1     
NOISE POLLUTION AMENDMENTS

2     
2021 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Mark A. Wheatley

5     
Senate Sponsor: ____________

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill requires an inspection of noise suppression equipment at the time of a vehicle
10     emissions inspection as a prerequisite to registration of a motor vehicle.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     requires vehicles subject to an emissions inspection to be inspected for compliance
14     with noise suppression equipment requirements;
15          ▸     requires proof of the inspection as a condition of registration;
16          ▸     imposes fines on an individual for a violation of muffler and noise suppression
17     equipment requirements; and
18          ▸     makes technical changes.
19     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
20          None
21     Other Special Clauses:
22          This bill provides a special effective date.
23     Utah Code Sections Affected:
24     AMENDS:
25          41-6a-1626, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 461
26          41-6a-1642, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 83
27     


28     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
29          Section 1. Section 41-6a-1626 is amended to read:
30          41-6a-1626. Mufflers -- Prevention of noise, smoke, and fumes -- Air pollution
31     control devices.
32          (1) (a) A vehicle shall be equipped, maintained, and operated to prevent excessive or
33     unusual noise.
34          (b) A motor vehicle shall be equipped with a muffler or other effective noise
35     suppressing system in good working order and in constant operation.
36          (c) A person may not use a muffler cut-out, bypass, or similar device on a vehicle.
37          (d) As part of an emissions inspection described in Section 41-6a-1642, an emissions
38     inspection station shall inspect each motor vehicle subject to an emissions inspection to ensure
39     compliance with the noise prevention equipment requirements in this section.
40          (2) (a) Except while the engine is being warmed to the recommended operating
41     temperature, the engine and power mechanism of a gasoline-powered motor vehicle may not
42     emit visible contaminants during operation.
43          (b) (i) As used in this Subsection (2)(b), "heavy tow" means a tow that exceeds the
44     vehicle's maximum tow weight.
45          (ii) A diesel engine manufactured on or after January 1, 2008, may not emit visible
46     contaminants during operation:
47          (A) except while the engine is being warmed to the recommended operating
48     temperature or under a heavy tow; or
49          (B) unless the diesel engine is in a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight
50     rating in excess of 26,000 pounds.
51          (iii) A diesel engine manufactured before January 1, 2008, may not emit visible
52     contaminants of a shade or density that obscures a contrasting background by more than 20%,
53     for more than five consecutive seconds:
54          (A) except while the engine is being warmed to the recommended operating
55     temperature or under a heavy tow; or
56          (B) unless the diesel engine is in a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight
57     rating in excess of 26,000 pounds.
58          (c) A person who violates the provisions of Subsection (2)(a) is guilty of an infraction

59     and shall be fined:
60          (i) not less than $50 for a violation; or
61          (ii) not less than $100 for a second or subsequent violation within three years of a
62     previous violation of this section.
63          (d) A person who violates the provisions of Subsection (2)(b) is guilty of an infraction
64     and shall be fined:
65          (i) not less than $100 for a violation; or
66          (ii) not less than $500 for a second or subsequent violation within three years of a
67     previous violation of this section.
68          (e) (i) As used in this section:
69          (A) "Local health department" means the same as that term is defined in Section
70     26A-1-102.
71          (B) "Nonattainment area" means the same as that term is defined in Section
72     63N-3-102.
73          (ii) Within a nonattainment area, for a second or subsequent violation of Subsection
74     (2)(a) or (2)(b), the court shall report the violations to the local health department at a regular
75     interval.
76          (iii) If the local health department receives a notification as described in Subsection
77     (2)(e)(ii), and the local health department determines that the registered vehicle is unable to
78     meet state or local air emission standards, the local health department shall send notification to
79     the Motor Vehicle Division.
80          (3) (a) If a motor vehicle is equipped by a manufacturer with air pollution control
81     devices, the devices shall be maintained in good working order and in constant operation.
82          (b) For purposes of the first sale of a vehicle at retail, an air pollution control device
83     may be substituted for the manufacturer's original device if the substituted device is at least as
84     effective in the reduction of emissions from the vehicle motor as the air pollution control
85     device furnished by the manufacturer of the vehicle as standard equipment for the same vehicle
86     class.
87          (c) A person who renders inoperable an air pollution control device on a motor vehicle
88     is guilty of an infraction.
89          (4) Subsection (3) does not apply to a motor vehicle altered and modified to use clean

