1     
EMISSIONS INSPECTION REVISIONS

2     
2020 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: A. Cory Maloy

5     
Senate Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill revises provisions related to motor vehicle emissions inspection.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     exempts electric motor vehicles from local emissions compliance fees; and
13          ▸     makes technical changes.
14     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
15          None
16     Other Special Clauses:
17          This bill provides a special effective date.
18     Utah Code Sections Affected:
19     AMENDS:
20          41-1a-1223, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 113
21          41-6a-1642, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 140
22     

23     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
24          Section 1. Section 41-1a-1223 is amended to read:
25          41-1a-1223. Local emissions compliance fee -- Exemptions -- Transfer -- County
26     ordinance -- Notice.
27          (1) (a) (i) A county legislative body of a county that is required to utilize a motor
28     vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program or in which an emissions inspection
29     and maintenance program is necessary to attain or maintain any national ambient air quality

30     standard in accordance with Section 41-6a-1642 may impose a local emissions compliance fee
31     of up to:
32          (A) $3 on each motor vehicle registration within the county for a motor vehicle
33     registration under Section 41-1a-215; or
34          (B) $2.25 on each motor vehicle registration within the county for a six-month
35     registration period under Section 41-1a-215.5.
36          (ii) A fee imposed under Subsection (1)(a)(i) shall be set in whole dollar increments.
37          (b) If imposed under Subsection (1)(a)(i), at the time application is made for
38     registration or renewal of registration of a motor vehicle under this chapter, the applicant shall
39     pay the local emissions compliance fee established by the county legislative body.
40          (c) The following are exempt from the fee required under Subsection (1)(a)(i):
41          (i) a motor vehicle that is exempt from the registration fee under Section 41-1a-1209 or
42     Subsection 41-1a-419(3); [and]
43          (ii) a commercial vehicle with an apportioned registration under Section 41-1a-301[.];
44     and
45          (iii) an electric motor vehicle.
46          (2) The revenue generated from the fees collected under this section shall be
47     transferred to the county that imposed the fee.
48          (3) To impose or change the amount of a fee under this section, the county legislative
49     body shall pass an ordinance:
50          (a) approving the fee;
51          (b) setting the amount of the fee; and
52          (c) providing an effective date for the fee as provided in Subsection (4).
53          (4) (a) If a county legislative body enacts, changes, or repeals a fee under this section,
54     the enactment, change, or repeal shall take effect on January 1 if the commission receives
55     notice meeting the requirements of Subsection (4)(b) from the county prior to October 1.
56          (b) The notice described in Subsection (4)(a) shall:
57          (i) state that the county will enact, change, or repeal a fee under this section;

58          (ii) include a copy of the ordinance imposing the fee; and
59          (iii) if the county enacts or changes the fee under this section, state the amount of the
60     fee.
61          Section 2. Section 41-6a-1642 is amended to read:
62          41-6a-1642. Emissions inspection -- County program.
63          (1) The legislative body of each county required under federal law to utilize a motor
64     vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program or in which an emissions inspection
65     and maintenance program is necessary to attain or maintain any national ambient air quality
66     standard shall require:
67          (a) a certificate of emissions inspection, a waiver, or other evidence the motor vehicle
68     is exempt from emissions inspection and maintenance program requirements be presented:
69          (i) as a condition of registration or renewal of registration; and
70          (ii) at other times as the county legislative body may require to enforce inspection
71     requirements for individual motor vehicles, except that the county legislative body may not
72     routinely require a certificate of emissions inspection, or waiver of the certificate, more often
73     than required under Subsection (9); and
74          (b) compliance with this section for a motor vehicle registered or principally operated
75     in the county and owned by or being used by a department, division, instrumentality, agency, or
76     employee of:
77          (i) the federal government;
78          (ii) the state and any of its agencies; or
79          (iii) a political subdivision of the state, including school districts.
80          (2) A vehicle owner subject to Subsection (1) shall obtain a motor vehicle emissions
81     inspection and maintenance program certificate of emissions inspection as described in
82     Subsection (1), but the program may not deny vehicle registration based solely on the presence
83     of a defeat device covered in the Volkswagen partial consent decrees or a United States
84     Environmental Protection Agency-approved vehicle modification in the following vehicles:
85          (a) a 2.0-liter diesel engine motor vehicle in which its lifetime nitrogen oxide

