House committee puts brakes on vehicle inspection measure

A bid to allow motorists to opt for two-year motor vehicle inspections instead of annual checks hit a snag Tuesday.

Louisiana House Transportation Committee Chairwoman Karen St. Germain, D-Pierre Part and handler of the bill, asked for a one-week delay amid a flurry of questions about the measure.

“Concerns can be brought and we can make it a better bill,” St. Germain said.

The proposal is Senate Bill 601, which breezed through the state Senate.

It would allow motorists to get a two-year motor vehicle inspection sticker rather than the yearly tag, which is required now.

St. Germain called the plan a consumer friendly measure.

“It is not always in the interest of the consumer to have to take a day off work and get a second inspection sticker when you can get two in one year,” she said.

But state Rep. Terry Landry, D-Lafayette, said he thinks motorists should only have that option until the car or truck is five years old.

“People start doing modifications, usually after five years,” said Landry, who is former superintendent for the Louisiana State Police.

State Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, said the inspections are required to ensure vehicle safety.

“If we wait two years, we are doubling the chances for something to go wrong with the car and not be caught,” Jones said.

He said if the state only requires inspections every two years, three or five-year intervals should be considered.

“I just don’t get this one,” Jones said of the bill.

Under the legislation, the price of the inspection would remain the same — $10 per year, or $20 for a two-year sticker.

State Rep. Frankie Howard, R-Many, said he wants to change the bill so that inspectors do not have to pay in advance for inspection stickers, which he called a financial hardship.

“They have to put up X number of dollars for so many stickers,” Howard said.

St. Germain countered that, by doing so, inspectors would then have to remit money to the state after the tags are issued.

St. Germain said she could go along with giving motorists the option of annual inspections or every other year after the vehicle is six years old.

But she asked for a week-long delay on the bill to work out revisions.