Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 72 First Substitute (2022GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Wheatley, M.

Final action

House/ filed 3/4/2022

Outcome

Failed / filed without passage

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• requires vehicles subject to an emissions inspection to be inspected for compliance with noise suppression equipment requirements;
• requires proof of the inspection as a condition of registration;
• imposes fines on an individual for violations of muffler and noise suppression equipment requirements; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

NOISE POLLUTION AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Mark A. Wheatley
Senate Sponsor: 
____________
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill requires an inspection of noise suppression equipment at the time of a vehicle
emissions inspection as a prerequisite to registration of a motor vehicle.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ requires vehicles subject to an emissions inspection to be inspected for compliance
with noise suppression equipment requirements;
▸ requires proof of the inspection as a condition of registration;
▸ imposes fines on an individual for violations of muffler and noise suppression
equipment requirements; and
▸ makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
41-6a-1626
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 282
41-6a-1642
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 322
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
41-6a-1626
 is amended to read:
41-6a-1626.
Mufflers -- Prevention of noise, smoke, and fumes -- Air pollution
control devices.
(1) (a) A vehicle shall be equipped, maintained, and operated to prevent excessive or
unusual noise.
(b) A motor vehicle shall be equipped with a muffler or other effective noise
suppressing system in good working order and in constant operation.
(c) A person may not use a muffler cut-out, bypass, or similar device on a vehicle.
(d) As part of an emissions inspection described in Section 
41-6a-1642
, an emissions
inspection station shall inspect each motor vehicle subject to an emissions inspection to ensure
compliance with the noise prevention equipment requirements in this section.
(2) (a) Except while the engine is being warmed to the recommended operating
temperature, the engine and power mechanism of a gasoline-powered motor vehicle may not
emit visible contaminants during operation.
(b) (i) As used in this Subsection (2)(b), "heavy tow" means a tow that exceeds the
vehicle's maximum tow weight.
(ii) A diesel engine manufactured on or after January 1, 2008, may not emit visible
contaminants during operation:
(A) except while the engine is being warmed to the recommended operating
temperature or under a heavy tow; or
(B) unless the diesel engine is in a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight
rating in excess of 26,000 pounds.
(iii) A diesel engine manufactured before January 1, 2008, may not emit visible
contaminants of a shade or density that obscures a contrasting background by more than 20%,
for more than five consecutive seconds:
(A) except while the engine is being warmed to the recommended operating
temperature or under a heavy tow; or
(B) unless the diesel engine is in a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight
rating in excess of 26,000 pounds.
(c) A person who violates the provisions of Subsection (2)(a) is guilty of an infraction
and shall be fined:
(i) not less than $50 for a violation; or
(ii) not less than $100 for a second or subsequent violation within three years of a
previous violation of this section.
(d) A person who violates the provisions of Subsection (2)(b) is guilty of an infraction
and shall be fined:
(i) not less than $100 for a violation; or
(ii) not less than $500 for a second or subsequent violation within three years of a
previous violation of this section.
(e) (i) As used in this section:
(A) "Local health department" means the same as that term is defined in Section
26A-1-102
.
(B) "Nonattainment area" means a part of the state where air quality is determined to
exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, as defined in the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1970, Pub. L. No. 91-604, Sec. 109, for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5).
(ii) Within a nonattainment area, for a second or subsequent violation of Subsection
(2)(a) or (2)(b), the court shall report the violations to the local health department at a regular
interval.
(iii) If the local health department receives a notification as described in Subsection
(2)(e)(ii), and the local health department determines that the registered vehicle is unable to
meet state or local air emission standards, the local health department shall send notification to
the Motor Vehicle Division.
(3) (a) If a motor vehicle is equipped by a manufacturer with air pollution control
devices, the devices shall be maintained in good working order and in constant operation.
(b) For purposes of the first sale of a vehicle at retail, an air pollution control device
may be substituted for the manufacturer's original device if the substituted device is at least as
effective in the reduction of emissions from the vehicle motor as the air pollution control
device furnished by the manufacturer of the vehicle as standard equipment for the same vehicle
class.