86     emissions are mitigated in the state pursuant to a partial consent decree, including:
87          (i) Volkswagen Jetta, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015;
88          (ii) Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and
89     2014;
90          (iii) Volkswagen Golf, model years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015;
91          (iv) Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, model year 2015;
92          (v) Volkswagen Passat, model years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015;
93          (vi) Volkswagen Beetle, model years 2013, 2014, and 2015;
94          (vii) Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, model years 2013, 2014, and 2015; and
95          (viii) Audi A3, model years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015; and
96          (b) a 3.0-liter diesel engine motor vehicle in which its lifetime nitrogen oxide
97     emissions are mitigated in the state to a settlement, including:
98          (i) Volkswagen Touareg, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and
99     2016;
100          (ii) Audi Q7, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016;
101          (iii) Audi A6 Quattro, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
102          (iv) Audi A7 Quattro, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
103          (v) Audi A8, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
104          (vi) Audi A8L, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
105          (vii) Audi Q5, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016; and
106          (viii) Porsche Cayenne Diesel, model years 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.
107          (3) (a) The legislative body of a county identified in Subsection (1), in consultation
108     with the Air Quality Board created under Section 19-1-106, shall make regulations or
109     ordinances regarding:
110          (i) emissions standards;
111          (ii) test procedures;
112          (iii) inspections stations;
113          (iv) repair requirements and dollar limits for correction of deficiencies; and

114          (v) certificates of emissions inspections.
115          (b) In accordance with Subsection (3)(a), a county legislative body:
116          (i) shall make regulations or ordinances to attain or maintain ambient air quality
117     standards in the county, consistent with the state implementation plan and federal
118     requirements;
119          (ii) may allow for a phase-in of the program by geographical area; and
120          (iii) shall comply with the analyzer design and certification requirements contained in
121     the state implementation plan prepared under Title 19, Chapter 2, Air Conservation Act.
122          (c) The county legislative body and the Air Quality Board shall give preference to an
123     inspection and maintenance program that:
124          (i) is decentralized, to the extent the decentralized program will attain and maintain
125     ambient air quality standards and meet federal requirements;
126          (ii) is the most cost effective means to achieve and maintain the maximum benefit with
127     regard to ambient air quality standards and to meet federal air quality requirements as related to
128     vehicle emissions; and
129          (iii) provides a reasonable phase-out period for replacement of air pollution emission
130     testing equipment made obsolete by the program.
131          (d) The provisions of Subsection (3)(c)(iii) apply only to the extent the phase-out:
132          (i) may be accomplished in accordance with applicable federal requirements; and
133          (ii) does not otherwise interfere with the attainment and maintenance of ambient air
134     quality standards.
135          (4) The following vehicles are exempt from an emissions inspection program and the
136     provisions of this section:
137          (a) an implement of husbandry as defined in Section 41-1a-102;
138          (b) a motor vehicle that:
139          (i) meets the definition of a farm truck under Section 41-1a-102; and
140          (ii) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 12,001 pounds or more;
141          (c) a vintage vehicle as defined in Section 41-21-1;

142          (d) a custom vehicle as defined in Section 41-6a-1507;
143          (e) to the extent allowed under the current federally approved state implementation
144     plan, in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401, et seq., a motor
145     vehicle that is less than two years old on January 1 based on the age of the vehicle as
146     determined by the model year identified by the manufacturer;
147          (f) a pickup truck, as defined in Section 41-1a-102, with a gross vehicle weight rating
148     of 12,000 pounds or less, if the registered owner of the pickup truck provides a signed
149     statement to the legislative body stating the truck is used:
150          (i) by the owner or operator of a farm located on property that qualifies as land in
151     agricultural use under Sections 59-2-502 and 59-2-503; and
152          (ii) exclusively for the following purposes in operating the farm:
153          (A) for the transportation of farm products, including livestock and its products,
154     poultry and its products, floricultural and horticultural products; and
155          (B) in the transportation of farm supplies, including tile, fence, and every other thing or
156     commodity used in agricultural, floricultural, horticultural, livestock, and poultry production
157     and maintenance;
158          (g) a motorcycle as defined in Section 41-1a-102;
159          (h) [a] an electric motor vehicle [powered solely by electric power] as defined in
160     Section 41-1a-102; and
161          (i) a motor vehicle with a model year of 1967 or older.
162          (5) The county shall issue to the registered owner who signs and submits a signed
163     statement under Subsection (4)(f) a certificate of exemption from emissions inspection
164     requirements for purposes of registering the exempt vehicle.
165          (6) A legislative body of a county described in Subsection (1) may exempt from an
166     emissions inspection program a diesel-powered motor vehicle with a:
167          (a) gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds; or
168          (b) model year of 1997 or older.
169          (7) (a) The legislative body of a county described in Subsection (1) that does not

