DALLAS—A Senator from the Dallas area is hoping to dismantle the state's vehicle inspection program.
The Senate Transportation Committee met Wednesday morning to hear public testimony. Don Huffines, a Texas Senate District 16 Republican, and other conservative members of the committee questioned the effectiveness of the inspection program and the costs it racks up for Texas families.
"There are 35 states that do not require passenger vehicle safety inspections and there's a reason for that. Because they know, and studies have proven academic and government studies have proven: It's not about safety. It's just basically about making money. It's a government mandate to tax the citizens of the state of Texas,” said Sen. Huffines.
Huffines said a repeal of the safety inspection would return at least $266 million to taxpayers.
But the Inspection Association argued inspections are necessary to guarantee drivers are safe when they get behind the wheel. Data from the Texas Department of Public safety shows roughly 19 million passenger vehicles were inspected in 2015.
"If you're a single parent and you're out there working day in and day out and you depend on your vehicle to go to and from work and you know absolutely nothing about the care, feeding and maintenance of your vehicle. We provide a service that is not there with the intention of trying to making dollar. We provide a service with the intention of making sure you're able to get to work in a safe manner,” said Mike Nowels, with the Texas State Inspection Association
No bill was up for debate during Wednesday's discussion and Senators were only gathering more information on the subject, ahead of the 2017 legislative session.