Jump to content

Senate Bill 1588


Ron & Linda R

Recommended Posts

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

--

2017 Promaster 159" , 570W mono, 220AH FLA

blog | RVwiki project

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Ron C.

2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3

2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, 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.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, 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.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ASAP is 72 hours but I don't know how weekend and holidays are counted. I haven't had a problem getting a title or license sticker yet.

Clay

Clay & Marcie Too old to play in the snow

Diesel pusher and previously 2 FW and small Class C

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, shawnloring said:

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?

 

The only person who I know has been stopped for an expired inspection on his RV was before the change of law to the one sticker system, but when he told the patrolman that stopped him that he had just returned to TX, he was given a ticket that required him to get an inspection and show proof to a judge within a specified period, which I can't recall the length of. I suspect that would still be the case, but am not sure.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It looks like it will be a Livingston, Texas domicile for me too then. I was considering SD too, as the TX vehicle inspection was my only sticking point. This is because I've had bad experience with Louisiana "brake tags" where there's the only way to ensure you'll pass is to bribe the inspector. I just did this 2 days ago, for the last Lousyana brake tag sticker I'll ever buy. Yeah! If you don't, there will always be something extra they will make you buy, from bogus headlight alignments, wheel alignments, windshield wiper blades to a new windshield for a small rock star or crack.  (naturally they make money on the repairs.) This time they issued me a new sticker with a 6 inch crack in the windshield (in the passenger side corner - well away from the driver's line of sight) and the CEL light on (It's only an aftermarket cat converter heater with the wrong impedance for the computer, but it works perfectly and is 1/4 the cost of the OEM part.) Either of these would have failed the test - unless you slip the guy a $20. Then he's deaf dumb and blind! $20 ain't much, I just hate participating in corruption. It's the only way I can get a sticker on a car with 370,000 miles though. I know it would fail any emission tests due to mileage alone (required in New Orleans, but not where I live.) I lived in Los Angeles for 10 years and emission testing there was a nightmare! I was just trying to avoid anything like that in the future.

Chip

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shawn, you click somewhere on the online registration that you are out of state Then this click takes you to a box to place a check mark that you are out of state. This has worked with no problem for us since the new inspection/registration began which I believe was in March of 2014.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎3‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 1:59 PM, sushidog said:

This time they issued me a new sticker with a 6 inch crack in the windshield (in the passenger side corner - well away from the driver's line of sight) and the CEL light on (It's only an aftermarket cat converter heater with the wrong impedance for the computer, but it works perfectly and is 1/4 the cost of the OEM part.) Either of these would have failed the test - unless you slip the guy a $20. Then he's deaf dumb and blind!

Pretty sure the emissions testing in Texas is computerized, so there's no bribing the technician.  In the Austin metro area, both Travis county and Williamson county have emissions testing.  If the C.E.L. (Check Engine Light) is on, you automatically fail.  No ifs, ands, or buts.

I have a 2001 Toyota Sienna that's been unregistered since 09/01/16 because of the C.E.L. being on.  After I spent $2k to fix the supposed problem, the shop told me the computer must be giving a bad reading because there is absolutely nothing wrong with the vehicle now.  So I went and paid a second shop do a computer diagnostic followed by a thorough personal examination.  They also said that as much as they would love to take more of my money, they can't find anything wrong.

Thus I'm currently stuck with a perfectly fine vehicle that the stupid government won't let me register, and that I can't sell because nobody locally is going to buy a vehicle that they know they won't be able to register either.  So twice a week I go out about midnight and drive it around the parking lot of our apartment complex for about 15 minutes just the keep the fluids circulating.

 

Cheers,

Ken

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...
On 5/18/2017 at 3:17 PM, shawnloring said:

Here is an update to this bill. It passed in the Senate, as we know. And, it seems to be moving through the House undaunted. http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Actions.aspx?LegSess=85R&Bill=SB1588

It has a good way to go still.

Shawn, anything since this? 

 

Kimberly Flores, Trail Boss and Wagon Master
Jesse Flores, Coxswain, Shotgun Shipmate
Wagon mates: Cinnamon, Mini Schnauzer
2017 F350 Lariat Dually
2018 Keystone Fuzion 371 Toy Hauler
LovetheRVlife.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The current system can be cheated. They will scan the vehicle and then hook the tailpipe probe into a known good vehicle. I watched it done. When I called to report it they weren't interested. That told me everything I needed to know about our current emission testing program.

Ron C.

2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3

2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/2/2017 at 9:42 PM, infoshot said:

Shawn, anything since this? 

 

Basically the bill is dead.  The bill never made it to the house floor for a vote before the end of the legislative session.  While a special session has been called, this bill was not included on the agenda.  My understanding is during a special session, only the bills on the agenda are discussed and potentially voted on.

2017 Entegra Anthem 44A

SOLD - 2004 Volvo 780. 465hp and 10sp Auto Shift (from 2010~2017)

SOLD - 2009 Montana 3400RL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...