BILL NUMBER: SB 708 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 482
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 22, 2003
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2003
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 11, 2003
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2003
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2003
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 20, 2003
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 7, 2003
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2003
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 26, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Senator Florez
FEBRUARY 21, 2003
An act to amend Section 44062.1 of the Health and Safety Code, to
add Section 1463.15 to the Penal Code, and to amend Section 42001.2
of, and to add Section 2814.1 to, the Vehicle Code, relating to air
pollution.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 708, Florez. Air pollution: motor vehicles.
(1) Existing law establishes a motor vehicle inspection and
maintenance program (smog check), administered by the Department of
Consumer Affairs and the State Air Resources Board, that provides for
the inspection of all motor vehicles, except those specifically
exempted from the program, upon registration, biennially upon renewal
of registration, upon transfer of ownership, and in certain other
circumstances. Existing law provides for a repair assistance program
available to an eligible individual whose vehicle has failed a smog
check inspection.
This bill would expand the repair assistance program to include
the owner of a motor vehicle who was issued a notice to correct for
an alleged violation of unlawful motor vehicle exhaust discharge, if
the vehicle subject to that notice has failed a smog check inspection
subsequent to receiving that notice.
(2) Existing law imposes a fine of not less than $100 nor more
than $250 upon the conviction of a second or subsequent violation of
unlawful motor vehicle exhaust discharge.
This bill would increase the amount of that fine to not less than
$135, rather than $100, nor more than $285, rather than $250, upon
the conviction of a second or subsequent violation of the above.
(3) Existing law requires every driver of a passenger vehicle to
stop and submit the vehicle to an inspection of the mechanical
condition and equipment of the vehicle at any location where members
of the California Highway Patrol are conducting tests and inspections
of passenger vehicles and when signs are displayed requiring that
stop.
This bill would authorize a county board of supervisors, by
ordinance, to establish on highways under its jurisdiction a combined
vehicle inspection program to check for violations of unlawful motor
vehicle discharges and to identify drivers who are in violation of
driving under the influence statutes.
(4) Existing law requires all fines and forfeitures imposed and
collected for crimes, other than parking offenses, to be distributed
in accordance with described schedules.
This bill would require, if a county board of supervisors
establishes the combined inspection and checkpoint program described
under (3), that $35 of the money deposited in the county treasury
from fines imposed under (2) be deposited in a special account to be
used exclusively to pay the cost incurred by the county for
establishing and conducting that combined program, but would
authorize that money to be deposited only after a fine imposed for a
conviction of a second or subsequent violation of unlawful motor
vehicle exhaust discharge, and any penalty assessment thereon, has
been collected.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 44062.1 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
44062.1. (a) The department shall offer a repair assistance
program through entities authorized to perform referee functions.
(b) (1) The repair assistance program shall be available to the
following eligible individuals:
(A) An individual, based on a maximum income level of 185 percent
of the federal poverty level, as published quarterly in the Federal
Register by the Department of Health and Human Services and that
individual is either or both of the following:
(i) The owner of a motor vehicle that has failed a smog check
inspection.
(ii) The owner of a motor vehicle who was issued a notice to
correct for an alleged violation of Section 27153 or 27153.5 of the
Vehicle Code involving that vehicle, if the vehicle subject to that
notice has failed a smog check inspection subsequent to receiving the
notice.
(B) An owner of a motor vehicle that has failed a smog check
inspection and is directed to a test-only facility pursuant to
Section 44010.5 or 44014.7.
(2) The department shall offer repair cost assistance, funded by
the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account in the Vehicle Inspection
and Repair Fund created pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
44091, to individuals based on the cost-effectiveness and air quality
benefit of the needed repair. Repair assistance may include
retesting costs and the costs of repairs to remedy the violation of
Section 27153 or 27153.5 of the Vehicle Code.
(3) An applicant for repair assistance shall file an application
on a form prescribed by the department and shall certify under
penalty of perjury that the applicant meets the applicable
eligibility standards.
(4) Verification of low-income eligibility shall be based on at
least one form of documentation, as determined by the department,
including, but not limited to, (A) an income tax return, (B) an
employment warrant, or (C) a form of public assistance verification.
(c) The repair assistance program shall be funded by the High
Polluter Repair or Removal Account.
(d) Repairs to motor vehicles that fail smog check inspections and
are subsidized by the state through the program shall be performed
at a repair station licensed and certified pursuant to Sections 44014
and 44014.2. Repair shall be based upon a preapproved list of
repairs for cost-effective emission reductions or repairs to remedy a
violation of Section 27153 or 27153.5 of the Vehicle Code.
