While some Republicans work this legislative session to eliminate state vehicular inspections or at least make them less burdensome, Sen. Brad Farrin (R-Somerset) and Rep. Wayne Parry (R-Arundel) have each proposed bills to make inspections more expensive and invasive.

Both legislators’ bills—considered during a Tuesday public hearing in the legislature’s Transportation Committee—would increase the price that mechanics are legally allowed to charge for state inspections and allow the Maine State Police to force mechanics to use an invasive electronic surveillance system to monitor inspections.

The system would track vehicle inspections across the state and use electronically generated data as part of an inspection.

Sen. Farrin’s LD 566 drew two Democratic cosponsors along with Rep. Jack Ducharme (R-Madison), while Rep. Parry’s LD 667 drew just one Democratic cosponsor.

“This bill would help improve public safety. Currently, it’s possible for illegal inspection stickers to be created and used, which poses a serious risk to the safety of Maine drivers. With an electronic system, we can better track and verify inspections, making it much harder for fraudulent stickers to make their way onto the road. That means safer vehicles and safer roads for all of us,” said Farrin, testifying in favor of his bill.

“This bill is a step toward modernizing our system and addressing these challenges in a
more efficient and secure way. I believe this is a positive change that would benefit both
the people who work in this area and the motorists who rely on safe roads,” he added.

His testimony did not address concerns about the increased surveillance of everyday Mainers imposed by the bill.

In 2023, Farrin was one of only two senators to vote in support of a similar bill that was rejected by a bipartisan majority.

Parry’s testimony on his bill asserted that “everything in society” is in need of modernization and argued that an inspection surveillance system brings Maine closer to that futuristic goal.

“Like everything in society today, things need to be modernized. The inspection system is no different. I understand that many think we should not have an inspection program at all. I am not one of those people. I am like most people. We get in our cars and drive them. We are not mechanics. If we did not have an inspection program, I would probably get my car fixed when something broke. I look at the inspection sticker as a reminder to get my car looked at periodically,” said Parry.

He suggested that the reminder his inspection sticker gives him to check his car is one of the primary reasons to support the system, despite the fact that setting a reminder on a phone or other device would accomplish the same purpose without the need for a state-mandated inspection and surveillance program.

“In my opinion, the inspection program in Maine makes our roads safer, and like everything else, needs to be modernized. We need to allow those that do the work to get paid,” said Parry.

Farrin’s vehicle inspection bill isn’t his only piece of proposed legislation that would increase the surveillance of Mainers.

Farrin sponsored a resolution that would begin a pilot program for highway work zones to install surveillance cameras to track the license plates of all cars driving through. The cameras would then be used to mail tickets and warnings to any drivers caught on video speeding through the work zones.

Although the resolution’s pilot program only allows for three work zones statewide to participate at a time, it opens the door for further expansion of the program after the pilot, potentially opening the door to a world in which Mainers could be ticketed by an automated camera for driving on any highway in the state.