One Bangor Democrat has now proposed exempting new cars from Maine’s annual vehicle safety inspections, making the legislative push to axe the requirement a bipartisan issue after a Sanford Republican introduced a similar measure earlier this year.

Under the latest proposed bill, cars would not be required to undergo an annual safety inspection for the first three years after it is manufactured.

That said, this exemption would be nullified if the vehicle were involved in a crash or natural disaster, as well as if the car is sold to another owner.

LD 661, sponsored by Rep. Amy J. Roeder (D-Bangor), was introduced Tuesday and referred to the Legislature’s Transportation Committee for further consideration.

A public hearing has not yet been scheduled for this bill, although one can be expected at some point in the coming weeks.

Click Here for More Information on LD 661

Rep. Roeder’s is not the only bill this year related to the state’s vehicle inspection system.

Under LD 320, introduced by Rep. Ann Fredericks (R-Sanford), the annual safety inspection requirement would be repealed entirely for the majority of cars that are driven by Mainers on a daily basis.

“Other states have already abolished this antiquated requirement that is an inconvenience,” Fredericks said.

From Frederick’s perspective, advancements in safety standards and auto-making technology mean that annual inspections should no longer be necessary for most personal vehicles.

The bill would not alter inspection rules for commercial vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, and fire trucks, according to the official summary of the legislation.

LD 320 was cosponsored by Sen. Jeff Timberlake (R-Androscoggin), Rep. Donald J. Ardell (R-Monticello), Rep. Lucien J.B. Daigle (R-Fort Kent), Rep. Aaron M. Dana (Passamaquoddy Tribe), Rep. Timothy C. Guerrette (R-Caribou), Rep. Thomas A. Lavigne (R-Berwick), and Rep. Reagan L. Paul (R-Winterport).

The Transportation Committee has not yet scheduled a public hearing for LD 320, but just as with Rep. Roeder’s bill, one is likely to be put on the calendar in the near future.

Less than half of states nationwide currently have mandatory safety inspection policies in place. Although emissions testing is somewhat more common, it is still not a universal practice.

Among the states that do require regular safety inspections, some mandate that they be conducted annually — as is currently the case in Maine — while others are only every two years.

Under state law, it is already a Class E crime to operate a “defective vehicle,” meaning that inspection stickers are not the only mechanism for deterring drivers from taking unsafe cars on the road.

Maine police have previously pushed back against efforts to repeal the law, arguing that the inspections provide a safety net allowing for problems to be identified and corrected in a timely manner.

Critics of the annual inspection requirement, on the other hand, have said that the system opens the door for dishonest mechanics to charge drivers for unnecessary repairs.

Having been on the books since 1930, this is not the first time that lawmakers have attempted to repeal the requirement for annual safety inspections, nor has this necessarily been a partisan issue.

For example, in 2021, Sen. Dave Miramant (D-Camden), proposed eliminating yearly inspections for cars less than twenty years old.

That bill never made it to a floor vote, however, after being unanimously rejected by the 130th Legislature’s Transportation Committee.

It remains to be seen how the current members of the Transportation Committee will respond to these calls to repeal mandatory annual vehicle safety inspections.