances the bill as amended to the next procedural step; the adopted committee drafts direct the agency to study implementation constraints and options, propose fee and revenue-mitigation approaches, and provide rapid reports to legislative transportation committees as rule changes progress.
