Auto repair regulatory updates.

Texas Water Code §5.587 created annual operational-status reporting for temporary and indefinite authorizations. TCEQ states the requirement became effective September 1, 2024 for scrap-tire generators and land-reclamation projects whose registrations do not expire and otherwise lack regular reporting.

DEEP folded the Vehicle Maintenance Wastewater general permit into the Miscellaneous Industrial User (MIU) general permit, effective October 31, 2020; the old permit expired January 23, 2021. Repair shops, body shops and dealers registered under the old permit had until April 29, 2021 to file an MIU notification with their local POTW authority.

BAR lists an approved amendment to section 3340.17.1 concerning decertification of equipment manufacturers, adopted and effective September 3, 2026.

HB 648 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 83), effective July 15, 2026, rewrote KRS 190.046 for Class 7 and heavier vehicles. Dealers get parts at acquisition cost plus a 30% margin, reimbursement of technician training, diagnostic hardware/software and special-tool costs, and actual labor hours unless proven unreasonable by clear and convincing evidence. Component manufacturers are also bound, and claims cannot be required sooner than 90 days after service. Promotion claims also get a 90-day window.

Vermont DMV issued a July 10, 2026 update to the Periodic Inspection Manual. The revision changed or clarified criteria and procedures across tires, brakes, steering, suspension, electrical systems, windows, windshields, wipers, exterior body evaluation and other inspection areas.

Texas DPS amendments to 37 TAC §§23.1 and 23.3 took effect July 2, 2026. New and renewal vehicle inspection station and vehicle inspector certificate applications must include specified proof of eligibility for the state certification or license, with qualifying documents verified through the federal SAVE system.

BAR regulations effective July 1, 2026 require a registered automotive business to report a change of address within 14 days and other material changes, such as a business phone number or controlling individuals, within 30 days.

BAR biometric-device regulations effective July 1, 2026 update the Smog Check Manual and Vehicle Safety Systems Inspection Manual to permit the Fujitsu palm-vein scanner sensor model FAT13FPS01 or newer, replacing language tied to a single older device.

Michigan's Secretary of State says Public Act 59 of 2025 increased each state mechanic test fee to $18 effective July 1, 2026. Exams paid for before July 1 were honored.

Public Chapter 661 took effect July 1, 2026 and allows a garagekeeper to preserve and enforce a lien in certain repair-storage situations without express written storage authorization when the garagekeeper makes a good-faith attempt to obtain repair consent and provides the required delivery notice to the vehicle owner.

California BAR's approved regulation changed reporting deadlines for automotive repair dealer business information. BAR's current guidance says business address changes must be reported within 14 days and other listed business-license changes within 30 days.

BAR updated its biometric-device regulations and says updated Smog Check and Vehicle Safety Systems Inspection manuals must be followed beginning July 1, 2026.

Under AQCC Regulation 25 Section I.P, beginning May 1, 2026 automotive coatings above the Table 4 VOC limits (e.g., primer and clearcoat 250 g/L, color coat 420 g/L) may not be manufactured, sold or distributed in Colorado, and covered automotive coating facilities in the regulated ozone areas must use Table 4-compliant coatings or 90%-efficient controls.

HB 757 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 161, sec. 18), effective April 14, 2026, extended the $2 fee on each new motor vehicle, trailer and semitrailer tire sold in Kentucky from its July 1, 2026 sunset to July 1, 2034.

New Jersey P.L. 2025, c.140 took effect April 1, 2026. The law expands franchisor-paid repair reimbursement to include diagnostic work and recall/service-plan work, revises retail labor-rate, labor-time and parts-markup calculations, adds protections around chargebacks and part-price manipulation, addresses electric-propulsion-battery returns, and creates compensation for certain used vehicles held under stop-sale or do-not-drive recall notices when parts are unavailable.

Ohio Administrative Code rule 109:4-3-13 took effect March 21, 2026. The motor-vehicle repair rule now uses a $50 threshold for the required estimate-right notice and related authorization procedures; the prior rule used $25.

A 2025 state law (HB 2) scheduled the end of New Hampshire's required annual safety and OBD inspection for January 31, 2026. A federal court briefly ordered the program to continue, but after the Executive Council declined to extend the NHOST vendor contract, the state suspended the program. From February 13, 2026 inspection stations can no longer issue state stickers and vehicles need no annual inspection. The First Circuit later stayed the injunction, and EPA proposed approving the repeal on August 11, 2026.