BILL NUMBER: AB 1870	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  761
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 31, 2006
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 29, 2006
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 28, 2006
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 27, 2006
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 14, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 24, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 28, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 14, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  FEBRUARY 28, 2006

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Lieber
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Montanez)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Emmerson, Evans, Hancock, Shirley
Horton, Jones, Karnette, Koretz, Leno, Oropeza, Pavley, and Saldana)

                        JANUARY 18, 2006

   An act to amend Sections 44017, 44021, 44062.1, and 44094 of, and
to add Sections 44012.1 and 44062.3 to, the Health and Safety Code,
relating to air pollution.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1870, Lieber  Air pollution: motor vehicle inspection and
maintenance.
   (1) Existing law establishes a motor vehicle inspection and
maintenance (smog check) program, developed, implemented, and
administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The duty of
enforcing and administering the program is vested in the Chief of the
Bureau of Automotive Repair within the department. Existing law
prohibits the operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that results
in the escape of excessive smoke, flame, gas, oil, or fuel residue.
   This bill would require the Department of Consumer Affairs to
incorporate a visible smoke test into the motor vehicle inspection
and maintenance program by January 1, 2008, so that any visible smoke
from the tailpipe or crankcase of a motor vehicle during an
inspection would result in a failure of the test. The bill would
provide that steam resulting from condensation by itself shall not
lead to an inspection failure. The bill would authorize a motor
vehicle owner who disputes the failure of a visible smoke test to
seek resolution of the matter by contacting the state-designated
referee. The bill would require the department, in consultation with
the State Air Resources Board and interested parties, to adopt
regulations to implement these provisions.
   (2) Existing law establishes the Inspection and Maintenance Review
Committee to analyze the effect of the improved inspection and
maintenance program on motor vehicle emissions and air quality, as
specified. Existing law requires the review committee to submit
periodic written reports to the Legislature and the Governor on the
performance of the program, including quantification of the reduction
in emissions and improvement in air quality attributed to the
program, and make recommendations on program improvements at least
every 12 months.
   This bill would require the review committee, on or before July 1,
2010, to include a discussion of the effectiveness of the visible
smoke test component of the inspection and maintenance program in its
periodic reports to the Legislature and the Governor, as specified.

   (3) Existing law provides for a repair cost waiver for a vehicle
that has been properly tested but does not meet the applicable
emission standards, if it is determined that no adjustment or repair
can be made that will reduce emissions from the inspected vehicle
without exceeding specified repair cost limits.
   This bill would require that no repair cost waiver be issued where
a motor vehicle has failed the visible smoke test unless specified
exceptions apply.
   (4) Existing law provides for a repair assistance program
available to an individual whose maximum income level is 200 percent
of the federal poverty level and is the owner of a motor vehicle that
has failed a smog check inspection or received a notice to correct,
as specified, or an individual who has failed a smog check inspection
and is directed to a test-only facility, as specified. Existing law
provides that the department may increase its contribution toward the
repair of a motor vehicle in excess of $450, if the department
determines that the expenditure is cost effective.
   This bill would require the department to consider a failure of
the visible smoke test and the costs associated with repairing a
smoking vehicle in making this determination.
   (5) Existing law provides that the department may specify the
amount of money that may be paid to an owner of a high-polluting
motor vehicle who voluntarily retires the vehicle. Existing law
requires that the department base the amount on the
cost-effectiveness and the air quality benefit of retiring the
vehicle, as determined by the department.
   This bill would allow the owner of a motor vehicle that has failed
its most recent smog check inspection to retire the vehicle from
operation at a dismantler under contract with the Bureau of
Automotive Repair, and would require the department to pay this
person up to $1,500, or more as specified.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 44012.1 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
   44012.1.  (a) The department shall incorporate a visible smoke
test into the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program by
January 1, 2008. Any visible smoke from the tailpipe or crankcase of
a motor vehicle during an inspection constitutes a failure. Steam
from condensation by itself shall not lead to an inspection failure.

