GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1999

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 180

Short Title:  Repeal Safety Inspections.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representatives Carpenter; Allred, Baker, Buchanan, Cansler, Capps, Crawford, Davis, Howard, Kiser, Morris, Rayfield, Sexton, and Starnes.

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Referred to:  Highway Safety, if favorable, Finance.

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March 1, 1999

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REPEAL THE MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTION.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 20-183.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20-183.2.  Description of vehicles subject to emissions inspection; definitions.
				(b)	Emissions. – A motor vehicle is subject to an emissions inspection in accordance with this Part if it meets all of the following requirements:
(1)	It is subject to registration with the Division under Article 3 of this Chapter.
(2)	It is not a trailer whose gross weight is less than 4,000 pounds, a house trailer, or a motorcycle.
(3)	It is a 1975 or later model.
(4)	It is powered or designed so that it could be powered by gasoline.
(5)	It meets any of the following descriptions:
a.	It is required to be registered in an emissions county.
b.	It is part of a fleet that is operated primarily in an emissions county.
c.	It is offered for rent in an emissions county.
d.	It is a used vehicle offered for sale by a dealer in an emissions county.
e.	It is operated on a federal installation located in an emissions county and it is not a tactical military vehicle. Vehicles operated on a federal installation include those that are owned or leased by employees of the installation and are used to commute to the installation and those owned or operated by the federal agency that conducts business at the installation.
f.	It is otherwise required by 40 C.F.R. Part 51 to be subject to an emissions inspection.
(c)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this Part:
(1)	Emissions county. – A county in which the State either is required by federal law to conduct emissions testing or has agreed in its State Implementation Plan submitted to the federal Environmental Protection Agency to conduct emissions testing. The State Environmental Management Commission establishes the emissions counties pursuant to rules adopted under G.S. 143-215.107(a)(6).
(2)	Federal installation. – An installation that is owned by, leased to, or otherwise regularly used as the place of business of a federal agency."
Section 2.  G.S. 20-183.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20-183.3.  Scope of emissions inspection.
										(b)	Emissions. – An emissions inspection of a motor vehicle consists of a visual inspection of the vehicle's emission control devices to determine if the devices are present, are properly connected, and are the correct type for the vehicle and an analysis of the exhaust emissions of the vehicle to determine if the exhaust emissions meet the standards for the model year of the vehicle set by the Environmental Management Commission. To pass an emissions inspection a vehicle shall pass both the visual inspection and the exhaust emissions analysis.  
(c)	Reinspection After Failure. – The scope of a reinspection of a vehicle that has been repaired after failing an inspection is the same as the original inspection unless the vehicle is presented for reinspection within 30 days of failing the original inspection. If the vehicle is presented for reinspection within this time limit and the inspection the vehicle failed was an emissions inspection, the reinspection is limited to the portion of the inspection the vehicle failed and any other portion of the inspection that would be affected by repairs made to correct the failure."
Section 3.  G.S. 20-183.4 is repealed.
Section 4.  G.S. 20-183.4C reads as rewritten:
"§ 20-183.4C.  When a vehicle shall be inspected; one-way trip permit.
(a)	Inspection. – A vehicle that is subject to an emissions inspection shall be inspected as follows:
(1)	A new vehicle shall be inspected before it is sold at retail in this State.
(2)	A used vehicle shall be inspected before it is offered for sale at retail in this State by a dealer at a location other than a public auction.
(3)	A used vehicle that is offered for sale at retail in this State by a dealer at a public auction shall be inspected before it is offered for sale unless it has an inspection sticker that was put on the vehicle under this Part and does not expire until at least nine months after the date the vehicle is offered for sale at auction.
(4)	A used vehicle acquired by a resident of this State from a person outside the State shall be inspected within 10 days after the vehicle is registered with the Division.
(5)	A vehicle owned by a new resident of this State who transfers the registration of the vehicle from the resident's former home state to this State shall be inspected within 10 days after the vehicle is registered with the Division.
(6)	A vehicle that has been inspected in accordance with this Part shall be inspected by the last day of the month in which the inspection sticker on the vehicle expires, unless another subdivision of this section requires it to be inspected sooner.
(b)	Permit. – The Division may issue a one-way trip permit to a person that authorizes the person to drive to an inspection station a vehicle whose inspection sticker has expired. The permit shall describe the vehicle whose inspection sticker has expired. The permit authorizes the person to drive the described vehicle only from the place the vehicle is parked to an inspection station.
The Division may issue a 10-day temporary permit to a person that authorizes the person to drive a vehicle that failed to pass the emissions inspection. The permit shall describe the vehicle that failed to pass inspection and the date that it failed to pass inspection."
Section 5.  G.S. 20-183.4D reads as rewritten:
§ 20-183.4D.  Procedure when a vehicle is inspected.
(a)	Receipt. – When an emissions inspection mechanic inspects a vehicle, the mechanic shall give the person who brought the vehicle in for inspection an inspection receipt.  The inspection receipt shall state the date of the inspection, identify the mechanic performing the inspection, identify the station or self-inspector where the inspection was performed, and list the components of the inspection performed and indicate for each component whether the vehicle passed or failed.  A vehicle that fails a component of an inspection may be repaired at any repair facility chosen by the owner or operator of the vehicle.
(b)	Sticker. –When a vehicle that is subject to an emissions inspection has a waiver for the emissions inspection, the emissions mechanic performing the inspection shall put an inspection sticker on the windshield of the vehicle at the place designated by the Division.
(c)	Content of Sticker. –An inspection sticker shall indicate when it expires, shall be printed with a unique serial number and an official program seal, and shall be counterfeit resistant.  The side of an inspection sticker that is readable from the interior of a vehicle shall contain the following information:
(1)	The date the inspection was performed.
(2)	The odometer reading when the inspection was performed.
(3)	The signature, initials, or other identification of the mechanic who performed the inspection and put the sticker on the windshield.
(d)	When Sticker Expires. – An inspection sticker put on a vehicle that did not have an inspection sticker issued under this Part when it was brought in for inspection expires at midnight on the last day of the twelfth month after the month the inspection sticker is put on the vehicle. An inspection sticker put on a vehicle that had an inspection sticker that was put on under this Part when it was brought in for inspection expires as follows:
(1)	If the expiration date of the inspection sticker the vehicle had when it was brought in for inspection is less than 12 full months from the date of the inspection, the inspection sticker expires at midnight on the last day of the twelfth month after the month the inspection sticker is put on the vehicle.
(2)	If the expiration date of the inspection sticker the vehicle had when it was brought in for inspection is 12 or more months from the date of the inspection, the inspection sticker expires one year after the expiration date of the inspection sticker the vehicle had when it was brought in for inspection, regardless of whether there are 12 months in this period.”
Section 6.  G.S. 20-183.7 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20-183.7.  Fees for performing an inspection and putting an inspection sticker on a vehicle; use of civil penalties.
(a)	Fee Amount. – When a fee applies to an inspection of a vehicle or the issuance of an inspection sticker, the fee shall be collected.  The following fees apply to an inspection of a vehicle and the issuance of an inspection sticker:
	Type	Inspection	Sticker
			
