CHARLESTON — After some debate, the West Virginia Senate passed a bill Friday to change vehicle inspection requirements to once every two years.
The debate came on the third reading of Senate Bill 254 after Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, spoke in favor of it.
“This changes the annual inspection requirement for vehicles and motorcycles from an annual inspection to an inspection every two years,” Stuart said. “This bill adjusts the inspection sticker fee from $3 to $6 to reflect the doubling of the validly time of the sticker. It also increases the maximum fee that an inspection station may charge for an inspection from $14 to $19 — merely an inflation adjustment. That’s all that is.”
Stuart said West Virginia is one of 19 states that require an annual inspection of any sort.
“Five states do it on a two-year basis,” he said. “Other states may require periodic emissions testing, and there is a hodgepodge of testing across states. Ten states require no inspections whatsoever. This keeps West Virginians safe while adding to the convenience of being a citizen of the state.”
Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, spoke against the bill.
“I live in a border county with Ohio, and do you know what a one-eyed Popeye is?” Woelfel said. “A one-eyed Popeye is a vehicle with one headlight out and it’s coming at you and you think it’s a motorcycle, and it’s a big truck. People in Ohio, with no disrespect to our Buckeye friends, but there are no inspections over there. People have the vehicles tied together with baling wire and twine. What assurances to we have that this is not going to impose a safety issue on our vehicles that are not inspected every year? That’s my concern.”
Stuart said the bill was a reasonable alternative.
“I would say that amongst this body here, there are many who would propose the idea of eliminating inspections entirely,” he said. “In the United States today there are only four states that require a purely safety check in terms of their vehicles, and West Virginia is one of those. Moving to a two-year vehicle inspection for safety purposes seems like a completely reasonable alternative to the other alternative of eliminating it entirely.”
Stuart said it ensures funding for the West Virginia State Police and allows the state a period of time to study it.
“Nothing this body does is ever permanent or fixed,” he said. “If we see there is some substantial issue at some point in the future we can change this law and move it back to a one-year requirement.”
Woelfel asked when the law would take effect. Stuart replied it would be in 2024.
“So you’re saying we’re going to be more safe when the brakes of every vehicle aren’t inspected once a year?” Woelfel asked. “How are we going to be more safe?”
Stuart said the question should be will it make people less safe.
“This requirement has been around for decades,” he said. “Many states are trying to move to a less regulatory, mandated regime. I will say this, cars are made much better today in America than they were in the 1970s.”
Woelfel disagreed.
“I don’t think this is a Big Brother government situation where we’re going to free oppressed people from the burden of big government,” he said.
Woelfel said a friend who works in a tire shop explained to him that many people, especially the elderly, don’t know their brakes are no good.
“They are not tuned in to vehicles,” he said. “Why are we going to put vehicles out there that are not safe. I don’t see the net gain, other than to say ‘freedom’ from the government burden for that year. We are a leader in this and we want our people to be safe. I don’t see the savings compared to any way with the safety issues with cars this will unleash out here in our communities.”
Stuart responded by saying the line needed to be drawn somewhere.
“Where do you draw the line on safety? Do you want a six-month inspection? How about a monthly inspection? Let’s carry it to the illogical extreme of a daily inspection,” he said. “We haven’t changed anything with respect to the obligation of folks with respect to safety in their vehicles. This is a reasonable alternative, and let’s not let perfect be the enemy of the good.”
The bill passed by a 23 to 5 vote with six senators absent and was sent the the House of Delegates. The other four senators to vote against the bill were Mike Caputo, D-Marion; Robert Plymale, D-Wayne; Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia; and Rupie Phillips, R-Logan.
If the bill becomes law, it would take effect Jan. 1, 2024.