   (b) If an owner of a motor vehicle disputes the failure of a
visible smoke test, the owner may seek resolution of the dispute from
the state-designated referee.
   (c) The department, in consultation with the state board and
interested parties, shall adopt regulations to implement this
section. No new equipment shall be required to implement the visible
smoke test.
   (d) If the implementation of the visible smoke test required by
subdivision (a) requires modification of the Emission Inspection
System software or Vehicle Information Database, that modification
shall be performed as part of the ordinary, periodic upgrade to these
systems.
  SEC. 2.  Section 44017 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   44017.  (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section or
Section 44017.1, a motor vehicle owner shall qualify for a repair
cost waiver only after expenditure of not less than four hundred
fifty dollars ($450) for repairs, including parts and labor.
   (b) The limit established pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not
become operative until the department issues a public notice
declaring that the program established pursuant to Section 44010.5 is
operational in the relevant geographical areas of the state, or
until the date that testing in those geographic areas is operative
using loaded mode test equipment, as defined in this article,
whichever occurs first. Prior to that time, the following cost limits
shall remain in effect:
   (1) For motor vehicles of 1971 and earlier model years, fifty
dollars ($50).
   (2) For motor vehicles of 1972 to 1974, inclusive, model years,
ninety dollars ($90).
   (3) For motor vehicles of 1975 to 1979, inclusive, model years,
one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125).
   (4) For motor vehicles of 1980 to 1989, inclusive, model years,
one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175).
   (5) For motor vehicles of 1990 to 1995, inclusive, model years,
three hundred dollars ($300).
   (6) For motor vehicles of 1996 and later model years, four hundred
fifty dollars ($450).
   (c) The department shall periodically revise the repair cost
limits specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) in accordance with
changes in the Consumer Price Index, as published by the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
   (d) No repair cost limit shall be imposed in those cases where
emissions control equipment is missing or is partially or totally
inoperative as a result of being tampered with.
   (e) (1) No repair cost waiver shall be issued where a motor
vehicle has failed the visible smoke test created by the department
pursuant to Section 44012.1, unless paragraph (2) applies, or the
vehicle is owned by a low-income person, as defined in Section
44062.1 in which case the repair cost limit applicable pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 44017.1 shall apply.
   (2) By January 1, 2008, the department shall adopt regulations
allowing a repair cost waiver, with the repair cost limit specified
in subdivision (a), where a motor vehicle has failed the visible
smoke test component of a smog check inspection, for individuals
under economic hardship but who do not meet the definition of
low-income person, as defined in Section 44062.1. The regulations
shall make eligible for the waiver those individuals whose household
means fall below the level necessary to achieve a modest standard of
living without assistance from public programs. The department shall
consult authoritative information sources including, but not limited
to, the United States Census Bureau, the Department of Finance, and
the California Budget Project.
  SEC. 3.  Section 44021 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   44021.  (a) (1) The Inspection and Maintenance Review Committee is
hereby created to analyze the effect of the improved inspection and
maintenance program established by this chapter on motor vehicle
emissions and air quality.  The functions of the review committee
shall be advisory in nature and primarily pertain to the gathering,
analysis, and evaluation of information.
   (2) The members of the review committee shall receive no
compensation, but shall be reimbursed by the department for their
reasonable expenses in performing committee duties. The state board
and the department shall provide the review committee with any
necessary technical and clerical support in its evaluation and study.

   (3) (A) The review committee shall consist of 13 members, nine to
be appointed by the Governor, two by the Senate Committee on Rules,
and two by the Speaker of the Assembly. All members shall be
appointed to four-year terms, and the Governor shall appoint from
among his or her appointees the chairperson of the review committee.