(e) The qualified low-income motor vehicle owner receiving repair
assistance pursuant to this section shall contribute a copayment, as
determined by the department as specified in Section 44017.1, either
in cash, or in emissions-related partial repairs as verified by a
test-only station pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of
Section 44015, or a combination thereof. For an owner of a motor
vehicle described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision
(b), the department shall impose a copayment at least equivalent to
the amount imposed on a low-income individual receiving assistance
under this section. If the repair cost exceeds the applicable repair
cost limit, the department shall inform a motor vehicle owner of all
options for compliance at the time of testing and repair.
(f) The department may increase its contribution toward the repair
of a motor vehicle under this program in excess of the amount
authorized for the repair of a high-polluter pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (b) of Section 44094, if the department determines
that the expenditure is cost-effective.
(g) The department shall collect data from the program to provide
information on how to improve the program. Data collection shall
include all of the following:
(1) The number of motor vehicle owners that are eligible for
repair assistance.
(2) The number of eligible motor vehicle owners that use repair
assistance funds.
(3) The potential for fraud.
(4) The average repair bills.
(5) The types of repairs being done.
(6) The amount of partial repairs done prior to receipt of repair
assistance.
(7) The emissions benefits of providing repair assistance.
(h) The department shall collect data and develop information and
shall report to the Legislature on or before April 1, 1999, on
eligibility criteria, program participation, the cost of vehicle
repairs, and the funding resources needed to implement the program.
(i) For purposes of this section, "low-income motor vehicle owner"
means a person whose income does not exceed 185 percent of the
federal poverty level.
SEC. 2. Section 1463.15 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
1463.15. Notwithstanding Section 1463, if a county board of
supervisors establishes a combined vehicle inspection and sobriety
checkpoint program under Section 2814.1 of the Vehicle Code,
thirty-five dollars ($35) of the money deposited with the county
treasurer under Section 1463.001 and collected from each fine and
forfeiture imposed under subdivision (b) of Section 42001.2 of the
Vehicle Code shall be deposited in a special account to be used
exclusively to pay the cost incurred by the county for establishing
and conducting the combined vehicle inspection and sobriety
checkpoint program. The money allocated to pay the cost incurred by
the county for establishing and conducting the combined checkpoint
program pursuant to this section may only be deposited in the special
account after a fine imposed pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
42001.2, and any penalty assessment thereon, has been collected.
SEC. 3. Section 2814.1 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
2814.1. (a) A board of supervisors of a county may, by ordinance,
establish, on highways under its jurisdiction, a combined vehicle
inspection and sobriety checkpoint program to check for violations of
Sections 27153 and 27153.5 and to identify drivers who are in
violation of Section 23140 or 23152. The program shall be conducted
by the local agency or department with the primary responsibility for
traffic law enforcement.
(b) A driver of a motor vehicle shall stop and submit to an
inspection conducted under subdivision (a) when signs and displays
are posted requiring that stop.
(c) A county that elects to conduct the combined program described
under subdivision (a) may fund that program through fine proceeds
deposited with the county under Section 1463.15 of the Penal Code.
SEC. 4. Section 42001.2 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
42001.2. (a) A person convicted of an infraction for a violation
of Section 27153.5 with a motor vehicle having a manufacturer's
maximum gross vehicle weight rating of 6,001 or more pounds is
punishable by a fine for the first offense of not less than two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) and not more than two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500), and for a second or subsequent offense
within one year of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not
more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(b) A person convicted of an infraction for a second or subsequent
violation of Section 27153, or a second or subsequent violation of
27153.5, with a motor vehicle having a manufacturer's maximum gross
vehicle weight rating of less than 6,001 pounds, is punishable by a
fine of not less than one hundred thirty-five dollars ($135) nor more
than two hundred eighty-five dollars ($285).
(c) Notwithstanding Section 40616, the penalties in subdivision
(b) apply when a person is guilty of willfully violating a written
promise to correct, or willfully failing to deliver proof of
correction, as prescribed in Section 40616, when an offense described
in subdivision (b) was the violation for which the notice to correct
was issued and the person was previously convicted of the same
offense, except that costs of repair shall be limited to those
specified in Section 44017 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject to
Section 1463.15 of the Penal Code, revenues collected from fines and
forfeitures imposed under this section shall be allocated as follows:
15 percent to the county in which the prosecution is conducted, 10
percent to the prosecuting agency, 25 percent to the enforcement
agency, except the Department of the California Highway Patrol, and
50 percent to the air quality management district or air pollution
control district in which the infraction occurred, to be used for
programs to regulate or control emissions from vehicular sources of
air pollution. If the enforcement agency is the Department of the
California Highway Patrol, the revenues shall be allocated 25 percent
to the county in which the prosecution is conducted, 25 percent to
the prosecuting agency, and 50 percent to the air quality management
district or air pollution control district in which the infraction
occurred. If no prosecuting agency is involved, the revenues that
would otherwise be allocated to the prosecuting agency shall instead
be allocated to the air quality management district or air pollution
control district in which the infraction occurred.
(e) For the purposes of subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), a second
or subsequent offense does not include an offense involving a
different motor vehicle.