House GOP Won't 'Pump The Breaks' On Ending Vehicle Inspections

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

A court battle may still be looming over New Hampshire’s law ending mandatory vehicle inspections, but efforts to bring them back at the State House were decisively rejected Tuesday.

The House Transportation Committee voted 15-1 against a Democratic bill to reinstate the inspection mandate. The lone vote in favor came from Rep. Joseph Hamblen (R-Moultonborough).

“When the original bill came up to repeal inspections, I was against it at that time, and ever since that time, up until now, I hear overwhelmingly from people that they want inspections back,” Hamblen told his colleagues.

He was in a distinct minority.

Most committee members aligned with Rep. Henry Giasson (R-Goffstown), who argued lawmakers should stay the course.

“This body put the pedal to the metal on repealing vehicle inspections, and we’re not going to pump the brakes now,” Giasson said.

While the margin of the vote surprised some observers, the outcome was never seriously in doubt. House Republican leadership has made clear it believes ending inspections is politically popular, particularly with working-class voters. Shortly after the vote, House Republicans highlighted Giasson’s remarks on social media and added their own message.

“Democrats are trying to bring back vehicle inspections in the form of HB 1560,” the House GOP tweeted. “Vehicle inspections are gone, and we’re NOT letting them return.”

Committee members said they have heard sharply different views from constituents on the issue.

“I’ve gotten more emails from people who are interested in getting them done with, and it’s continued when they found out (the issue) was back on the docket,” said Rep. Ted Gorski (R-Bedford). “The messages that I’ve received, which have been 95 percent, said, ‘I’m tired of it. I’m done with it.’ Let’s make sure it gets repealed.”

Democrats on the panel said their constituents see the issue differently. Rep. Marc Plamondon (D-Nashua) said voters “overwhelmingly want basic safety-related inspections back, not the 44 or 46 pages that the Department of Safety adds on to inspections for the inspection stations.” He said they want something “based exclusively on safety.”

The near-unanimous vote also reflected uncertainty over the current legal status of the inspection program. Last week, the Executive Council rejected a request from Attorney General John Formella to extend the state’s contract with Gordon-Darby, the Kentucky-based company that operates the technical side of New Hampshire’s inspection and emissions system.

Formella sought the extension in response to a federal court order requiring the state to continue inspections while Gordon-Darby’s lawsuit proceeds. The company argues New Hampshire cannot eliminate its inspection and emissions program without first securing approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act.

Republicans had considered proposing an amendment to reinstate inspections while reducing the penalty for violations to a $1 fine. Ultimately, they decided against it.

“We decided that it is prudent to let Formella move forward with the legal process before we act,” House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) told NHJournal. “If the need arises, we have time.

“What’s important is that everyone now understands that we will take whatever steps necessary to protect Granite Staters from the sticker scheme.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.