(c) A person who renders inoperable an air pollution control device on a motor vehicle
is guilty of an infraction.
(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to a motor vehicle altered and modified to use clean
fuel, as defined under Section 
59-13-102
, when the emissions from the modified or altered
motor vehicle are at levels that comply with existing state or federal standards for the emission
of pollutants from a motor vehicle of the same class.
(5) (a) A person who violates Subsection (1) is guilty of an infraction and shall be
fined:
(i) not less than $50 for a first violation; or
(ii) not less than $100 for a second or subsequent violation within three years of a
previous violation.
[
(5)
] 
(b)
 A violation of Subsection [
(1),
] (2)[
,
] or (3) is an infraction.
Section 2. Section 
41-6a-1642
 is amended to read:
41-6a-1642.
Emissions inspection -- County program.
(1) The legislative body of each county required under federal law to utilize a motor
vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program or in which an emissions inspection
and maintenance program is necessary to attain or maintain any national ambient air quality
standard shall require:
(a) a certificate of emissions inspection, a waiver, or other evidence the motor vehicle
is exempt from emissions inspection and maintenance program requirements be presented:
(i) as a condition of registration or renewal of registration; and
(ii) at other times as the county legislative body may require to enforce inspection
requirements for individual motor vehicles, except that the county legislative body may not
routinely require a certificate of emissions inspection, or waiver of the certificate, more often
than required under Subsection (9); and
(b) compliance with this section for a motor vehicle registered or principally operated
in the county and owned by or being used by a department, division, instrumentality, agency, or
employee of:
(i) the federal government;
(ii) the state and any of its agencies; or
(iii) a political subdivision of the state, including school districts.
(2) A vehicle owner subject to Subsection (1) shall obtain a motor vehicle emissions
inspection and maintenance program certificate of emissions inspection as described in
Subsection (1), but the program may not deny vehicle registration based solely on the presence
of a defeat device covered in the Volkswagen partial consent decrees or a United States
Environmental Protection Agency-approved vehicle modification in the following vehicles:
(a) a 2.0-liter diesel engine motor vehicle in which its lifetime nitrogen oxide
emissions are mitigated in the state pursuant to a partial consent decree, including:
(i) Volkswagen Jetta, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015;
(ii) Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and
2014;
(iii) Volkswagen Golf, model years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015;
(iv) Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, model year 2015;
(v) Volkswagen Passat, model years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015;
(vi) Volkswagen Beetle, model years 2013, 2014, and 2015;
(vii) Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, model years 2013, 2014, and 2015; and
(viii) Audi A3, model years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015; and
(b) a 3.0-liter diesel engine motor vehicle in which its lifetime nitrogen oxide
emissions are mitigated in the state to a settlement, including:
(i) Volkswagen Touareg, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 
2016;
(ii) Audi Q7, model years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016;
(iii) Audi A6 Quattro, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
(iv) Audi A7 Quattro, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
(v) Audi A8, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
(vi) Audi A8L, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016;
(vii) Audi Q5, model years 2014, 2015, and 2016; and
(viii) Porsche Cayenne Diesel, model years 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. 
(3) (a) The legislative body of a county identified in Subsection (1), in consultation
with the Air Quality Board created under Section 
19-1-106
, shall make regulations or
ordinances regarding:
(i) emissions standards;
(ii) test procedures;
(iii) inspections stations;
(iv) repair requirements and dollar limits for correction of deficiencies; and
(v) certificates of emissions inspections.
(b) In accordance with Subsection (3)(a), a county legislative body:
(i) shall make regulations or ordinances to attain or maintain ambient air quality
standards in the county, consistent with the state implementation plan and federal
requirements;
(ii) may allow for a phase-in of the program by geographical area; and
(iii) shall comply with the analyzer design and certification requirements contained in
the state implementation plan prepared under Title 19, Chapter 2, Air Conservation Act.
