HB 1693-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
03/09
HOUSE BILL 1693-FN
AN ACT relative to motor vehicle inspections.
SPONSORS: Rep. DeLemus, Straf 1
This bill changes the annual motor vehicle inspection requirement to a biennial requirement. This bill also raises the fee for inspection stickers from $3.25 to $6.50.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2060
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to motor vehicle inspections.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Vehicle Inspection; Frequency. Amend RSA 266:1, II to read as follows:
II. Any vehicle registered under this title, except an OHRV, snowmobile, moped, or other exempt vehicle, shall be inspected once [a] every second year, during the month in which the birth date of the owner is observed, if the owner is a natural person. [An inspection sticker shall be valid for the same duration as the vehicle’s registration, which shall not exceed 16 months. If the month in which the anniversary of the owner’s birth occurs will be one of the next 4 months, an inspection sticker may be issued, with an expiration date of the birth month in the following year, of the first person named on the title application.] Nothing in this paragraph shall require any person who has registered and had inspected a vehicle with temporary plates to have the vehicle reinspected upon receipt of permanent motor vehicle plates. An inspection sticker shall not expire when a vehicle is transferred to a licensed dealer.
2 Motor Vehicle Inspections; Dates. Amend RSA 266:1, III to read as follows:
III. If the owner of the vehicle is a company or corporation or other than a natural person, the [annual] biennial inspection shall be made during the month designated by the director as the registration month for such legal entity. [Vehicles registered as antique motor vehicles and antique motorcycles and which are 40 years old and over shall be inspected biennially.] Antique motor vehicles and custom vehicles shall be inspected in the month of April. Without regard to the owner’s birth date or registration month, motorcycles and recreational vehicles shall be inspected [annually] by July 1 of every second year.
3 Motor Vehicle Inspections; Fees. Amend RSA 266:2 to read as follows:
266:2 Fees. The fee for inspection stickers shall be [$3.25] $6.50 for each sticker furnished an approved inspection station. The division shall transfer [$.25] $.50 of each fee collected under this section to the motor vehicle air pollution abatement fund established by RSA 125-S:3 and [$.25] $.50 of each fee collected under this section to the general fund. All unused stickers returned by the approved inspection station to the division shall be refundable at the rate of [$3.25] $6.50 each, except that unused stickers purchased from the division for a fee of $2.50 shall be refundable at the rate of $2.50 each and unused stickers purchased from the division for a fee of $3.25 shall be refundable at the rate of $3.25 each.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013.
LBAO
12-2060
Revised 12/02/11
HB 1693-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to motor vehicle inspections.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety states this bill will increase state restricted revenues by $1,878,000 and state general fund revenue by $156,500 in FY 2013. This bill will increase state highway fund expenditures by $13,125 in FY 2013, and $206,580 in FY 2014. This bill will increase local revenue by $206,580 in FY 2014. There will be no fiscal impact on county revenue, or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety states this bill changes the annual motor vehicle inspection requirement to a biennial requirement and raises the fee for inspection stickers from $3.25 to $6.50. The Department states the fee would be allocated according to the same ratio as the current fee with an additional $.25 being allocated to the motor vehicle air pollution abatement fund, an additional $.25 being allocated to the general fund, and an additional $2.75 going to the highway fund. Under current law the stickers are sold on a calendar year basis and the Department assumes their sale is spread evenly over the course of each year. The Department states in a typical year 1,252,000 stickers are sold. The effective date of the proposed legislation is January 1, 2013 so the Department estimates approximately 626,000 (1,252,000 x 0.5 years) inspection stickers would be sold at twice the current annual price between January 1 and June 30, 2013. This would result in an overall increase in state revenue in FY 2013 as follows:
Estimated increase in state revenues:
Motor vehicle air pollution abatement fund (626,000 x $.25) $ 156,500
Highway fund (626,000 x $2.75) $1,721,500
General fund (626,000 x $.25) $ 156,500
Total $2,034,500
During the period of July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013, those who purchased stickers in the first half of FY 2013 (July 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012) would need to purchase stickers again, as those purchases were made when the stickers were only valid for one year. So the Department estimates revenue would be roughly flat in FY 2014, as half of the typical annual sticker purchasers would purchase stickers at twice the annual price. This flat revenue would continue in each year after FY 2014.
The Department notes the proposed legislation would also increase state highway fund expenditures in FY 2013 by the cost of programming changes needed to implement the law and in FY 2014 by the proportional increase in local highway aid in accordance with RSA 235:23. The Department estimates the programming changes would require approximately $13,125 for 75 hours of programming time at $175 per hour. The Department estimates state expenditures for local highway aid would increase by $206,580 ($1,721,500 x 12%), thereby increasing local revenue by the same amount in FY 2014. The Department also states the change from requiring annual inspections to biennial inspections without revising inspection standards to reflect a two year inspection sticker may cause an increase in motor vehicle accidents, in crash reporting requirements, in citations issued and related hearings held, and in plea by mail processing costs. These potential unintended consequences could increase state costs further.