   (B) The appointees of the Governor shall include an air pollution
control officer from an enhanced program nonattainment area, three
public members, an expert in air quality, an economist, a social
scientist, a representative of the inspection and maintenance
industry, and a representative of stationary source emissions
organizations.
   (C) The appointees of the Senate Committee on Rules shall include
an environmental member with expertise in air quality, and a
representative from the inspection and maintenance industry.
   (D) The appointees of the Speaker of the Assembly shall include an
environmental member with expertise in air quality, and a
representative of a local law enforcement agency charged with
prosecuting violations of this chapter in an enhanced program
nonattainment area.
   (4) In preparing its evaluations of program effectiveness as
provided in paragraph (1), the review committee shall consult with
the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Department of
Motor Vehicles, and any other appropriate agencies, as well as the
department and the state board, shall schedule and conduct periodic
meetings in the performance of its duties, and shall meet and consult
with local, state, and federal officials involved in the evaluation
of motor vehicle inspection and maintenance programs. At the request
of the committee, the department or the state board may, on behalf of
the committee, contract with independent entities to assist in the
committee's evaluations.
   (b) The review committee shall submit periodic written reports to
the Legislature and the Governor on the performance of the program
and make recommendations on program improvements at least every 12
months. The periodic reports shall quantify the reduction in
emissions and improvement in air quality attributed to the program.
On or before July 1, 2010, the review committee shall, in
consultation with the department and the state board, include a
discussion of the effectiveness of the visible smoke test component
of the inspection and maintenance program, including the impact of
the visible smoke test on the smog check industry and vehicle owners
who fail the test, and an estimate of the reduction in particulate
emissions, in the periodic reports required by this subdivision. Any
reports, other than those required by this section, that the review
committee is required to provide pursuant to this chapter shall also
be transmitted to the Secretary for Environmental Protection and the
Secretary for State and Consumer Services.
   (c) The review committee shall work closely with all interested
parties in preparing the information required by subdivisions (a) and
(b) and shall consider the reports provided pursuant to subdivision
(e). The review committee shall hold at least one public hearing on
its findings and recommendations prior to submitting its reports. The
reports shall include statutory language to implement its
recommendations, and shall recommend the timeframe for making any
changes to the program. The review committee shall seek comments from
the department, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of
the California Highway Patrol, and the state board prior to
submitting its reports, and those comments shall be published as an
appendix to the report.
   (d) The review committee shall participate in the demonstration
program authorized by Section 44081.6, as provided by that section.
   (e) The state board, in cooperation with the department, shall
periodically submit reports to the review committee. The reports
shall include an assessment of the impact on emissions of continuing
the exemption from inspection of motor vehicles newer than five years
old; a comparison of the actual mass emissions reductions being
achieved by the enhanced program to those required by the State
Implementation Plan; and recommendations to improve the effectiveness
and cost-effectiveness of the program, including specific
recommendations addressing any discrepancy between emissions achieved
and those in the State Implementation Plan. The first report shall
be submitted not later than January 1, 2000, and reports shall be
submitted triennially thereafter. In preparing the reports, the state
board shall use data collected during inspections and repairs, and
data collected using roadside measurements, and may conduct
additional testing, as determined to be necessary, to accurately
quantify the mass emissions reduced.
  SEC. 4.  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 who has a maximum income level of 200 percent of
the federal poverty level, as published quarterly in the Federal
Register by the Department of Health and Human Services, and who 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.
   On and after January 1, 2009, the maximum income level prescribed
for this subparagraph shall be set at 185 percent of the federal
poverty level, as published quarterly in the Federal Register by the
United States Department of Health and Human Services.
   (B) An individual who is the 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. If the department
determines that applications for repair assistance exceed the amount
of funds available, to the maximum extent possible, applications from
low-income motor vehicle owners shall be given priority over other
applications.
   (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 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. In determining the cost
effectiveness of the expenditure, the department shall consider a
failure of the visible smoke test, pursuant to Section 44012.1, and
the costs associated with repairing a smoking vehicle.
   (g) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b), the department may increase the maximum income level
of a low-income motor vehicle owner under this program from the
amount specified in this section, not to exceed 225 percent of the
federal poverty level, if the department determines that the increase
is capable of being supported within existing budget allocations.
   (h) 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.
   (i) For purposes of this section, "low-income motor vehicle owner"
means a person whose income does not exceed 200 percent of the
federal poverty level.
  SEC. 5.  Section 44062.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   44062.3.  The owner of a motor vehicle that has failed its most
recent smog check inspection may retire the vehicle from operation at
a dismantler under contract with the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
The department shall pay a person who retires his or her vehicle
under this section up to one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).
The department may pay an owner of a motor vehicle who elects to
retire the vehicle more than one thousand five hundred dollars
($1,500), if the department determines that this payment is cost
effective.
  SEC. 6.  Section 44094 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   44094.  (a) Participation in the high polluter repair or removal
program specified in this article and Article 10 (commencing with
Section 44100) shall be voluntary and shall be available to the
owners of high polluters that are registered in an area that is
subject to an inspection and maintenance program, have been
registered for at least 24 months in the district where the credits
are to be applied and, are presently operational, and meet other
criteria, as determined by the department.
   (b) The program shall provide for both of the following:
   (1) As to the repair of a high polluter, payment to the owner of
up to 80 percent of the total cost of repair, as determined by the
department, but the payment shall not exceed four hundred fifty
dollars ($450).
   (2) As to the removal of a high polluter, the program shall be
subject to Article 10 (commencing with Section 44100).
   (c) Except as provided in Section 44062.3, the department may
specify the amount of money that may be paid to an owner of a
high-polluting motor vehicle who voluntarily retires the vehicle. The
amount paid by the department shall be based on the
cost-effectiveness and the air quality benefit of retiring the
vehicle, as determined by the department.
   (d) The department may authorize participation in the program
based on a reasonable estimate of the future revenues that will be
available to the program.