Effort to End Emissions Testing for Newer Cars Makes Progress

A bill from Senator Jack Johnson would end emissions testing for cars three years old or newer. Photo Credit WikiMedia Commons

Cars newer than three years old could soon be exempt from required emissions tests. It’s an idea state lawmakers are pushing forward, but they’re wary of potential complications.

Proponents call emissions testing on new cars unnecessary, saying they fail such tests less than one percent of the time. But Franklin Senator Jack Johnson explains that the exemption would force Tennessee to amp up environmental regulation elsewhere.

“If we take out these newer cars, even though I would submit that they’re not contributing pollutants to the atmosphere, we will still lose a certain number of credits according to the convoluted formula from the EPA. And whether there are actually being particulates emitted or not, we will still lose those credits.”

Johnson says to offset the proposed exemption, factories in Tennessee might face an added regulatory burden. Failing to meet EPA requirements could also put some federal dollars the state gets at risk. Still, a Senate committee moved the bill ahead, with one member saying he’s willing to take a chance on it.