Passage of the budget trailer HB2, which included a repeal of New Hampshire’s unpopular mandatory annual vehicle inspections, helped GOP leadership get the closely divided budget across the finish line in the House, NH Journal reports.
As NH Journal explains, the current inspection mandate has long frustrated drivers.
Current state law requires all registered vehicles to be reinspected every year, no later than 10 days after the end of the owner’s birth month.
NH Journal
The repeal would end a familiar source of aggravation.
Granite Staters whose car or truck has failed inspection due to a faulty check engine light or even a cracked rear view mirror will no longer face those hassles, thanks to the passage of HB2.
NH Journal
With margins tight, leadership leaned on the inspection issue, NH Journal reports.
House leadership knew they had very narrow margins to work with to get it passed in their chamber, and when HB2 came up for a vote, they played the vehicle inspection card.
NH Journal
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne told his caucus it was the one issue voters raised most.
When I’m in the barber shop or the grocery store, they’re not asking me about all of the things that are in HB2, like elevator weights and measures and Medicaid reimbursement rates. The one thing they ask me about is, ‘When are you going to repeal those car inspections?’ And that’s what we’re doing today,
Jason Osborne
The trailer cleared the House by the narrowest possible margin, NH Journal reports.
HB2 passed by a single vote, 184-183.
NH Journal
A Liberty Caucus member said the repeal helped win his vote.
One of those votes came from Liberty Caucus Republican Rep. Sam Farrington (R-Rochester), who was conflicted over the budget dealmaking.
NH Journal
Repealing the annual inspection requirement proved to be a rallying point that helped leadership hold its coalition together on a closely divided vote, NH Journal reports. HB2 serves as the budget trailer, carrying many of the policy provisions attached to the spending package, and the inspection repeal was among its most visible items.
The repeal of mandatory annual vehicle inspections became a key selling point as leadership worked to assemble a majority for the budget trailer, NH Journal reports. Current law requires every registered vehicle to be reinspected each year, a requirement many drivers find burdensome.
Osborne told his caucus that ending car inspections was the one issue constituents consistently raised with him, and the bill passed by a single vote, according to NH Journal. HB2 serves as the budget trailer, carrying many of the policy provisions attached to the spending package, and Liberty Caucus Rep. Sam Farrington said he ultimately backed the budget in part because it would end the inspection requirement.
The episode illustrated how a single popular provision can help move a closely divided budget, NH Journal reports. By foregrounding the repeal of mandatory car inspections, leadership gave wavering members a tangible reason to vote yes, and the trailer ultimately passed by the narrowest possible margin.
Read the full story at NH Journal.