90     fuel, as defined under Section 59-13-102, when the emissions from the modified or altered
91     motor vehicle are at levels that comply with existing state or federal standards for the emission
92     of pollutants from a motor vehicle of the same class.
93          (5) (a) A person who violates Subsection (1) is guilty of an infraction and shall be
94     fined:
95          (i) not less than $50 for a first violation; or
96          (ii) not less than $100 for a second or subsequent violation within three years of a
97     previous violation.
98          (b) A violation of Subsection [(1), (2),] (2) or (3) is an infraction.
99          Section 2. Section 41-6a-1642 is amended to read:
100          41-6a-1642. Emissions inspection -- County program.
101          (1) The legislative body of each county required under federal law to utilize a motor
102     vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program or in which an emissions inspection
103     and maintenance program is necessary to attain or maintain any national ambient air quality
104     standard shall require:
105          (a) a certificate of emissions inspection, a waiver, or other evidence the motor vehicle
106     is exempt from emissions inspection and maintenance program requirements be presented:
107          (i) as a condition of registration or renewal of registration; and
108          (ii) at other times as the county legislative body may require to enforce inspection
109     requirements for individual motor vehicles, except that the county legislative body may not
110     routinely require a certificate of emissions inspection, or waiver of the certificate, more often
111     than required under Subsection (9); and
112          (b) compliance with this section for a motor vehicle registered or principally operated
113     in the county and owned by or being used by a department, division, instrumentality, agency, or
114     employee of:
115          (i) the federal government;
116          (ii) the state and any of its agencies; or
117          (iii) a political subdivision of the state, including school districts.
118          (2) A vehicle owner subject to Subsection (1) shall obtain a motor vehicle emissions
119     inspection and maintenance program certificate of emissions inspection as described in
120     Subsection (1), but the program may not deny vehicle registration based solely on the presence

121     of a defeat device covered in the Volkswagen partial consent decrees or a United States
122     Environmental Protection Agency-approved vehicle modification in the following vehicles:
123          (a) a 2.0-liter diesel engine motor vehicle in which its lifetime nitrogen oxide
124     emissions are mitigated in the state pursuant to a partial consent decree, including:
125          (i) Volkswagen Jetta, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015;
126          (ii) Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and
127     2014;
128          (iii) Volkswagen Golf, model years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015;
129          (iv) Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, model year 2015;
130          (v) Volkswagen Passat, model years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015;
131          (vi) Volkswagen Beetle, model years 2013, 2014, and 2015;
132          (vii) Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, model years 2013, 2014, and 2015; and
133          (viii) Audi A3, model years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015; and
134          (b) a 3.0-liter diesel engine motor vehicle in which its lifetime nitrogen oxide
135     emissions are mitigated in the state to a settlement, including:
136          (i) Volkswagen Touareg, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and
137     2016;
138          (ii) Audi Q7, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016;
139          (iii) Audi A6 Quattro, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
140          (iv) Audi A7 Quattro, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
141          (v) Audi A8, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
142          (vi) Audi A8L, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
143          (vii) Audi Q5, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016; and
144          (viii) Porsche Cayenne Diesel, model years 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.
145          (3) (a) The legislative body of a county identified in Subsection (1), in consultation
146     with the Air Quality Board created under Section 19-1-106, shall make regulations or
147     ordinances regarding:
148          (i) emissions standards;
149          (ii) test procedures;
150          (iii) inspections stations;
151          (iv) repair requirements and dollar limits for correction of deficiencies; and

152          (v) certificates of emissions inspections.
153          (b) In accordance with Subsection (3)(a), a county legislative body:
154          (i) shall make regulations or ordinances to attain or maintain ambient air quality
155     standards in the county, consistent with the state implementation plan and federal
156     requirements;
157          (ii) may allow for a phase-in of the program by geographical area; and
158          (iii) shall comply with the analyzer design and certification requirements contained in
159     the state implementation plan prepared under Title 19, Chapter 2, Air Conservation Act.
160          (c) The county legislative body and the Air Quality Board shall give preference to an
161     inspection and maintenance program that:
162          (i) is decentralized, to the extent the decentralized program will attain and maintain
163     ambient air quality standards and meet federal requirements;
164          (ii) is the most cost effective means to achieve and maintain the maximum benefit with
165     regard to ambient air quality standards and to meet federal air quality requirements as related to
166     vehicle emissions; and
167          (iii) provides a reasonable phase-out period for replacement of air pollution emission
168     testing equipment made obsolete by the program.
169          (d) The provisions of Subsection (3)(c)(iii) apply only to the extent the phase-out:
170          (i) may be accomplished in accordance with applicable federal requirements; and
171          (ii) does not otherwise interfere with the attainment and maintenance of ambient air
172     quality standards.
173          (4) The following vehicles are exempt from an emissions inspection program and the
174     provisions of this section:
175          (a) an implement of husbandry as defined in Section 41-1a-102;
176          (b) a motor vehicle that:
177          (i) meets the definition of a farm truck under Section 41-1a-102; and
178          (ii) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 12,001 pounds or more;
179          (c) a vintage vehicle as defined in Section 41-21-1;
180          (d) a custom vehicle as defined in Section 41-6a-1507;
181          (e) to the extent allowed under the current federally approved state implementation
182     plan, in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401, et seq., a motor

