STUDY MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION PROGRAM

HM023

HOUSE MEMORIAL 23

57
th legislature
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
second session
, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Joanne J. Ferrary and Dayan Hochman-Vigil and Art De La Cruz
and Raymundo Lara

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE REGULATION AND LICENSING DEPARTMENT, IN
COLLABORATION WITH THE MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION OF THE TAXATION
AND REVENUE DEPARTMENT, TO STUDY THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF
REESTABLISHING A STATEWIDE MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTION
PROGRAM AND TO REPORT THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY WITH A
RECOMMENDATION ON HOW TO IMPLEMENT SUCH A PROGRAM.

WHEREAS, there are four pillars vital to roadway safety:
safe road design; qualified drivers; good driving decisions by
motor vehicle operators; and safe motor vehicles; and

WHEREAS, a study prepared for the Pennsylvania department
of transportation by Cambridge systematics clearly shows that
jurisdictions with motor vehicle safety inspection programs
have significantly fewer fatal crashes than jurisdictions
without such programs; and

WHEREAS, a national study by Carnegie Mellon university
presents strong evidence that jurisdictions experience lower
roadway fatality rates due to the presence of an active motor
vehicle safety inspection program; and

WHEREAS, the effectiveness of motor vehicle safety
inspection programs continues to be deliberated in legislative
bodies across the country; and

WHEREAS, the national highway traffic safety
administration has stated that "each state should have a
program for periodic inspection of all registered motor
vehicles to reduce the number of motor vehicles with existing
or potential conditions that may contribute to crashes or
increase the severity of crashes that do occur and require the
owner to correct such conditions"; and

WHEREAS, the fatality analysis reporting system of the
national highway traffic safety administration indicates that,
compared to the national average, states with motor vehicle
safety inspections experience ten and three-tenths percent
fewer deaths; and

WHEREAS, fifteen states require motor vehicles to undergo
periodic safety inspections; and

WHEREAS, in 2024, motor vehicle safety inspections in
Missouri detected defective equipment on approximately one in
five motor vehicles; and

WHEREAS, modern motor vehicles are increasingly using
extensive, advanced electronic safety components that motor
vehicle operators are growing more dependent on to ensure their
safety and the safety of others; and

WHEREAS, modern motor vehicles are incorporating safety
technologies that are facilitating a trend toward autonomous
and semi-autonomous operation; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico previously imposed a motor vehicle
safety inspection program in the 1970s that proved too
cumbersome for the state to continue to implement and that was
subsequently ended;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that during the 2026
legislative interim, the regulation and licensing department,
in collaboration with the motor vehicle division of the
taxation and revenue department, be requested to research and
study the benefits of reestablishing a statewide motor vehicle
safety inspection program and to report the results of the
study with a recommendation on how to efficiently implement
such a program to the department of transportation, the
department of public safety, the governor and the New Mexico
legislative council; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the governor, the secretary of transportation,
the secretary of public safety, the superintendent of
regulation and licensing, the director of the motor vehicle
division of the taxation and revenue department and the
co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council.

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