		Emissions 
	 17.00	  2.40.
			The fee for performing an inspection of a vehicle applies when an inspection is performed, regardless of whether the vehicle passes the inspection. The fee for an inspection sticker applies when an inspection sticker is put on a vehicle. 
A vehicle that is inspected at an inspection station and fails the inspection is entitled to be reinspected at the same station at any time within 30 days of the failed inspection without paying another inspection fee.
(b)	Self-Inspector. – The fee for an inspection does not apply to an inspection performed by a self-inspector. The fee for putting an inspection sticker on a vehicle applies to an inspection performed by a self-inspector.
(c)	Fee Distribution. – Fees collected for inspection stickers are payable to the Division of Motor Vehicles. The amount of each fee listed in the table below shall be credited to the Highway Fund, the Emissions Program Account established in subsection (d) of this section, the Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund established in G.S. 58-87-5, the Rescue Squad Workers' Relief Fund established in G.S. 58-88-5, and the Division of Air Quality of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources:
Recipient	  
Emissions Program Account	     	       1.80
Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund	     	        .15
Rescue Squad Workers' Relief
   Fund	     	        .10
Division of 
Air Quality	     	        .35.
(d)	Account. – The Emissions Program Account is created as a nonreverting account within the Highway Fund. The Division shall administer the Account. Revenue in the Account may be used only to fund the vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program.
(e)	Civil Penalties. – Civil penalties collected under this Part shall be credited to the Highway Fund as nontax revenue.”
Section 7.  G.S. 20-183.8D reads as rewritten:
"§ 20-183.8D.  Suspension or revocation of license.
	(b)	Emissions. – The Division may suspend or revoke an emissions self-inspector license, an emissions inspection station license, and an emissions inspection mechanic license issued under this Part for any of the following reasons:
(1)	The suspension or revocation is imposed under G.S. 20-183.8B.
(2)	Failure to pay a civil penalty imposed under G.S. 20-183.8B within 30 days after it is imposed."
Section 8.  This act is effective when it becomes law.