183     vehicle that is less than two years old on January 1 based on the age of the vehicle as
184     determined by the model year identified by the manufacturer;
185          (f) a pickup truck, as defined in Section 41-1a-102, with a gross vehicle weight rating
186     of 12,000 pounds or less, if the registered owner of the pickup truck provides a signed
187     statement to the legislative body stating the truck is used:
188          (i) by the owner or operator of a farm located on property that qualifies as land in
189     agricultural use under Sections 59-2-502 and 59-2-503; and
190          (ii) exclusively for the following purposes in operating the farm:
191          (A) for the transportation of farm products, including livestock and its products,
192     poultry and its products, floricultural and horticultural products; and
193          (B) in the transportation of farm supplies, including tile, fence, and every other thing or
194     commodity used in agricultural, floricultural, horticultural, livestock, and poultry production
195     and maintenance;
196          (g) a motorcycle as defined in Section 41-1a-102;
197          (h) an electric motor vehicle as defined in Section 41-1a-102; and
198          (i) a motor vehicle with a model year of 1967 or older.
199          (5) The county shall issue to the registered owner who signs and submits a signed
200     statement under Subsection (4)(f) a certificate of exemption from emissions inspection
201     requirements for purposes of registering the exempt vehicle.
202          (6) A legislative body of a county described in Subsection (1) may exempt from an
203     emissions inspection program a diesel-powered motor vehicle with a:
204          (a) gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds; or
205          (b) model year of 1997 or older.
206          (7) (a) The legislative body of a county described in Subsection (1) that does not
207     require an emissions inspection for diesel-powered motor vehicles as of December 31, 2017,
208     shall implement a three-year pilot program as described in Subsection (7)(b).
209          (b) Beginning on January 1, 2019, and ending on December 31, 2021, the legislative
210     body of a county described in Subsection (7)(a) shall require:
211          (i) a computerized emissions inspection for a diesel-powered motor vehicle that has:
212          (A) a model year of 2007 or newer;
213          (B) a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds or less; and

214          (C) a model year that is five years old or older; and
215          (ii) a visual inspection of emissions equipment for a diesel-powered motor vehicle:
216          (A) with a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds or less;
217          (B) that has a model year of 1998 or newer; and
218          (C) that has a model year that is five years old or older.
219          (c) (i) The legislative body of a county that participates in the pilot program described
220     in this Subsection (7) shall prepare a report including:
221          (A) the total number of diesel-powered vehicles inspected as part of the pilot program
222     using computerized technology;
223          (B) the passage and failure rates of the diesel-powered motor vehicles inspected as part
224     of the pilot program using computerized technology, shown by model year;
225          (C) the total number of diesel-powered vehicles visually inspected as part of the pilot
226     program;
227          (D) the passage and failure rates of the diesel-powered motor vehicles visually
228     inspected as part of the pilot program, shown by model year;
229          (E) the total number of diesel-powered vehicles visually inspected as part of the pilot
230     program where tampering with emissions equipment was found, shown by model year; and
231          (F) any other information the executive body or individual considers relevant.
232          (ii) The legislative body of a county that participates in the pilot program described in
233     this Subsection (7) shall present the report described in Subsection (7)(c)(i) to the Natural
234     Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee:
235          (A) one time after January 1, 2020, but before August 31, 2020; and
236          (B) one time after January 1, 2021, but before August 31, 2021.
237          (d) After each report described in Subsection (7)(c), the Division of Air Quality created
238     in Section 19-1-105 shall provide to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment
239     Interim Committee and the legislative body of a county participating in the pilot program an
240     estimate of the tons of pollution emitted due to the failure rate of the diesel-powered motor
241     vehicles in the pilot program.
242          (8) (a) Subject to Subsection (8)(c), the legislative body of each county required under
243     federal law to utilize a motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program or in
244     which an emissions inspection and maintenance program is necessary to attain or maintain any

