A lawmaker in Missouri is looking to prevent vehicles with expired temporary tags from being able to have services performed on them, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Though the measure presented by Rep. Gretchen Bangert, D-Florissant would also apply to vehicles with expired license plates, its primary focus is on invalid temporary tags. Bangert’s proposal would still allow shops to conduct the safety inspection tests that are needed to register a vehicle.
According to Bangert, many local technicians she’s spoken with have reported working on vehicles that are several years old and have no tags at all, prompting some concern. One of the techs who voiced these sentiments to Bangert was Kevin Claspille, a former employee at Pit Crew Tire & Auto Service in Florissant, Missouri.
“I get uncomfortable working on these cars ... because I feel like I’m contributing to a crime,” said Claspille. “If this car goes out and kills someone because I put a battery in it, then I’m an accomplice."
Though Bangert’s proposal has not yet been referred to a committee, a proposed measure from Rep. Brad Pollitt, R-Sedalia that would allow officers to pull someone over to verify the validity of their temporary tags has been referred to the House General Laws Committee by House Speaker Dean Plocher.
