An Act to Modernize the State Motor Vehicle Inspection Program
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0667
Sponsors: PARRY
Amends: 29-A MRSA §1751, 29-A MRSA §1751-A, 29-A MRSA §2307

Legislative Document
No. 667
H.P. 435
House of Representatives, February 25, 2025
An Act to Modernize the State Motor Vehicle Inspection Program 
and the Law Governing Inspection Fees
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 20, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Transportation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative PARRY of Arundel.
Cosponsored by Representative: CRAFTS of Newcastle.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  29-A MRSA §1751, sub-§3-A, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 234, §2, is 
amended to read:
3-A.  Inspection fees fee.  An inspection station may charge the following fees: a fee 
of not more than 2 1/2 times the State's minimum wage under Title 26, section 664 for an 
inspection performed under subsection 2 or 2-A.
A.  For inspections performed under subsection 2, the fee may not be more than $12.50;
B.  For inspections of pre-1996 model vehicles performed under subsection 2‑A, the 
fee may not be more than $15.50; and
C.  For inspections of 1996 and subsequent model vehicles performed under subsection 
2‑A, the fee may not be more than $18.50.
The inspection fee is payable whether the vehicle passes inspection or not.
Sec. 2.  29-A MRSA §1751-A is enacted to read:
§1751-A.  Electronic inspection program
The Chief of the State Police may require the use of an electronic inspection program 
for the purpose of inspections performed under this chapter. For the purposes of this 
section, "electronic inspection program" means a program, designated by the Chief of the 
State Police by rule, that uses electronically generated data as part of an inspection and 
permits the creation and exchange of an electronic record for maintaining inspection 
information.
1. Implementation. The Chief of the State Police may contract with a private entity to 
implement an electronic inspection program.
2. Phased approach. The Chief of the State Police may develop by rule an approach 
to phase in the implementation of an electronic inspection program throughout the State.
3. Fee. The Chief of the State Police may designate by rule a fee that an inspection 
station must pay to the State for each inspection performed using an electronic inspection 
program. A fee required under this subsection may not be more than the cost to the State 
of using the electronic inspection program to perform an inspection.
4. Rules. The Chief of the State Police shall adopt rules to implement this section. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
The Chief of the State Police may exempt from the requirements of this section an 
inspection station that demonstrates economic hardship as a result of using an electronic 
inspection program.
Sec. 3.  29-A MRSA §2307, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and 
affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
4.  Fee.  The operator of an official school bus inspection station is entitled to a fee of 
$8 not more than 2 1/2 times the State's minimum wage under Title 26, section 664 for each 
school bus inspected.  The fee does not include labor or material used in correction of faults.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the Chief of the State Police to require the use of an electronic 
inspection program for the purpose of performing motor vehicle inspections and to exempt 
from this requirement an inspection station that demonstrates economic hardship as a result 
of using an electronic inspection program.  It also authorizes an inspection station to charge 
a fee not more than 2 1/2 times the State's minimum wage for inspection regardless of the 
model year of the inspected vehicle and provides that an operator of an official school bus 
inspection station is entitled to a fee not more than 2 1/2 times the State's minimum wage 
for each school bus inspected.