Revision: Dec. 13, 2023, 5:03 p.m.
2024 SESSION
24-2788.1
11/08
HOUSE BILL [bill number]
AN ACT relative to reducing requirements for vehicle inspections.
SPONSORS: [sponsors]
COMMITTEE: [committee]
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ANALYSIS
This bill reduces requirements for vehicle inspection.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2788.1
11/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to reducing requirements for vehicle inspections.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Inspection Authorized. Amend RSA 266:1 to read as follows:
266:1 Inspection Authorized.
I. The director may require the inspection of any vehicle, except an OHRV, snowmobile, moped, roadable aircraft, or any other vehicle exempted under this chapter, to determine whether it is fit to be driven. Such inspection shall be made at such times and in such manner as the director may specify, subject to the requirements set forth in this section.
II. Any vehicle registered under this title, except an OHRV, snowmobile, moped, roadable aircraft, or other exempt vehicle, shall be inspected once a 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] for one year from the last day of the month in which the inspection sticker was issued. [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] vehicle ownership is transferred.
[II-a. Notwithstanding RSA 266:1, II, if the month in which the anniversary of the owner's birth occurs will be one of the next 4 months, and the vehicle owner provides written verification of absence from New Hampshire during the entire anniversary month, 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.]
III. If the owner of the vehicle is a company or corporation or other than a natural person, the annual 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 May. Without regard to the owner's birth date or registration month, motorcycles, autocycles, and recreational vehicles shall be inspected annually by July 1.
IV. [Notwithstanding paragraphs II and III, newly registered vehicles, other than vehicles transferred to a licensed dealer, OHRVs, snowmobiles, mopeds, roadable aircraft, and vehicles, other than vehicles transferred to a licensed dealer, OHRVs, snowmobiles, mopeds, and roadable aircraft, the ownership of which has been transferred, shall be inspected not later than 10 days after the registration or transfer of ownership of said vehicle.] Newly registered vehicles that do not have a current inspection sticker shall be inspected no later than 10 days after the vehicle's registration or transfer of ownership. However, if a new vehicle is purchased at retail from a licensed dealer, as defined in RSA 259:18, the vehicle shall be inspected not later than 20 days after the date of transfer. A used vehicle for which a dealer has issued a 20-day plate pursuant to RSA 261:109 shall be inspected by the dealer or an authorized inspection station on behalf of the dealer at the time of the attachment of the plate unless a valid inspection sticker issued by the dealer is in place, in which case the vehicle shall be inspected within 20 days or before the sticker expires, whichever occurs first. All other expired motor vehicle inspections shall be subject to the 10-day grace period in RSA 266:5.
V. The director may authorize properly qualified persons to make inspections without expense to the state at stations designated by the director, and may at any time revoke such authorization or designation; provided, however, that inspections conducted at such stations at the request and under the direction of a police officer or a state trooper or authorized employee of the department of safety shall be paid for as follows:
(a) In the event violations of this section are uncovered, by the owner of the vehicle.
(b) In the event no such violations are uncovered, by the agency represented by the police officer or state trooper or authorized employee of the department of safety. The biennial fee to be paid by the inspection station upon authorization to make inspections shall be $50 and shall not be refundable nor prorated, however, applications submitted during the second year of the license cycle shall be subject to a fee of only $25.
V-a. An inspection station may, upon request, be designated a "motorcycle only" inspection station. A "motorcycle only" inspection station may inspect only motorcycles and shall not be required to conduct OBD II emission testing under RSA 266:59-b or to purchase or lease any equipment relating to the OBD II emission testing program.
VI. Except as provided in paragraph XII, each inspection station shall conspicuously post on its premises a notice, in a form and size approved by the director, indicating that the station is an authorized inspection station.
VII. Except as provided in paragraph XII, each inspection station shall conspicuously post on the outside of the building a sign showing the inspection fee charged and the additional fee charged for OBD II testing under RSA 266:59-b. No inspection station shall include the cost of OBD II testing or reporting in the inspection fee charged for a vehicle not subject to the OBD II requirements under RSA 266:59-b.
VII-a.(a) The director is authorized to require inspection stations to submit inspection data to the department electronically, provided that if electronic submission is required the following inspection stations shall be allowed to submit inspection data electronically or on a designated schedule and form prescribed by the department:
(1) Inspection stations that are authorized to inspect only motorcycles.
(2) [Repealed.]
(3) Fleet motor vehicle inspection stations for non-OBD II vehicles.
(4) Municipal and county government inspection stations.
(b) The department shall not require an inspection station to transfer inspection information electronically for any vehicle of model year 1995 or older.
VIII. A new vehicle which has been delivered in this state with a certificate of origin in the form prescribed by the director is exempt from the inspection requirements contained in this section until it is sold at retail. Upon retail sale of such a vehicle, the owner shall be required to have the vehicle inspected pursuant to paragraph IV and as provided in this section and the rules adopted under this chapter.
IX. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section to the contrary, all school buses exceeding 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight shall be inspected semiannually. The month for the first inspection shall be the month in which the birth date of the owner is observed, if the owner is a natural person; if the owner is other than a natural person, the first inspection shall be conducted during the month designated by the director as the registration month for such legal entity. In either case, the second inspection shall be 6 months later.
X. The director may authorize properly qualified persons to inspect any motor vehicle, except an OHRV, snowmobile, moped, roadable aircraft, or any other vehicle exempted under this chapter, which has been involved in a fatal accident or an accident involving serious bodily injury as defined in RSA 625:11, VI, to determine whether the vehicle was in compliance with state inspection requirements.
