A third-party vendor that makes bank on mandated New Hampshire vehicle inspections convinced a NH judge to demand that the inspections be resumed. The legislature ended them last year (effective Jan 31, 2026). The governor signed that law. The Executive Council (EC) did not renew its contract. But some judge decided that a customer had a right to our money.
The State, the EC, and the AG said no, so?
On Friday, Gordon-Darby Holdings, Inc. asked U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty to hold the commissioners of the Department of Safety, Robert Quinn, and Department of Environmental Services, Robert Scott, to show cause why they shouldn’t be held in contempt of court.
Neither Quinn nor Scott answers to Gordon Darby or some judge. They are employees of the Executive Branch, which includes the Executive Council and the Governor. There is no contract for them to honor, and a Judge cannot constitutionally approve one. A judge cannot execute by force of law a tax on vehicle owners. It cannot create the contract, approve it, and then manage it. The judiciary has no Constitutional power to make law. I am therefore curious on what grounds Judge Landya McCafferty would hold Scott and Quinn in contempt.
It’s a federal judge, so the NH Legislature can’t impeach them, but they can continue to ignore them, regardless of any contempt ruling or fines. So, what to do?
If the State of New Hampshire has some federal obligation to meet some sort of emissions testing standard, why are there at least fourteen other states that do not require any emissions testing? Because they’ve met EPA air standards that meet the entire point of vehicle emissions testing, absent those tests.
Tennessee, Minnesota, and Michigan no longer do any emissions testing, and New Hampshire’s Air quality is as good or better than theirs.
If there is no contract and inspections are not required by law, and the State’s air quality exceeds any EPA requirement for vehicle emissions testing, this can’t be about anything but Gordon-Darby getting bitchy about losing a government-mandated revenue stream that isn’t even environmentally necessary.
