New Bill Seeks to Increase Maine State Inspection Stickers to $20

This is a subject that we have sort of addressed before. Though in the past, we've talked about efforts in Maine to repeal the Maine State Inspection altogether. Over the last several years, Maine lawmakers have plead their cases on getting rid of the Maine inspection for a number of reasons. However, Maine State Inspection stickers are back in the news for a different reason this week.

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According to an article published by WGME 13, a new bill in the Maine legislature seeks to increase the cost of the Maine State Inspection from $12.50 to a whopping $20. That's almost double its current price.

Of course when you think about it, the cost of the Maine State Inspection sticker isn't really always 'just $12.50.' That's because if, during the inspection, issues are discovered on your car, you have to pay the shop to repair the issues before the sticker can be issued to the vehicle.

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In addition to the added cost of the inspection, the change would also mandate that the auto shops in Maine begin using an electronic system for vehicle inspections. Some Maine State Troopers that are in support of the measure indicated to WGME that this would help streamline inspections in Maine and also make it more difficult for drivers to use fraudulent stickers.

Lawmakers on the Transportation Committee recently heard testimony on a couple of bills that could really shake up Maine’s vehicle inspection system altogether. One proposal would exempt passenger cars altogether, while another would cut inspections down to every other year, according to WGME 13.