HM 23

                                1  HOUSE MEMORIAL 23
                                2      57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2026
                                3  INTRODUCED BY
                                4     Joanne J. Ferrary and Dayan Hochman-Vigil and Art De La Cruz
                                5  and Raymundo Lara
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                                10  A MEMORIAL
                                11   REQUESTING THE REGULATION AND LICENSING DEPARTMENT, IN
                                12   COLLABORATION WITH THE MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION OF THE TAXATION
                                13   AND REVENUE DEPARTMENT, TO STUDY THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF
                                14   REESTABLISHING A STATEWIDE MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTION
                                15   PROGRAM AND TO REPORT THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY WITH A
                                16   RECOMMENDATION ON HOW TO IMPLEMENT SUCH A PROGRAM.
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                                18        WHEREAS, there are four pillars vital to roadway safety:
                                19   safe road design; qualified drivers; good driving decisions by
                                20   motor vehicle operators; and safe motor vehicles; and
                                21        WHEREAS, a study prepared for the Pennsylvania department
                                22   of transportation by Cambridge systematics clearly shows that
                                23   jurisdictions with motor vehicle safety inspection programs
                                24   have significantly fewer fatal crashes than jurisdictions
                                25   without such programs; and
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                                1  WHEREAS, a national study by Carnegie Mellon university
                                2    presents strong evidence that jurisdictions experience lower
                                3    roadway fatality rates due to the presence of an active motor
                                4    vehicle safety inspection program; and
                                5  WHEREAS, the effectiveness of motor vehicle safety
                                6    inspection programs continues to be deliberated in legislative
                                7    bodies across the country; and
                                8  WHEREAS, the national highway traffic safety
                                9    administration has stated that "each state should have a
                                10   program for periodic inspection of all registered motor
                                11   vehicles to reduce the number of motor vehicles with existing
                                12   or potential conditions that may contribute to crashes or
                                13   increase the severity of crashes that do occur and require the
                                14   owner to correct such conditions"; and
                                15        WHEREAS, the fatality analysis reporting system of the
                                16   national highway traffic safety administration indicates that,
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                                17   compared to the national average, states with motor vehicle
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                                18   safety inspections experience ten and three-tenths percent
                                19   fewer deaths; and
                                20        WHEREAS, fifteen states require motor vehicles to undergo
                                21   periodic safety inspections; and
                                22        WHEREAS, in 2024, motor vehicle safety inspections in
                                23   Missouri detected defective equipment on approximately one in
                                24   five motor vehicles; and
                                25        WHEREAS, modern motor vehicles are increasingly using
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                                1    extensive, advanced electronic safety components that motor
                                2    vehicle operators are growing more dependent on to ensure their
                                3    safety and the safety of others; and
                                4  WHEREAS, modern motor vehicles are incorporating safety
                                5    technologies that are facilitating a trend toward autonomous
                                6    and semi-autonomous operation; and
                                7  WHEREAS, New Mexico previously imposed a motor vehicle
                                8    safety inspection program in the 1970s that proved too
                                9    cumbersome for the state to continue to implement and that was
                                10   subsequently ended;
                                11        NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
                                12   REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that during the 2026
                                13   legislative interim, the regulation and licensing department,
                                14   in collaboration with the motor vehicle division of the
                                15   taxation and revenue department, be requested to research and
                                16   study the benefits of reestablishing a statewide motor vehicle
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                                17   safety inspection program and to report the results of the
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                                18   study with a recommendation on how to efficiently implement
                                19   such a program to the department of transportation, the
                                20   department of public safety, the governor and the New Mexico
                                21   legislative council; and
                                22        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
                                23   transmitted to the governor, the secretary of transportation,
                                24   the secretary of public safety, the superintendent of
                                25   regulation and licensing, the director of the motor vehicle
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                                1    division of the taxation and revenue department and the
                                2    co-chairs of the New Mexico legislative council.
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