FIVE YEAR REGISTRATION OPTION AMONG THE PROPOSALS
by Hannah Taylor
Missouri News Network
Several bills modifying vehicle registration and inspection standards were up for discussion during last week’s House Government Efficiency Committee meeting.
House Bill 246, sponsored by Rep. Bob Bromley, R-Carl Junction, would modify the biennial vehicle registration option so the model year would not be taken into consideration. Bromley is also sponsoring House Bill 247, a proposition to establish a five-year motor vehicle registration option for vehicles that are less than 5 years old.
Under the bill, owners could opt for paying the annual fee for all five years upfront, instead of going back for vehicle registration yearly.
Rep. Christopher Warwick, R-Bolivar, and Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, sponsored House Bills 424 and 799 respectively. These propositions are similar in content, both exempting biennial inspections for vehicles that have less than 150,000 miles or are from the year 2012 or newer.
Warwick and Baker agree these inspections have little correlation with accident rates in Missouri and are burdensome to small businesses. Federal investigators have found that mechanical component failures only account for 2% of accidents, while 94% are driver error, Warwick said.
Baker argued that the inspections occurring right now in Missouri are rarely thorough and having a state worker qualified to perform these reviews strain the resources of small businesses.
“We are allowing the state of Missouri to mandate a private business to perform a service for much less than the cost of what they would charge for that otherwise,” Baker said. “I believe that’s wrong.”
The price for a vehicle inspection is $12, a stipulation in both bills would allow donations of a dollar to several different charities as a part of that cost. There are currently 13 states that have no law requiring safety inspections for motor vehicles.
There was no public testimony given on the proposals.