245     national ambient air quality standard may require each college or university located in a county
246     subject to this section to require its students and employees who park a motor vehicle not
247     registered in a county subject to this section to provide proof of compliance with an emissions
248     inspection accepted by the county legislative body if the motor vehicle is parked on the college
249     or university campus or property.
250          (b) College or university parking areas that are metered or for which payment is
251     required per use are not subject to the requirements of this Subsection (8).
252          (c) The legislative body of a county shall make the reasons for implementing the
253     provisions of this Subsection (8) part of the record at the time that the county legislative body
254     takes its official action to implement the provisions of this Subsection (8).
255          (9) (a) An emissions inspection station shall issue a certificate of emissions inspection
256     for each motor vehicle that meets the inspection and maintenance program requirements
257     established in Section 41-6a-1626 and in rules made under Subsection (3).
258          (b) The frequency of the emissions inspection shall be determined based on the age of
259     the vehicle as determined by model year and shall be required annually subject to the
260     provisions of Subsection (9)(c).
261          (c) (i) To the extent allowed under the current federally approved state implementation
262     plan, in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401 et seq., the legislative
263     body of a county identified in Subsection (1) shall only require the emissions inspection every
264     two years for each vehicle.
265          (ii) The provisions of Subsection (9)(c)(i) apply only to a vehicle that is less than six
266     years old on January 1.
267          (iii) For a county required to implement a new vehicle emissions inspection and
268     maintenance program on or after December 1, 2012, under Subsection (1), but for which no
269     current federally approved state implementation plan exists, a vehicle shall be tested at a
270     frequency determined by the county legislative body, in consultation with the Air Quality
271     Board created under Section 19-1-106, that is necessary to comply with federal law or attain or
272     maintain any national ambient air quality standard.
273          (iv) If a county legislative body establishes or changes the frequency of a vehicle
274     emissions inspection and maintenance program under Subsection (9)(c)(iii), the establishment
275     or change shall take effect on January 1 if the State Tax Commission receives notice meeting

276     the requirements of Subsection (9)(c)(v) from the county before October 1.
277          (v) The notice described in Subsection (9)(c)(iv) shall:
278          (A) state that the county will establish or change the frequency of the vehicle emissions
279     inspection and maintenance program under this section;
280          (B) include a copy of the ordinance establishing or changing the frequency; and
281          (C) if the county establishes or changes the frequency under this section, state how
282     frequently the emissions testing will be required.
283          (d) If an emissions inspection is only required every two years for a vehicle under
284     Subsection(9)(c), the inspection shall be required for the vehicle in:
285          (i) odd-numbered years for vehicles with odd-numbered model years; or
286          (ii) in even-numbered years for vehicles with even-numbered model years.
287          (10) (a) Except as provided in Subsections (9)(b), (c), and (d), the emissions inspection
288     required under this section may be made no more than two months before the renewal of
289     registration.
290          (b) (i) If the title of a used motor vehicle is being transferred, the owner may use an
291     emissions inspection certificate issued for the motor vehicle during the previous 11 months to
292     satisfy the requirement under this section.
293          (ii) If the transferor is a licensed and bonded used motor vehicle dealer, the owner may
294     use an emissions inspection certificate issued for the motor vehicle in a licensed and bonded
295     motor vehicle dealer's name during the previous 11 months to satisfy the requirement under
296     this section.
297          (c) If the title of a leased vehicle is being transferred to the lessee of the vehicle, the
298     lessee may use an emissions inspection certificate issued during the previous 11 months to
299     satisfy the requirement under this section.
300          (d) If the motor vehicle is part of a fleet of 101 or more vehicles, the owner may not
301     use an emissions inspection made more than 11 months before the renewal of registration to
302     satisfy the requirement under this section.
303          (e) If the application for renewal of registration is for a six-month registration period
304     under Section 41-1a-215.5, the owner may use an emissions inspection certificate issued during
305     the previous eight months to satisfy the requirement under this section.
306          (11) (a) A county identified in Subsection (1) shall collect information about and

307     monitor the program.
308          (b) A county identified in Subsection (1) shall supply this information to an appropriate
309     legislative committee, as designated by the Legislative Management Committee, at times
310     determined by the designated committee to identify program needs, including funding needs.
311          (12) If approved by the county legislative body, a county that had an established
312     emissions inspection fee as of January 1, 2002, may increase the established fee that an
313     emissions inspection station may charge by $2.50 for each year that is exempted from
314     emissions inspections under Subsection (9)(c) up to a $7.50 increase.
315          (13) (a) Except as provided in Subsection 41-1a-1223(1)(c), a county identified in
316     Subsection (1) may impose a local emissions compliance fee on each motor vehicle registration
317     within the county in accordance with the procedures and requirements of Section 41-1a-1223.
318          (b) A county that imposes a local emissions compliance fee may use revenues
319     generated from the fee for the establishment and enforcement of an emissions inspection and
320     maintenance program in accordance with the requirements of this section.
321          (c) A county that imposes a local emissions compliance fee may use revenues
322     generated from the fee to promote programs to maintain a local, state, or national ambient air
323     quality standard.
324          Section 3. Effective date.
325          This bill takes effect on January 1, 2022.