170     require an emissions inspection for diesel-powered motor vehicles as of December 31, 2017,
171     shall implement a three-year pilot program as described in Subsection (7)(b).
172          (b) Beginning on January 1, 2019, and ending on December 31, 2021, the legislative
173     body of a county described in Subsection (7)(a) shall require:
174          (i) a computerized emissions inspection for a diesel-powered motor vehicle that has:
175          (A) a model year of 2007 or newer;
176          (B) a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds or less; and
177          (C) a model year that is five years old or older; and
178          (ii) a visual inspection of emissions equipment for a diesel-powered motor vehicle:
179          (A) with a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds or less;
180          (B) that has a model year of 1998 or newer; and
181          (C) that has a model year that is five years old or older.
182          (c) (i) The legislative body of a county that participates in the pilot program described
183     in this Subsection (7) shall prepare a report including:
184          (A) the total number of diesel-powered vehicles inspected as part of the pilot program
185     using computerized technology;
186          (B) the passage and failure rates of the diesel-powered motor vehicles inspected as part
187     of the pilot program using computerized technology, shown by model year;
188          (C) the total number of diesel-powered vehicles visually inspected as part of the pilot
189     program;
190          (D) the passage and failure rates of the diesel-powered motor vehicles visually
191     inspected as part of the pilot program, shown by model year;
192          (E) the total number of diesel-powered vehicles visually inspected as part of the pilot
193     program where tampering with emissions equipment was found, shown by model year; and
194          (F) any other information the executive body or individual considers relevant.
195          (ii) The legislative body of a county that participates in the pilot program described in
196     this Subsection (7) shall present the report described in Subsection (7)(c)(i) to the Natural
197     Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee:

198          (A) one time after January 1, 2020, but before August 31, 2020; and
199          (B) one time after January 1, 2021, but before August 31, 2021.
200          (d) After each report described in Subsection (7)(c), the Division of Air Quality created
201     in Section 19-1-105 shall provide to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment
202     Interim Committee and the legislative body of a county participating in the pilot program an
203     estimate of the tons of pollution emitted due to the failure rate of the diesel-powered motor
204     vehicles in the pilot program.
205          (8) (a) Subject to Subsection (8)(c), the legislative body of each county required under
206     federal law to utilize a motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program or in
207     which an emissions inspection and maintenance program is necessary to attain or maintain any
208     national ambient air quality standard may require each college or university located in a county
209     subject to this section to require its students and employees who park a motor vehicle not
210     registered in a county subject to this section to provide proof of compliance with an emissions
211     inspection accepted by the county legislative body if the motor vehicle is parked on the college
212     or university campus or property.
213          (b) College or university parking areas that are metered or for which payment is
214     required per use are not subject to the requirements of this Subsection (8).
215          (c) The legislative body of a county shall make the reasons for implementing the
216     provisions of this Subsection (8) part of the record at the time that the county legislative body
217     takes its official action to implement the provisions of this Subsection (8).
218          (9) (a) An emissions inspection station shall issue a certificate of emissions inspection
219     for each motor vehicle that meets the inspection and maintenance program requirements
220     established in rules made under Subsection (3).
221          (b) The frequency of the emissions inspection shall be determined based on the age of
222     the vehicle as determined by model year and shall be required annually subject to the
223     provisions of Subsection (9)(c).
224          (c) (i) To the extent allowed under the current federally approved state implementation
225     plan, in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401 et seq., the legislative