XI.(a) The department may impose an administrative fine upon any inspection station for any violation of an inspection law or rule adopted under the provisions of this chapter. The authority to impose such a fine shall be in addition to any other remedy or penalty that may be imposed, but in no event shall the department impose both a fine and a suspension of inspection privileges in the same proceeding. The maximum amounts of the fines which may be assessed shall be as follows:
(1) For the first violation, $250.
(2) For the second violation, $500.
(3) For the third violation, $750.
(4) For the fourth violation, $1,000.
(5) For 5 or more violations, $2,000.
(b) No fine shall take effect unless approved by the commissioner. The commissioner shall have the authority to modify the amount of the fine assessed.
XII. The director may authorize as an inspection station a mobile service garage that is contracted with employers, provided:
(a) Inspections may only be performed while the mobile service garage is on an employer's premises.
(b) While the mobile service garage is on an employer's premises, inspections are performed solely on vehicles registered to employees of the contracted employer or registered to the employer.
(c) Each inspection station authorized pursuant to this section shall conspicuously post, in a form and size approved by the director, on its vehicle or trailer indicating that it is an authorized inspection station.
(d) Each inspection station authorized pursuant to this paragraph shall conspicuously post on the outside of its vehicle or trailer a sign showing the inspection fee charged and the additional fee charged for OBD II testing under RSA 266:59-b. No inspection station authorized pursuant to this paragraph shall include the cost of OBD II testing or reporting in the inspection fee charged for a vehicle not subject to the OBD II requirements under RSA 266:59-b.
XIII. The department shall not require an inspection station to perform inspections within any minimum or maximum amount of time. No penalty or audit shall result based on the amount of time spent on inspections, whether individually or on average.
2 New Paragraph; Time Allotted for Inspections. Amend RSA 266:1-a by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
III. No law enforcement officer shall require inspections within any minimum or maximum amount of time nor shall any penalty or audit result solely from the amount of time spent on inspections, whether individually or on average.
3 Rust. Amend RSA 266:3-a, II to read as follows:
II. Any metal or any loose or dislocated parts protruding more than 1/2 inch from the surface of the vehicle so as to create a hazard.
4 Front Lights. Amend RSA 266:31 to read as follows:
266:31 Front Lights. Every motor vehicle driven during the period from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise, and whenever rain, snow, or fog shall interfere with the proper view of the road so that persons and vehicles on the way are not clearly discernible at a distance of 1000 feet ahead, shall display at least 2 lighted lamps on the front; provided, however, that one suitable lighted lamp on the front of a motorcycle shall be sufficient. The headlamp shall throw sufficient light ahead within the traveled portion of the way to make clearly visible all vehicles, persons, or substantial objects within a distance of 200 feet, except that the headlamps of motorcycles shall be sufficient if they make clearly visible objects within a distance of 150 feet. No headlamp shall be used unless it is approved by the director and is equipped with a proper lens or other device designed to prevent glaring rays. All headlamps on every motor vehicle shall be located at a height of not more than 54 inches nor less than 24 inches from the ground on an unladen vehicle. The measurement shall be made from the ground to the center of the lens. No device which obstructs, reflects, or alters the beam of such headlamp shall be used in connection therewith unless approved by the director. Every lens or other device to prevent glaring rays, the use of which on motor vehicles has been approved by the director, shall be arranged, adjusted, and operated in accordance with the requirements of the certificate approving the use thereof. Every lamp, bulb, or light used in any headlamp shall be of such candle power as may be specified for the approved device in the certificate approving the use thereof. Every reflector which is used as a part of such headlamp shall have a reflecting surface approved by the director after satisfactory tests have been made, and every reflecting surface shall be free from dents[, rust] and other imperfections that inhibit the ability for light to project as described this section. Linear cracks in a headlamp or reflecting surface shall not cause inspection failure. The driver of every motor vehicle shall permit any properly authorized person to inspect the headlighting equipment of such motor vehicle and to make such tests as he or she may deem necessary to determine whether the provisions of this section are being complied with. Any headlamp color approved by the director for motor vehicles shall be considered approved for motorcycles.
5 Directional Signals. Amend RSA 266:42 to read as follows:
266:42 Directional Signals. It shall be unlawful to drive on any way in this state any motor vehicle registered in this state which is manufactured or assembled after January 1, 1952, unless such vehicle is equipped with directional signals approved by the director. The provisions of this section shall not apply to motorcycles manufactured prior to January 1, 1973. No directional signal shall cause inspection failure unless it does not function properly, is not properly directed, is obscured, or has a minimum light output and projection lower than the vehicle’s original equipment.
6 Reflectors. Amend RSA 266:43 to read as follows:
266:43 Reflectors. Every new motor vehicle sold and driven upon a way, other than a tractor truck, shall carry on the rear, either as a part of the tail lamps or separately, 2 red reflectors, except that every motorcycle, moped and motor-driven cycle shall carry at least one reflector. Linear cracks that do not interfere with reflective function shall not cause inspection failure.
7 New Section; Window Function. Amend RSA 266 by inserting after section 58-a the following new section:
266:58-b Window Function. No vehicle shall fail inspection due to the inability of a window to open or close.
8 New Section; Exhaust Pipe Inspection. Amend RSA 266 by inserting after section 59-c the following new section:
266:59-d Exhaust Pipe Inspection. An exhaust pipe that has been successfully patched shall not cause inspection failure.
9 New Section; Restrictions and Rulemaking. Amend RSA 266 by inserting after section 117 the following new section:
266:118 Rulemaking Restrictions.
I. No rule shall require inspection failure due to problems with any door handle, latch, lock, or hinge that does not prevent any side door from opening and securely closing.
II. No rule shall require wooden bumpers to be made of hardwood.
III. No rule shall require on-board diagnostic system inspection on vehicles over 15 model years old.
IV. No rule shall require inspection failure of any functional headlamp lens or reflector having linear cracks.
10 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.