Revision: March 5, 2025, 3:07 p.m.
Rep. B. Boyd, Hills. 12
Rep. Rung, Hills. 12
March 5, 2025
2025-0783h
11/08
Floor Amendment to HB 649-FN
Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:
AN ACT requiring motor vehicle inspections every other year for private passenger vehicles and motorcycles and in the third year after purchase for certain new vehicles or dealer-owned vehicles, and providing that a lit or inoperable check engine light shall not be grounds for motor vehicle inspection failure.
Amend the bill by replacing all after the enacting clause with the following:
1 Motor Vehicles; Inspection Exempt. Amend RSA 266:1, II to read as follows:
II. Any vehicle registered under this title, except a private passenger vehicle, as defined in RSA 259:81, a motorcycle, 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. Any private passenger vehicle, as defined in RSA 259:81, or a motorcycle registered under this title shall be inspected once every 2 years, during the month in which the birth date of the owner is observed, if the owner is a natural person. An inspection sticker on a vehicle other than a private passenger vehicle or motorcycle 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. A private passenger vehicle or motorcycle shall be registered as required by law, but the inspection sticker shall be valid for the period enumerated in this paragraph, and 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 of the first person named on the title application two years from the year of the last inspection. 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. Upon a vehicle's successful inspection, the dealer shall affix an inspection sticker to the vehicle that expires in the appropriate month and year according to this paragraph.
2 Model Year Purchase Excepted. Amend RSA 266:1, II-a to read as follows:
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 prior to inspection sticker expiration, 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, except as provided in paragraph IV-a, of the first person named on the title application.
3 Newly Registered Vehicles. Amend RSA 266:1, IV to read as follows:
IV. Except as provided in paragraph IV-a, 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. However, if a new vehicle not described in paragraph IV-a 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.
4 New Paragraph; New Model Year Vehicle. Amend RSA 266:1 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
IV-a. A private passenger vehicle, as defined in RSA 259:81, or a motorcycle purchased from a licensed dealer by a natural person as the first non-dealer owner either prior to or during the vehicle’s model year, or after the vehicle's model year, where the vehicle has been a service loaner or previously leased vehicle with less than 12,000 miles on the odometer, shall be inspected by the dealer after the purchase but prior to release of the vehicle to the purchaser, and then be exempt from inspection until the last day of the registered owner’s birth month in third year after purchase, and then subsequently as provided in paragraph II. A private passenger vehicle, as defined in RSA 259:81, or a motorcycle purchased from a licensed dealer by a corporation as the first non-dealer owner either prior to or during the vehicle’s model year, or after the vehicle's model year, where the vehicle has been a service loaner or previously leased vehicle with less than 12,000 miles on the odometer, shall be inspected by the dealer after the purchase but prior to release of the vehicle to the purchaser, and then exempt from inspection until the last day of the purchase anniversary month in the third year after purchase, and then subsequently as provided in paragraph II. Upon the vehicle's successful inspection, the dealer shall affix an inspection sticker to the vehicle that expires in the appropriate month and year according to this paragraph.
5 New Section; Inspection; Check Engine Light. Amend RSA 266 by inserting after section 266:62-a the following new section:
266:63 Check Engine Light. A lit or inoperable check engine light on a private passenger vehicle, as defined in RSA 259:81, or a motorcycle shall not itself be grounds for motor vehicle inspection failure.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2027.
2025-0783h
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill requires that certain new motor vehicles and vehicles owned by a dealer that have been service loaners or previously leased with less than 12,000 miles on the odometer be inspected once by the dealer and not again until the third year. This bill also requires that private passenger vehicles and motorcycles be inspected once every 2 years. Additionally, this bill provides that a lit or inoperable check engine light on private passenger vehicles or motorcycles shall not in itself be grounds for inspection failure.