I am looking for simple information on the Texas Senate bill 1588. I get very lost in reading it I do admit. The question is, is Texas dropping the vehicle safety inspection on Motor Homes starting in September 2017?

According to reports that I have read, the answer would be yes, if it passes. 

Interesting.  This could affect my decision on domicile.  I live in Tx but was considering SD so I wouldn't have to mess with inspections if I popped back into texas during my snowbirding retirement. 

Edit:  the bill's progress can be followed here:   http://www.legis.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=SB1588

Edited March 24, 2017 by secessus

Will be watching this close.

So they think it is not needed to safety inspect a large motorized vehicle but it is required to safety inspect trailers pulled by vehicles that are safety inspected.  Seems like flawed logic to me. I think I smell lobbyist somewhere in the mix.  Sort of reminds me of the tax on certain rv's they flubbed up some years ago and then corrected it 2 years later.

It looks like the inspection bill is for all passenger vehicles, not just motorhomes.

 
Quote

Today in Austin, Senator Don Huffines (R-Dallas) filed Senate Bill 1588, a bi-partisan bill that will repeal the annual requirement that all passenger vehicles receive a state-certified inspection. A significant and diverse body of scientific evidence indicate that safety inspections do nothing to increase road safety.

Senator Huffines stated, "With significant technological advances in vehicle design and technology, this 66-year-old program is a relic of the past. State government is wasting Texans' time & money on the annual chore of passenger inspections when 34 other states, including populous states like California, don't require it of their drivers. Once you realize that these inspections aren't about safety, it's clear that they're simply a tax on Texans' time and money."

The vehicle safety inspection in Texas has been a joke for years and years.  The places I go to, drive the car for 10-20 feet (sometimes I drive it up to the inspection bay) so the brakes really don't get checked.  So they check to be sure the lights work and the windshield wipers are OK and send you on your way.  The same with my motorhome.

Or if you go to an unscrupulous garage they will work very hard to find something which MAY need to be fixed in the future, or spill a little fluid somewhere and tell you that you need some several hundred dollar repair.  Keep in mind for a $7 inspection fee the garage has a huge incentive to find something wrong to charge you to fix.  $7 probably doesn't cover the time and hassle for the garage to do the inspection. 

It is about time the state does away with the inspection. 

As far as trailers, if they are not part of the bill, then people should write to their Senator & Senator Huffines and tell them to include them. 

Do away with the the smog and inspections dnjust have the exhaust testers set up on the roadway. If you are spewing too much of the wrong stuff, they will send you a ticket requiring you to get tested

Hi All,

I came across this thread, and as Advocacy Director for Escapees, I felt compelled to respond. First, thank you all for your vigilance and caring. Advocacy is a responsibility we all share. I appreciate the help, more than you know. Second, I read Texas SB 1588 multiple times and cross-referenced it with the existing legislation, cited in the proposed bill. Perhaps I am missing something; and, it is entirely possible that I am. But, I do not see where this legislation removes the inspection requirement for RVers. The closest that the bill comes to affecting RVers is by altering the inspection requirement for commercial vehicles. But, again, that does not seem to affect our community as very few of us operate our RVs for commercial purposes. Please help me understand with more specificity your reading of the legislation. Again, thank you all for your efforts.

Section 2, part d, say that the inspection will be in a county that requires EMISSION testing - that doesn't go away because that is a federal requirement under the Clean Air act.   So for Livingston, where there is no CAA requirement, there will be no inspections.  It is an EMISSION testing only - no safety inspections.   So those living in Dallas, Houston, etc will continue to get their inspections.  Rest of the state won't be bothered.   Lots of states have tailpipe emissions testing in large metro areas.

OK very good now, we are hearing that for Escapees members we will not need to travel back to get yearly inspections. We are full Timers and we do travel to see our kids and families in the various states, California, Colorado, Texas Georgia and Florida.. That is what being retired is all about after all right, enjoying the life. We have been out of state and have come back in on our road trips and gotten our inspections as we crossed into Texas. We have seen the two sticker go to one and now it seems we will no longer have to be concerned with the yearly safety inspections, being members of the Livingston Escapees group with the Livingston address, vehicle  registrations and drivers licenses

  On 3/28/2017 at 2:57 AM, Ron & Linda R said:

OK very good now, we are hearing that for Escapees members we will not need to travel back to get yearly inspections.

You've never had to return to Texas each year *just* to get your vehicles inspected.  Even when the state went from two to one sticker, they provided a way whereby you didn't have to physically return to the state for an inspection.

Hi Linda, well I am not sure we are on the exact same page with your comment. I understood I was not "required" to return but was always told after being issued the new registration sticker  by mail that I was to get the safety inspection as soon as we entered into Texas, as if stopped for any reason the police would not  see we had the required safety inspection on record. So just trying to be good Texans we would stop and get the safety inspection.

It is much the same for Jury duty and I have gotten two jury summons while out of state. I called and was told it was OK and to just call to offer my services when back in the Livingston area. There is no law against one traveling as Full Timers in retirement. So when we would come back through Texas we have stayed at Escapees in Livingston and have offered to serve on a jury while we were there.

This year it is just the understanding I was seeking to know for us as Livingston Escapees, we will no longer be required to get the safety inspection and carry it to show a police officer if stopped. I am assuming  the bill will or has passed and will go into effect in September 2017.

Hi All,

I am writing with an update to the issue of whether the proposed bill (SB 1588) removes the inspection requirement for vehicles, but retains the emissions check requirement. I called Senator Huffines, one of the authors of the bill and a member of the Natural Resources and Economic Development committee for comment. When I know more, I'll post again. Please note that there was another bill recently filed in House, on the same topic-- http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=HB3995 . I'll contact Rep. Simmons, the author of HB 3995, also for comment. Again, thank you all for your watchful eyes.

  On 3/29/2017 at 12:10 AM, Ron & Linda R said:

Hi Linda, well I am not sure we are on the exact same page with your comment. I understood I was not "required" to return but was always told after being issued the new registration sticker  by mail that I was to get the safety inspection as soon as we entered into Texas,

You are correct...if your inspection sticker is expired, you must get an inspection ASAP once you go back into Texas.  However, you do not have to return to Texas *just for* an inspection, which a lot of people believe is true.

And, that was my understanding too. (Although I cannot quote chapter and verse of a particular law, at this moment.) It seems like an honor system approach to the inspections. If I recall correctly, and correct me if I am wrong, you make an attestation (during the registration process) that you are out of the state and cannot get inspected. And, then you must get inspected "immediately" upon returning to the state--which probably means as quickly as is reasonable. And, if you are caught by law enforcement without the inspection, then it becomes a can of worms. Does that comport with the group's understanding?