According to a recent report, test site operators for Wisconsin’s vehicle emissions program are growing frustrated. The $2.00 per test they received from the state in 2012 is the same $2.00 they receive today — in 2024.
But they’re not the only ones with cause to complain.
Every year, more than 600,000 Wisconsin vehicle owners in seven counties dutifully trudge out for their mandatory biennial emissions test.
From its start in April 1984 through the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the program has cost those taxpayers approximately $271.4 million, according to the state’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
Yet, for all of the millions of dollars, time spent and inconveniences imposed, it’s nearly impossible to determine if the program meaningfully decreases exhaust emissions that form ozone and damage air quality.
“Millions of older, emission-belching vehicles that were the original target of emissions regulators have been off the road for decades.”
