HCS/HB 697 - This act revises the law with respect to emissions testing for motor vehicles. Under the act, emissions testing on certain motor vehicles will not be required prior to a sale or transfer if the testing and approval occurred within 90 days immediately preceding the sale or transfer. The act exempts from emissions testing motor vehicles within four years of the specific model year and motor vehicles owned by persons 65 years of age or older with not more than 5,000 miles per year on the odometer of the vehicle since its last emissions testing. Under the act, motor vehicles which fail emissions standards testing may be repaired by a mechanic of the owner's choice. The waiver amount by the Clean Air Commission will include the labor costs associated with the repairs. The waiver amount is adjusted from $450 to $300 for motor vehicles of 1997 and subsequent model years.
Under the act, the Department of Natural Resources is required to consult and negotiate with the federal Environment Protection Agency regarding any rule change which may adversely impact the state's compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. Any proposed rule to be promulgated or modified will be sent to the Join Interim Committee On Emissions (which is established by the act to operate in the 2005 legislative interim) by September 1, 2005. The committee will provide its recommendations on any proposed rule by November 1, 2005 (Section 1).
The act has an effective date of January 1, 2006 except for section 1 regarding proposed rule changes and establishing the Joint Interim Committee on Emissions.
STEPHEN WITTE