Bill Text: TX HB2639 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to motor vehicle inspections that employ remote sensing equipment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-10 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB2639 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HB2639-Comm_Sub.html
By: Chisum | H.B. No. 2639 | ||
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2639: | |||
By: Aliseda | C.S.H.B. No. 2639 |
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relating to motor vehicle inspections that employ remote sensing | ||
equipment. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 382, Health and Safety | ||
Code, is amended by adding Section 382.2041 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 382.2041. CLEAN SCREEN PROGRAM COMPONENT. (a) In this | ||
section: | ||
(1) "Clean screen remote sensing equipment" means | ||
on-road remote automatic emissions detection and analysis | ||
equipment used to determine whether a vehicle complies with | ||
applicable on-road emissions standards under Subchapter F, Chapter | ||
548, Transportation Code. | ||
(2) "Clean screen program component" means a component | ||
of the vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program under | ||
Subchapter F, Chapter 548, Transportation Code, that allows a motor | ||
vehicle to meet applicable emissions-related inspection | ||
requirements if the vehicle is inspected by clean screen remote | ||
sensing equipment and is determined to be in compliance with | ||
applicable emissions standards. | ||
(3) "Inspection station" has the meaning assigned by | ||
Section 548.001, Transportation Code. | ||
(b) A county, a regional council of governments, as defined | ||
by Section 384.001, a regional planning commission organized under | ||
Chapter 391, Local Government Code, a metropolitan planning | ||
organization, as defined by Section 472.031, Transportation Code, | ||
or another organization designated by the commission to develop air | ||
quality plans may submit a written request to the commission to | ||
establish a clean screen program component in a county that is under | ||
the jurisdiction of the entity that submitted the request and is: | ||
(1) designated after September 1, 2011, as a | ||
nonattainment area within the meaning of Section 107(d) of the | ||
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Section 7407) and its subsequent | ||
amendments; or | ||
(2) a county adjacent to a county described by | ||
Subdivision (1). | ||
(c) The commission, the Public Safety Commission, and the | ||
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles jointly may develop and | ||
implement a clean screen program component in a county that is the | ||
subject of the request. The commission, the Public Safety | ||
Commission, and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles must agree | ||
to implement a program component developed under this subsection | ||
not later than 24 months after the date the commission receives the | ||
request. If the agencies do not agree to implement the program | ||
component before that deadline, the request expires. | ||
(d) A clean screen program component established under this | ||
section must apply only to passenger vehicles and light trucks not | ||
subject to inspection under Subchapter D, Chapter 548, | ||
Transportation Code. | ||
(e) The clean screen program component described by this | ||
section must include procedures to: | ||
(1) identify a vehicle that is in compliance with | ||
applicable on-road emissions standards established by the | ||
commission; | ||
(2) allow the registered owner of a vehicle described | ||
by Subdivision (1) to pay the fee described by Subsection (g) | ||
instead of: | ||
(A) obtaining an emissions-related inspection | ||
certificate at an inspection station; and | ||
(B) paying a fee required by Subchapter H, | ||
Chapter 548, Transportation Code, for an emissions-related | ||
inspection; and | ||
(3) provide written notice of the clean screen program | ||
component inspection and fee process to the registered owner of a | ||
vehicle: | ||
(A) during the registration process under | ||
Section 502.002, Transportation Code; or | ||
(B) by mailing notice to motor vehicle owners. | ||
(f) If the commission, the Public Safety Commission, and the | ||
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles agree to include in the clean | ||
screen program a component to waive motor vehicle safety | ||
inspections, the Public Safety Commission by rule shall adopt | ||
procedures to allow the registered owner of a vehicle identified | ||
under the clean screen program component as being in compliance | ||
with applicable emissions standards to pay the fee described by | ||
Subsection (h) instead of: | ||
(1) obtaining a vehicle safety inspection certificate | ||
under Subchapters B and C, Chapter 548, Transportation Code, at an | ||
inspection station; and | ||
(2) paying a fee required by Subchapter H, Chapter | ||
548, Transportation Code, for a vehicle safety inspection. | ||
(g) The commission shall assess a clean screen inspection | ||
fee payable by and at the option of the registered owner of a | ||
vehicle that clean screen remote sensing equipment identifies as | ||
being in compliance with applicable on-road emissions standards. | ||
The fee must be in an amount: | ||
(1) reasonably necessary to recover the costs of | ||
developing, administering, implementing, evaluating, and enforcing | ||
the clean screen program component; and | ||
(2) not less than the sum of the fees that would be | ||
required for an emissions-related inspection conducted at an | ||
inspection station. | ||
(h) If the Public Safety Commission adopts procedures under | ||
Subsection (f), the commission shall assess a clean screen | ||
convenience fee payable by and at the option of the registered owner | ||
of a vehicle that clean screen remote sensing equipment identifies | ||
as being in compliance with applicable emissions standards. The fee | ||
must be in an amount not less than the sum of the fees that would be | ||
required for a vehicle safety inspection conducted at an inspection | ||
station. | ||
(i) If the clean screen program component relies on | ||
privately operated or contractor-operated clean screen remote | ||
sensing equipment, the commission by rule shall authorize the | ||
