Vehicle emissions testing is a mandatory procedure for all drivers in the country, carried out twice a year. However, one state has taken a significant step toward eliminating it.
This is the state of Jalisco, which became the first to approve an initiative known as the Gobel Law, which proposes replacing the traditional vehicle emissions testing program with a mandatory vehicle tune-up system.
What does the Gobel Law entail?
The Gobel Law was approved by the Environment Committee of the Jalisco Congress and amends the state law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection to:
Eliminate the mandatory vehicle emissions testing program that currently requires drivers to pass an emissions test to be able to drive.
Replace it with a mandatory vehicle tune-up system at certified workshops, supervised by local environmental authorities. Create a certification system for auto repair shops that perform preventive maintenance and emissions testing, in coordination with the Jalisco Ministry of the Environment and Territorial Development (Semadet).
Define the technology, software, and costs of the new system.
Why is it called the Gobel Law?
The name pays homage to Alejandro Gobel, an activist who championed the slogan “Tune-up yes, emissions testing no” and who was murdered last year.
According to the reform’s proponents, the vehicle emissions testing system has become a revenue-generating and opaque mechanism, particularly regarding the use of resources from the so-called Green Fund.
“Alejandro was murdered for defending a just cause. Today, his name is written in history with dignity. This law is for him and for the families who should not have to pay a green tax disguised as environmental policy,” stated Green Party Representative Yussara Canales before the Jalisco Congress.
The bill was approved in committee and will now be voted on by the full state Congress. If approved in its entirety, Jalisco will be the first state in the country to eliminate mandatory vehicle emissions testing in the traditional form.
Once it becomes law, a transition period will begin to implement the new mandatory tune-up system and regulate certified workshops, as well as define the applicable costs and technology.
This way, drivers in Jalisco will no longer have to go to vehicle emissions testing centers to obtain the emissions sticker or certificate of compliance, as they will only need to have their vehicles tuned up at a certified workshop, thus reducing the bureaucratic and financial burden for the population.
Source: radioformula
