Chaos feared as Texas car sticker system changes
Despite an extensive public education campaign, officials expect widespread confusion, even initial chaos, as the state rolls out a single-sticker system for inspection and registration of 24 million vehicles starting Sunday.
Months of planning and educating of tax assessors and police preceded the change, which was approved by the Legislature in 2013. The awareness campaign for motorists has been focused on radio ads and flier mailings with upcoming renewals.
Still, state lawmakers say, the real test is yet to come.
“I personally believe it is going to be chaos for a little while,” House Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, told Texas Department of Motor Vehicles officials.
Harris County Tax Assessor Mike Sullivan said he is optimistic. “We realize this is going to be a change, but in the long run, it’s going to be a good thing,” Sullivan said. “Cleaner air. Less fraud.”
Starting with all vehicles registered in March, Texas will issue only the blue registration sticker. The green, blue or purple inspection stickers will not be issued, though vehicles still must be inspected at state-approved stations. The cost of renewing a registration or having an inspection does not change.
But some parts of the process will be different, said Whitney Brewster, executive director of the state motor vehicle agency. Under the current terms, a $39.75 fee is paid when the inspection occurs. That will change starting Sunday: $25.50 will be paid to the inspection shop and the $14.25 owed to the state will be paid at registration.
The timing of inspections will also change. Owners must get the inspection within 90 days before renewing their registrations.
As part of the switch, Brewster said, drivers renewing a registration between March 2015 and February 2016 will be allowed to register if they have a valid inspection sticker.
In other words, if the registration expires in April 2015 and the inspection expires in June 2015, the owner can register without a prior inspection. The owner must have the vehicle inspected within 90 days before renewing in April 2016.
What to do?
Officials set up a website, www.twostepsonesticker.com, with a calculator. Owners can enter their inspection and registration information, and it will let them know what to do.
“Everyone has done significant work behind the scenes to bring everybody to the table,” said Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who proposed the change.
West said the system will improve enforcement and curtail the growing problem of counterfeit inspection stickers. State and local officials often differ on the significance of the problem, but they agree that fake stickers are robbing the state and legitimate inspection stations of revenue, said Michael Nowels, executive director of the Texas State Inspection Association, an industry group.
Based on state data, Nowels said, the number of vehicles registered in Texas is usually 18 to 20 percent higher than the number of inspections conducted. That figure includes trailers, which also require inspections, though many go untested for safety, Nowels said.
“We believe it is a reasonable assumption that a lot of that difference is counterfeit stickers — counterfeit meaning someone has figured out a way to manufacture look-alikes or gotten ahold of stickers in some nefarious way,” he said.
Databases will help
State databases will be designed to give police and insurance companies access to current information on inspections and registrations, Nowels said.
The change in when vehicles are inspected — providing some drivers with an 11-month reprieve — will lead to a decrease in inspections for the rest of 2015 and some of 2016, Nowels said. The association says inspectors can expect a 15 to 20 percent drop in vehicles this year from 2014.
Once greater enforcement kicks in, inspection stations should see a 10 to 12 percent uptick, Nowels said. That’s based on tougher regulations and better oversight that will eliminate the practice of delaying inspections for a few months and force those who acquire fakes to fall in line.
Brewster said educational campaigns will continue until 2017 to ease motorists into the system.
At a glance
Here’s what Texas drivers need to know about the single-sticker policy:
▪ If a vehicle’s registration expires before its inspection: Register the vehicle by the end of the month indicated on the registration sticker. Both registration and inspection will expire one year from that date. The old inspection sticker becomes irrelevant — drivers can throw it away or keep it as a relic of the old days.
▪ If the inspection expires before the registration: Have the vehicle inspected by the end of the month indicated on the inspection sticker. Drivers will receive an inspection report instead of a new sticker. When they later register their vehicle, both registration and inspection will expire one year from the date of registration.
▪ After Feb. 29, 2016: Drivers will be required to have their vehicles inspected no more than 90 days before their next registration date.
▪ The cost of inspecting and registering a vehicle will not change, but vehicle owners will make two separate payments. Instead of paying the usual $39.75 at the inspection station, they will pay the $25.50 inspection fee at the station and will pay the state the remaining $14.25 at the time of registration.
▪ Inspection standards will not change.
— The Texas Tribune
This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Chaos feared as Texas car sticker system changes."