In just over two months, San Antonio will join the ranks of most major Texas metros as a new vehicle inspection process rolls out. There are a host of reasons industry experts and locals are worried about emissions inspections, but others are eyeing sneaky workarounds. However, simply avoiding a vehicle inspection may not be as easy as it once was.
Amid constant reminders that this new inspection process is rolling out, San Antonians were quick to recommend driving dirty with expired tags. You can’t fail an emissions inspection you never take. That aligns with research from CARFAX last year, which showed Texas is most likely to avoid renewals, with 2.1 million Texans failing to renew by the start of 2025.
But these new inspections are tied to a much larger push by far more powerful agencies. County emissions inspections are linked to the federal Clean Air Act, which is enforced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
While a state agency is tasked with implementing these Clean Air Act standards, there’s pressure to meet the 2027 emissions standards in Bexar County. If they’re not met, the EPA can enforce even stricter protocols. That could mean testing exemptions and emissions inspections become more thorough or strict. Not to mention the impacts on industrial and commercial development.
“There’s definitely going to be pressure from Bexar County,” Charissa Barnes, CEO of Texas Tag & Title and Official Inspection Station, told MySA. “There’s going to be pressure and expectations from several people or several entities that people are getting their vehicles tested, and they’re passing because all of those numbers are tracked by our state agencies. And they’re part of the modeling that rolls up into our state implementation plan.”
Essentially, she said it takes several mechanisms to ensure we’re meeting the Clean Air Act standards imposed on Bexar County. One of those mechanisms is enforcement, and the buck doesn’t stop with highway patrol or the Texas Department of Public Safety.
However, that pressure doesn’t seem to have ramped up at the local level yet. MySA reached out to the San Antonio Police Department, which hasn’t adjusted any internal policies.
“There is no change to how our SAPD offices are monitoring vehicle tags. During a vehicle traffic stop, vehicle registration stickers are checked,” an SAPD spokesperson told MySA.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, however, is being very clear: Citations can be issued for expired registration tags both before and after emissions inspections begin. While not having an emissions inspection is not a directly enforceable offense under any local agency, it doesn’t mean there’s pressure to ensure vehicle registration inspections aren’t directly tied to emissions inspection numbers.
“The Sheriff’s Office has no official emissions requirements and is not required to issue citations for that reason; however, we want citizens to meet any goals for a safer environment. The Traffic Safety Unit’s job is to conduct vehicle enforcement to ensure we meet our goals for safer roadways for Bexar County citizens,” a Bexar County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told MySA.