(c) The county legislative body and the Air Quality Board shall give preference to an
inspection and maintenance program that:
(i) is decentralized, to the extent the decentralized program will attain and maintain
ambient air quality standards and meet federal requirements;
(ii) is the most cost effective means to achieve and maintain the maximum benefit with
regard to ambient air quality standards and to meet federal air quality requirements as related to
vehicle emissions; and
(iii) provides a reasonable phase-out period for replacement of air pollution emission
testing equipment made obsolete by the program.
(d) The provisions of Subsection (3)(c)(iii) apply only to the extent the phase-out:
(i) may be accomplished in accordance with applicable federal requirements; and
(ii) does not otherwise interfere with the attainment and maintenance of ambient air
quality standards.
(4) The following vehicles are exempt from an emissions inspection program and the
provisions of this section:
(a) an implement of husbandry as defined in Section 
41-1a-102
;
(b) a motor vehicle that:
(i) meets the definition of a farm truck under Section 
41-1a-102
; and
(ii) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 12,001 pounds or more;
(c) a vintage vehicle as defined in Section 
41-21-1
;
(d) a custom vehicle as defined in Section 
41-6a-1507
;
(e) to the extent allowed under the current federally approved state implementation
plan, in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401, et seq., a motor
vehicle that is less than two years old on January 1 based on the age of the vehicle as
determined by the model year identified by the manufacturer;
(f) a pickup truck, as defined in Section 
41-1a-102
, with a gross vehicle weight rating
of 12,000 pounds or less, if the registered owner of the pickup truck provides a signed
statement to the legislative body stating the truck is used:
(i) by the owner or operator of a farm located on property that qualifies as land in
agricultural use under Sections 
59-2-502
 and 
59-2-503
; and
(ii) exclusively for the following purposes in operating the farm:
(A) for the transportation of farm products, including livestock and its products,
poultry and its products, floricultural and horticultural products; and
(B) in the transportation of farm supplies, including tile, fence, and every other thing or
commodity used in agricultural, floricultural, horticultural, livestock, and poultry production
and maintenance;
(g) a motorcycle as defined in Section 
41-1a-102
;
(h) an electric motor vehicle as defined in Section 
41-1a-102
; and
(i) a motor vehicle with a model year of 1967 or older.
(5) The county shall issue to the registered owner who signs and submits a signed
statement under Subsection (4)(f) a certificate of exemption from emissions inspection
requirements for purposes of registering the exempt vehicle.
(6) A legislative body of a county described in Subsection (1) may exempt from an
emissions inspection program a diesel-powered motor vehicle with a:
(a) gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds; or
(b) model year of 1997 or older.
(7) The legislative body of a county required under federal law to utilize a motor
vehicle emissions inspection program shall require:
(a) a computerized emissions inspection for a diesel-powered motor vehicle that has:
(i) a model year of 2007 or newer;
(ii) a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds or less; and
(iii) a model year that is five years old or older; and
(b) a visual inspection of emissions equipment for a diesel-powered motor vehicle:
(i) with a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds or less;
(ii) that has a model year of 1998 or newer; and
(iii) that has a model year that is five years old or older.
(8) (a) Subject to Subsection (8)(c), the legislative body of each county required under
federal law to utilize a motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program or in
which an emissions inspection and maintenance program is necessary to attain or maintain any
national ambient air quality standard may require each college or university located in a county
subject to this section to require its students and employees who park a motor vehicle not
registered in a county subject to this section to provide proof of compliance with an emissions
inspection accepted by the county legislative body if the motor vehicle is parked on the college
or university campus or property.
(b) College or university parking areas that are metered or for which payment is
required per use are not subject to the requirements of this Subsection (8).
(c) The legislative body of a county shall make the reasons for implementing the
provisions of this Subsection (8) part of the record at the time that the county legislative body
takes its official action to implement the provisions of this Subsection (8).
(9) (a) An emissions inspection station shall issue a certificate of emissions inspection
for each motor vehicle that meets the inspection and maintenance program requirements
established in 
Section 
41-6a-1626
 and in
 rules made under Subsection (3).
