BILL NUMBER: AB 859 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Jones
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to amend Sections 44062.1 44024.5,
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 amended, 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
that are 15 years old or greater into the motor vehicle
inspection and maintenance program by January 1, 2010
2011 , 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
increasing the number of motor vehicles subject to the
criminal penalties of the existing smog check program , this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would exempt all vehicles not subject to biennial
inspection, and would authorize the department to exempt other
vehicles or classes of vehicles determined by the
department to be likely to pass the annual inspection
from annual inspection, as provided .
(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
that are 15 years old or greater into the motor vehicle
inspection and maintenance program by January 1, 2010
2011 .
(b) The department shall not subject to annual inspection any of
the following:
(1) Motor vehicles that are model years that are 14 years old or
newer.
(2) Motor vehicles that are not subject to biennial inspection,
including vehicles exempted by Section 44011.
(3) Motor vehicles exempted from annual inspection pursuant to
Section 44024.5.
(b)
(c) 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 44024.5 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
44024.5. (a) The department shall compile and maintain
statistical and emissions profiles of motor vehicles that are subject
to the motor vehicle inspection program. The department may use data
from any source, including remote sensing data and other motor
vehicle inspection program data, to develop and confirm the validity
of the profiles.
(b) The department, in cooperation with the state board, shall
perform periodic biennial analyses of
the statistical and emissions profiles created pursuant to
subdivision (a). The department and the state board, in consultation
with the Inspection and Maintenance Review Committee, may determine
that, in addition to the vehicles excepted pursuant to Section 44011,
certain other motor vehicles may be excepted from
the ann ual or biennial certification
requirements of this chapter without significantly compromising the
emission reduction objectives set forth in the State Implementation
Plan (SIP).
(c) The department may conduct a pilot program to except from the
annual or biennial certification requirement those
vehicles that may be jointly determined by the department and the
state board, after consultation with the Inspection and Maintenance
Review Committee, to warrant exception. The department shall provide
written notification to the Legislature specifying the number of
vehicles to be exempted as well as the geographic location and
duration of the pilot program not less than 30 days prior to the
implementation of the pilot program. The department shall submit the
results of the pilot program to the state board and the Inspection
and Maintenance Review Committee for review. Subject to the approval
of the United States Environmental Protection Agency as an amendment
to the SIP, the department may establish the exception program as a
permanent program.
(d) For vehicles four model years old or less, the department
shall use test data generated pursuant to Section 44014.7 to develop
statistical and emissions profiles. The department may use data from
any source, including remote sensing data, warranty repair and recall
data, and other motor vehicle inspection program data, to develop
and confirm the validity of the data. If the department and state
board jointly determine that the emissions from a class of motor
vehicles would potentially compromise the emission reduction
objectives set forth in the SIP, the state board shall consider
appropriate corrective action, including, but not limited to, recall
pursuant to Section 43105.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. 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 an
individual who is a low-income motor vehicle owner, and who is either
or both of the following:
(A) The owner of a motor vehicle that has failed a smog check
inspection.
(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.
(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. 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. 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) 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) For purposes of this section, "low-income motor vehicle owner"
means a person whose income does not exceed 300 percent of the
federal poverty level, as published quarterly in the Federal Register
by the Department of Health and Human Services.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. 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 seven hundred fifty
dollars ($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. SEC. 5. 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.