BILL NUMBER: AB 859 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Jones
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to amend Sections 44062.1 and 44094 of, and to add Section
44012.7 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to air pollution.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 859, as introduced, Jones. Smog check: annual inspection:
repair assistance program.
(1) Existing law establishes a motor vehicle inspection and
maintenance (smog check) program, developed, implemented, and
administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The smog check
program provides for the inspection of a motor vehicle, among other
circumstances, upon its registration, upon transfer of ownership, and
for vehicles registered in certain areas of the state, biennially.
Some motor vehicles, including any motor vehicle manufactured prior
to the 1976 model year, are exempt from biennial inspection. The
department is required to charge a fee to a smog check station for
each motor vehicle inspection, as provided. Violations of the smog
check requirements constitute a crime.
Existing law creates the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account,
and makes available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, all money
in the account to the State Air Resources Board and the department
to establish and implement a program for the repair or replacement of
high polluting motor vehicles.
This bill would require the department to incorporate the annual
inspection of motor vehicles that are models which are 15 years old
or greater into the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program
by January 1, 2010, and would require funds generated through
additional inspection fees to be deposited into the High Polluter
Repair or Removal Account.
By expanding the definition of an existing crime, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would exempt all vehicles not subject to biennial
inspection, and vehicles or classes of vehicles determined by the
department to be likely to pass the annual inspection.
(2) Existing law provides for a repair assistance program
available to an individual whose maximum income level is 185% of the
federal poverty level and who is the owner of a motor vehicle that
has failed a smog check inspection or received a notice to correct,
or an individual who has failed a smog check inspection and is
directed to a test-only facility. 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 increase this amount to $750. The bill would make
the repair assistance program only available to low-income
individuals, and would change the maximum income level to 300% of the
federal poverty level. The bill would make other conforming changes,
and delete obsolete provisions of law.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 44012.7 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
44012.7. (a) The department shall incorporate the annual
inspection of motor vehicles that are models which are 15 years old
or greater into the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program
by January 1, 2010.
(b) All funds generated through additional inspection fees shall
be deposited into the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account created
by Section 44091.
(c) The department shall develop a vehicle emissions profile that
identifies vehicles or classes of vehicles that are likely to pass
annual inspection. The department shall revise this profile annually.
(d) Both of the following are exempt from the annual inspection:
(1) All vehicles not subject to biennial inspection, including
vehicles exempted by Section 44011.
(2) All vehicles or classes of vehicles determined by the
department to be likely to pass the annual inspection pursuant to
subdivision (c).
SEC. 2. 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
(b) (1) The
repair assistance program shall be available to 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 is a
low-income motor vehicle owner , and who is either or both of
the following:
(i)
(A) The owner of a motor vehicle that has failed a smog
check inspection.
(ii)
(B) 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 Repairs 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
high polluter pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of
Section 44094, if the department determines that the expenditure is
cost-effective 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)
(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.
(i)
(h) For purposes of this section, "low-income motor
vehicle owner" means a person whose income does not exceed
200 300 percent of the federal poverty level
, as published quarterly in the Federal Register by the
Department of Health and Human Services .
SEC. 3. 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
seven hundred fifty dollars ($450)
($750) .
(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.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.