(b) The frequency of the emissions inspection shall be determined based on the age of
the vehicle as determined by model year and shall be required annually subject to the
provisions of Subsection (9)(c).
(c) (i) To the extent allowed under the current federally approved state implementation
plan, in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401 et seq., the legislative
body of a county identified in Subsection (1) shall only require the emissions inspection every
two years for each vehicle.
(ii) The provisions of Subsection (9)(c)(i) apply only to a vehicle that is less than six
years old on January 1.
(iii) For a county required to implement a new vehicle emissions inspection and
maintenance program on or after December 1, 2012, under Subsection (1), but for which no
current federally approved state implementation plan exists, a vehicle shall be tested at a
frequency determined by the county legislative body, in consultation with the Air Quality
Board created under Section 
19-1-106
, that is necessary to comply with federal law or attain or
maintain any national ambient air quality standard.
(iv) If a county legislative body establishes or changes the frequency of a vehicle
emissions inspection and maintenance program under Subsection (9)(c)(iii), the establishment
or change shall take effect on January 1 if the State Tax Commission receives notice meeting
the requirements of Subsection (9)(c)(v) from the county before October 1.
(v) The notice described in Subsection (9)(c)(iv) shall:
(A) state that the county will establish or change the frequency of the vehicle emissions
inspection and maintenance program under this section;
(B) include a copy of the ordinance establishing or changing the frequency; and
(C) if the county establishes or changes the frequency under this section, state how
frequently the emissions testing will be required.
(d) If an emissions inspection is only required every two years for a vehicle under
Subsection (9)(c), the inspection shall be required for the vehicle in:
(i) odd-numbered years for vehicles with odd-numbered model years; or
(ii) in even-numbered years for vehicles with even-numbered model years.
(10) (a) Except as provided in Subsections (9)(b), (c), and (d), the emissions inspection
required under this section may be made no more than two months before the renewal of
registration.
(b) (i) If the title of a used motor vehicle is being transferred, the owner may use an
emissions inspection certificate issued for the motor vehicle during the previous 11 months to
satisfy the requirement under this section.
(ii) If the transferor is a licensed and bonded used motor vehicle dealer, the owner may
use an emissions inspection certificate issued for the motor vehicle in a licensed and bonded
motor vehicle dealer's name during the previous 11 months to satisfy the requirement under
this section.
(c) If the title of a leased vehicle is being transferred to the lessee of the vehicle, the
lessee may use an emissions inspection certificate issued during the previous 11 months to
satisfy the requirement under this section.
(d) If the motor vehicle is part of a fleet of 101 or more vehicles, the owner may not
use an emissions inspection made more than 11 months before the renewal of registration to
satisfy the requirement under this section.
(e) If the application for renewal of registration is for a six-month registration period
under Section 
41-1a-215.5
, the owner may use an emissions inspection certificate issued during
the previous eight months to satisfy the requirement under this section.
(11) (a) A county identified in Subsection (1) shall collect information about and
monitor the program.
(b) A county identified in Subsection (1) shall supply this information to an appropriate
legislative committee, as designated by the Legislative Management Committee, at times
determined by the designated committee to identify program needs, including funding needs.
(12) If approved by the county legislative body, a county that had an established
emissions inspection fee as of January 1, 2002, may increase the established fee that an
emissions inspection station may charge by $2.50 for each year that is exempted from
emissions inspections under Subsection (9)(c) up to a $7.50 increase.
(13) (a) Except as provided in Subsection 
41-1a-1223
(1)(c), a county identified in
Subsection (1) may impose a local emissions compliance fee on each motor vehicle registration
within the county in accordance with the procedures and requirements of Section 
41-1a-1223
.
(b) A county that imposes a local emissions compliance fee may use revenues
generated from the fee for the establishment and enforcement of an emissions inspection and
maintenance program in accordance with the requirements of this section.
(c) A county that imposes a local emissions compliance fee may use revenues
generated from the fee to promote programs to maintain a local, state, or national ambient air
quality standard.
Section 3. 
Effective date.
 This bill takes effect on January 1, 2023.