private operator or contractor to retain an appropriate portion of | ||
fees assessed under Subsection (g) to recover the operator's cost | ||
of performing the inspection and provide the operator a reasonable | ||
margin of profit. | ||
(j) The commission may stipulate in a contract for | ||
conducting clean screen remote sensing equipment inspections that | ||
the person contracted with must reimburse the commission for the | ||
cost of computer programming activities or hardware acquisitions | ||
required to accommodate use of the clean screen program component. | ||
(k) Any portion of a fee collected by the commission under | ||
Subsection (g) or (h) must be used for the same purpose the fee | ||
would have been used for if collected under Subchapter H, Chapter | ||
548, Transportation Code. | ||
(l) A county that voluntarily participates in a clean screen | ||
program component established under this section is eligible for | ||
incentives established under Section 382.216. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 382.302(b), Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) After approving a request made under Subsection (a), the | ||
commission by resolution may request the Public Safety Commission | ||
to establish motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance | ||
program requirements for the participating county under Subchapter | ||
F, Chapter 548, Transportation Code, in accordance with this | ||
section and rules adopted under this section. The motor vehicle | ||
emissions inspection and maintenance program requirements for the | ||
participating county may include exhaust emissions testing, | ||
emissions control devices, [ |
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sensing program component as provided by Section 382.204, a clean | ||
screen program component as provided by Section 382.2041, or other | ||
testing methods that meet or exceed United States Environmental | ||
Protection Agency requirements[ |
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inspection and maintenance program requirements adopted for the | ||
participating county may apply to all or to a defined subset of | ||
vehicles described by Section 382.203. If the commission | ||
implements a clean screen program component under Section 382.2041, | ||
the Public Safety Commission and the Texas Department of Motor | ||
Vehicles may modify the motor vehicle emissions inspection and | ||
maintenance program inspection process to accommodate elements of | ||
the clean screen program component. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 548.052, Transportation Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 548.052. VEHICLES NOT SUBJECT TO INSPECTION. This | ||
chapter does not apply to: | ||
(1) a trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or mobile | ||
home moving under or bearing a current factory-delivery license | ||
plate or current in-transit license plate; | ||
(2) a vehicle moving under or bearing a paper dealer | ||
in-transit tag, machinery license, disaster license, parade | ||
license, prorate tab, one-trip permit, antique license, temporary | ||
24-hour permit, or permit license; | ||
(3) a trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or mobile | ||
home having an actual gross weight or registered gross weight of | ||
4,500 pounds or less; | ||
(4) farm machinery, road-building equipment, a farm | ||
trailer, or a vehicle required to display a slow-moving-vehicle | ||
emblem under Section 547.703; | ||
(5) a former military vehicle, as defined by Section | ||
504.502 [ |
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(6) a vehicle qualified for a tax exemption under | ||
Section 152.092, Tax Code; [ |
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(7) a vehicle for which a certificate of title has been | ||
issued but that is not required to be registered; or | ||
(8) a vehicle for which the registered owner has | ||
satisfied the requirements of Section 382.2041(e)(2), Health and | ||
Safety Code, if the conservation commission adopts procedures under | ||
Section 382.2041(e)(2), Health and Safety Code. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 548.251, Transportation Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 548.251. DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE INSPECTION | ||
CERTIFICATES AND VERIFICATION FORMS. (a) The department shall | ||
provide serially numbered inspection certificates and verification | ||
forms to inspection stations. The department may issue a unique | ||
inspection certificate for: | ||
(1) a commercial motor vehicle inspected under Section | ||
548.201; or | ||
(2) a vehicle inspected under Subchapter F. | ||
(b) Any provision in Subchapter E, F, or G that requires an | ||
inspection certificate to be issued only by an inspection station | ||
does not apply to a certificate issued for an inspection conducted | ||
under the clean screen program component described by Section | ||
382.2041, Health and Safety Code. | ||
(c) In conjunction with a clean screen program component | ||
established under Section 382.2041, Health and Safety Code, the | ||
commission and the department may develop a system to: | ||
(1) issue an inspection certificate under the clean | ||
screen program component without requiring that an inspection | ||
station issue the inspection certificate; and | ||
(2) allow the operator of the clean screen remote | ||
sensing equipment to issue an inspection certificate if the | ||
component relies on privately operated or contractor-operated | ||
clean screen remote sensing equipment. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 548.301(d), Transportation Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(d) A vehicle emissions inspection under this section may be | ||
performed by: | ||
(1) the same facility that performs a safety | ||
inspection if the facility is authorized and certified by the | ||
department to perform the vehicle emissions inspection and | ||
certified by the department to perform the safety inspection; or | ||
(2) clean screen remote sensing equipment as defined | ||
by Section 382.2041, Health and Safety Code, if a clean screen | ||
program component is established under that section. | ||
SECTION 6. Section 548.306(j), Transportation Code, is | ||
repealed. | ||
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |