Public Citizen Testimony Against HB 5033 — Elimination of the Motor Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program (Senate Committee Testimony)
To: Chairman Brian Birdwell and the Members of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources
CC: Sen. Judith Zaffirini, Sen. Carol Alvarado, Sen. César Blanco, Sen. Pete Flores, Sen. Kelly Hancock, Sen. Bryan Hughes, Sen. Tan Parker, Sen. Kevin Sparks
Via hand delivery and by email.
From: Sonia Joshi, Public Citizen, sjoshi@citizen.org, 512-477-1155
Re: HB 5033 vehicle emissions inspections – Public Citizen testimony in opposition
Dear Chairman Birdwell and Members of the Committee:
On behalf of 30,000 members and supporters in Texas, Public Citizen appreciates the opportunity to testify in opposition to House Bill 5033, relating to elimination of the motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program.
We oppose this bill because it would remove one of the few safeguards we have to reduce vehicle-related air pollution—an especially critical issue in Texas.
Air pollution is a public health issue. Air pollution in Texas comes mainly from two sources: industrial activity and transportation. In Texas, a significant portion of that pollution comes from mobile sources—cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Counties in Texas including Brazoria, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Travis, Williamson mandate inspections due to poor air quality1. Eliminating this program would expose residents in these areas to higher levels of air pollution, increasing their risk of respiratory diseases.
The emissions inspection and maintenance program help ensure that older, poorly maintained, or malfunctioning vehicles are not emitting more pollution than allowed. It holds vehicle owners accountable and provides a necessary check to catch excessive emissions before they build up in our atmosphere. Eliminating it would mean losing our ability to detect and prevent excessive emissions from high-polluting vehicles—many of which would continue contributing to smog, ground-level ozone, and dangerous particulate matter without oversight.
Modern vehicles are manufactured with better emissions controls and are cleaner overall, but there are still millions of vehicles that are over 10 years old registered in Texas. In 2024, the average vehicle age has increased to 12.6 years, resulting in more people using older models on a daily basis2. Without inspections, there is no guarantee that these vehicles meet basic emissions standards.
This change would disproportionately harm low-income and frontline communities that already bear the brunt of poor air quality and environmental injustice.
Air pollution affects everyone, but it doesn’t affect everyone equally. Children, the elderly, and people with asthma or other respiratory conditions are especially vulnerable to pollutants like ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter—both of which are linked to vehicle emissions. Eliminating a key program that helps limit these pollutants would only increase those risks.
Texans want clean air, and this bill moves us in the opposite direction. Public Citizen urges the committee to vote against HB 5033.