Car emission tests escape limit on fees

Auto emission test fees will remain uninhibited, at least for the time being.

HB196, which would have capped the test fees at $25, was not even voted on by the House Transportation Committee Wednesday, placing the bill in limbo. For it to be reconsidered, the committee would either have to vote to place it on another committee agenda or return it to the House Rules Committee for assignment to a different committee.

Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, the bill's sponsor, said he plans to address the various questions committee members raised and that he hopes the bill will be heard again.

"On something this controversial, you expect that there will be questions," he said. "We'll work with the committee and see if it can come back."

Most of the committee members' concerns revolved around the need for a cap, when both Salt Lake and Utah counties have had reasonable success with a free market system. In those counties, stations are allowed to set any price they want, although prices have primarily stayed between $20 and $35.

Harper said that changes made to the test fee statute last year that allowed a $2.50 annual increase of fees were only meant to help Davis County pay off equipment. A cap would ensure that everyone who is required to take the federally mandated test is paying the same price.

"This was never intended to have a negative impact on the consumer," he said.

Rep. David Clark, R-Santa Clara, said, "I'm required by the state to have insurance on my vehicle, but the state doesn't set what I pay for it. I'm trying to find a way to get with this bill, but I'm struggling."

Utah County Commissioner Jerry Grover said that the test fees in his county have been unregulated for four years, and that he has never heard any complaints. Because the county does not operate the stations, the market is open to everyone from full-service mechanics to test-only stations, giving consumers a wide variety of choices in which price is only one factor.

"There really is no monopoly," he said. "Even though it's state- mandated, the stations are privately owned. The program has worked very well."

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