226     body of a county identified in Subsection (1) shall only require the emissions inspection every
227     two years for each vehicle.
228          (ii) The provisions of Subsection (9)(c)(i) apply only to a vehicle that is less than six
229     years old on January 1.
230          (iii) For a county required to implement a new vehicle emissions inspection and
231     maintenance program on or after December 1, 2012, under Subsection (1), but for which no
232     current federally approved state implementation plan exists, a vehicle shall be tested at a
233     frequency determined by the county legislative body, in consultation with the Air Quality
234     Board created under Section 19-1-106, that is necessary to comply with federal law or attain or
235     maintain any national ambient air quality standard.
236          (iv) If a county legislative body establishes or changes the frequency of a vehicle
237     emissions inspection and maintenance program under Subsection (9)(c)(iii), the establishment
238     or change shall take effect on January 1 if the State Tax Commission receives notice meeting
239     the requirements of Subsection (9)(c)(v) from the county before October 1.
240          (v) The notice described in Subsection (9)(c)(iv) shall:
241          (A) state that the county will establish or change the frequency of the vehicle emissions
242     inspection and maintenance program under this section;
243          (B) include a copy of the ordinance establishing or changing the frequency; and
244          (C) if the county establishes or changes the frequency under this section, state how
245     frequently the emissions testing will be required.
246          (d) If an emissions inspection is only required every two years for a vehicle under
247     Subsection(9)(c), the inspection shall be required for the vehicle in:
248          (i) odd-numbered years for vehicles with odd-numbered model years; or
249          (ii) in even-numbered years for vehicles with even-numbered model years.
250          (10) (a) Except as provided in Subsections (9)(b), (c), and (d), the emissions inspection
251     required under this section may be made no more than two months before the renewal of
252     registration.
253          (b) (i) If the title of a used motor vehicle is being transferred, the owner may use an

254     emissions inspection certificate issued for the motor vehicle during the previous 11 months to
255     satisfy the requirement under this section.
256          (ii) If the transferor is a licensed and bonded used motor vehicle dealer, the owner may
257     use an emissions inspection certificate issued for the motor vehicle in a licensed and bonded
258     motor vehicle dealer's name during the previous 11 months to satisfy the requirement under
259     this section.
260          (c) If the title of a leased vehicle is being transferred to the lessee of the vehicle, the
261     lessee may use an emissions inspection certificate issued during the previous 11 months to
262     satisfy the requirement under this section.
263          (d) If the motor vehicle is part of a fleet of 101 or more vehicles, the owner may not
264     use an emissions inspection made more than 11 months before the renewal of registration to
265     satisfy the requirement under this section.
266          (e) If the application for renewal of registration is for a six-month registration period
267     under Section 41-1a-215.5, the owner may use an emissions inspection certificate issued during
268     the previous eight months to satisfy the requirement under this section.
269          (11) (a) A county identified in Subsection (1) shall collect information about and
270     monitor the program.
271          (b) A county identified in Subsection (1) shall supply this information to an appropriate
272     legislative committee, as designated by the Legislative Management Committee, at times
273     determined by the designated committee to identify program needs, including funding needs.
274          (12) If approved by the county legislative body, a county that had an established
275     emissions inspection fee as of January 1, 2002, may increase the established fee that an
276     emissions inspection station may charge by $2.50 for each year that is exempted from
277     emissions inspections under Subsection (9)(c) up to a $7.50 increase.
278          (13) (a) [A] Except as provided in Subsection 41-1a-1223(1)(c), a county identified in
279     Subsection (1) may impose a local emissions compliance fee on each motor vehicle registration
280     within the county in accordance with the procedures and requirements of Section 41-1a-1223.
281          (b) A county that imposes a local emissions compliance fee may use revenues

282     generated from the fee for the establishment and enforcement of an emissions inspection and
283     maintenance program in accordance with the requirements of this section.
284          (c) A county that imposes a local emissions compliance fee may use revenues
285     generated from the fee to promote programs to maintain a local, state, or national ambient air
286     quality standard.
287          Section 3. Effective date.
288          This bill takes effect on January 1, 2021.