HBA-EDN H.B. 2134 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2134 By: Chisum Environmental Regulation 3/26/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Federal law requires certain air quality standards and imposes strict deadlines and penalties for noncompliance. The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission recently adopted new regulations requiring more than 90% reductions in auto emissions to comply with federal law. House Bill 2134 provides the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and the Texas Department of Public Safety with expanded authority and flexibility relating to vehicle emissions testing. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Public Safety in SECTION 1 (Sec. 382.203, Health and Safety Code); to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission in SECTION 1 (Secs. 382.210 and 382.212, Health and Safety Code); and to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation, and the Public Safety Commission in SECTION 1 (Sec. 382.209, Health and Safety Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 2134 amends the Health and Safety and Transportation codes relating to the regulation of motor vehicle emissions and provides for certain penalties. The bill amends the Health and Safety Code to authorize the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), by rule, to establish, implement, and administer a program requiring emissionsrelated inspections of motor vehicles to be performed at inspection facilities consistent with the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act and its subsequent amendments. TNRCC is required, rather than authorized, to adopt vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance requirements for counties not subject to a specific federal requirement. The bill requires TNRCC to use part of the fees collected for vehicle emissions-related inspections to fund low-income and accelerated vehicle retirement programs and to distribute available funding to participating counties in reasonable proportion to the amount of fees collected in those counties or regions. TNRCC is authorized to set fees at the same rate for each vehicle in a county and to set different fees for different counties or regions. The bill provides that the inspection and maintenance program applies to any gasoline-powered vehicle that is subject to test-on-resale requirements. The bill replaces references to "Dallas, Tarrant, El Paso, or Harris County" with "an affected county." The Department of Public Safety (DPS) is authorized, by rule, to waive program requirements for certain vehicles. The program does not apply to a vehicle that is registered but not operated primarily in a county or group of counties subject to a motor vehicle emissions inspection program (Secs. 382.202 and 382.203). The bill requires TNRCC and DPS to jointly develop a program component for enforcing vehicle emissions testing and to develop standards by use of remote or automatic emissions detection and analysis equipment and sets forth provisions relating to inspection equipment and procedures (Secs. 382.204 and 382.205). H.B. 2134 requires TNRCC, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the Public Safety Commission, by joint rule, to establish and authorize the commissioners court of an affected county to implement a low-income vehicle repair assistance and accelerated vehicle retirement program. The bill requires TNRCC to provide funding for vehicle repair assistance and accelerated vehicle retirement programs with available funds collected from vehicle-related emissions inspections and requires TNRCC, by rule to adopt guidelines and establish a local advisory panel to assist a participating county in such a program. The bill requires TNRCC, by rule, to authorize the assignment, transfer, or use of an emissions reduction credit. The bill sets forth provisions regarding the administration and operation of such programs and provides that a person commits a third degree felony who sells a vehicle with intent to defraud under an accelerated vehicle retirement program. The bill authorizes TNRCC, TxDOT, and the Public Safety Commission to develop incentives for voluntary participation in a vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program (Secs. 382.209-382.216). The bill amends the Transportation Code to prohibit a county clerk from issuing a title receipt, the commission from issuing a certificate of title, and a county assessor-collector from registering a motor vehicle unless proof that the vehicle has passed a vehicle emissions test is provided. This prohibition also applies to a vehicle that is being resold (Secs. 501.0276, 502.1535, and 548.3011). The bill provides that a person commits a misdemeanor offense if the person operates, or as an owner knowingly permits another person to operate a vehicle that emits visible smoke (Sec. 547.605). The bill provides that a motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program may include reregistration-based enforcement (Sec. 548.301). The bill modifies provisions relating to excessive motor vehicle emissions and sets forth provisions relating to administrative penalties for violations of motor vehicle emissions standards (Secs. 548.306 and 548.3065). EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.