Sec. 14-164i. Diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles emissions systems. Inspections. Regulations. Penalties. Definitions.

(a) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, shall review the technical information concerning testing techniques, standards and instructions for emission control features and equipment relative to diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles, including such information available from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and information regarding standards issued by the Society of Automotive Engineers and shall, not later than January 1, 1997, establish a standard of minimum exhaust emission for all diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles operated on the highways of this state. In establishing such standard, the commissioner shall also review standards in effect in other states and in regions subject to federal air quality requirements and shall endeavor to maintain consistency with such standards. The standard shall be reviewed by the commissioner periodically and may be revised as the commissioner deems appropriate. Not later than July 1, 1997, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, in consultation with the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, shall select a method or methods for testing the exhaust emissions of diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles.

(b) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall provide for the conduct of emissions inspections of diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles operated on the highways of this state using the method or methods selected by the commissioner under subsection (a) of this section. Such inspections may be performed in conjunction with any safety or weight inspection at any official weighing area or other location designated by the commissioner. In lieu of any such inspection performed by the commissioner, the commissioner may accept the results of an inspection performed (1) by agreement with an owner or operator of a fleet of diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles licensed by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (h) of section 14-164c, or (2) by any licensed motor vehicle dealer or repairer authorized by the commissioner, pursuant to this section, to establish a diesel-powered commercial motor vehicle inspection station. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall design a sticker to be affixed to the windshield of a diesel-powered commercial motor vehicle inspected in accordance with the provisions of this section, which shall bear the date of inspection.

(c) Any person, as defined in subsection (g) of this section, whose vehicle fails to pass an inspection under subsection (b) of this section shall have the vehicle repaired and, within forty-five consecutive calendar days, present proof of emissions-related repairs of such vehicle in such form as the commissioner shall require. The commissioner shall issue a two-year intrastate waiver from compliance with emissions standards to any such vehicle failing to meet such standards but complying with the minimum repair requirements. For purposes of this section, the minimum repair requirements for diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles shall be the expenditure of one thousand dollars towards emissions-related repairs of such vehicle. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall suspend the commercial registration, issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, of any vehicle for which no proof of emissions-related repairs has been submitted within such forty-five-day period.

(d) When a diesel-powered commercial motor vehicle fails to submit to an emissions inspection requested in conjunction with any safety or weight inspection at any official weighing area or other location designated by the commissioner, or fails to comply with any provision of this section, the commissioner shall (1) suspend the registration privilege to operate the vehicle on the highways of the state, and (2) notify the jurisdiction in which the vehicle is registered and request said jurisdiction to suspend the registration of the vehicle.

(e) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to implement the provisions of this section.

(f) No diesel-powered commercial motor vehicle shall be operated on the highways of this state unless such vehicle complies with the provisions of this section and the regulations adopted by the commissioner. Any person who operates or permits the operation of any such vehicle in violation of the provisions of this section or the regulations adopted by the commissioner shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars for a first violation and not more than five hundred dollars for a second or subsequent violation committed within one year after a previous violation.

(g) For the purposes of this section, (1) “commercial motor vehicle” shall not be construed to include a school bus, and (2) “person” means the person holding title to the vehicle or having legal right to register the same, including a purchaser under a conditional bill of sale and a lessee for a term of more than thirty days.

(P.A. 91-384; P.A. 93-341, S. 35, 38; P.A. 95-260, S. 20, 24; P.A. 96-167, S. 41; P.A. 97-236, S. 16, 27; P.A. 99-268, S. 21, 46; P.A. 00-169, S. 13, 14, 22; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, S. 45, 131; P.A. 06-196, S. 95; P.A. 08-150, S. 13; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; P.A. 14-122, S. 108.)

History: P.A. 93-341 amended Subsec. (a) to delete obsolete July 1, 1992, deadline for the commissioner's review of technical information and obsolete provision re environmental protection commissioner's report of his findings and recommendations, amended Subsec. (b) to change July 1, 1993, deadline for commencement of inspections to January 1, 1995, deleting language which limited the inspections to diesel-powered commercial vehicles required to be weighed pursuant to Sec. 14-267a and making the section applicable to any diesel-powered commercial vehicle registered in the state or having a base registration in the state pursuant to the provisions of Sec. 14-34a and adding new language regarding inspection stations, stickers and a fee, amended Subsec. (c) by deleting language regarding the commissioner's option of notifying the jurisdiction in which a vehicle is registered regarding any failure to return a vehicle for reinspection, amended Subsec. (d) to require adoption of regulations by January 1, 1995, rather than July 1, 1993, deleted Subsec. (e) re reports to general assembly concerning commercial vehicle emission inspections program and submitted new language regarding a program for on-road tests of diesel-powered commercial vehicles not registered in this state, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-260 amended Subsec. (b) to postpone commencement of emissions inspections from January 1, 1995, to October 1, 1996, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-167 amended Subsec. (a) to require review of information available from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and information re standards issued by Society of Automotive Engineers and to require Environmental Protection Commissioner, not later than January 1, 1997, to establish standard of minimum exhaust emission for all vehicles operated on the highways of this state, to review standards in effect in other states and maintain consistency with such standards and to review standard periodically and revise as he deems appropriate, to require that Commissioner of Motor Vehicles select a method for testing exhaust emissions of diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles by July 1, 1997, and to delete reference to vehicles “designated as a 1985 or later model”, amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change, to substitute October 1, 1997, for October 1, 1996, to require Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to provide for commencement of inspections of vehicles operated on highways of this state using method selected by commissioner, to require inspections to be performed in conjunction with any safety or weight inspection at any official weighing area or other location designated by commissioner and to delete requirements that vehicles be registered in the state or have a base registration in state pursuant to Sec. 14-34a, that commissioner establish a schedule and fees for periodic inspection amended Subsec. (c) to delete definition of “person” for purposes of subsection and insert said definition in Subsec. (g), deleted former Subsec. (d) re regulations, inserting said provisions in Subsec. (e) and inserting in Subsec. (d) provisions of former Subsec. (e) eliminating authority of commissioner to establish a program for conducting on-road tests of vehicles not registered in this state and making technical changes, added Subsec. (f), prohibiting operation on highways of this state unless vehicle complies with provisions of this section and regulations and imposing penalties for operation in violation of said provisions or regulations and added Subsec. (g), defining “person” for purposes of section; P.A. 97-236 amended Subsec. (g) to divide the subsection into two subdivisions, inserting in Subdiv. (1) language providing that “commercial motor vehicle” shall not be construed to include a school bus, effective June 24, 1997; P.A. 99-268 amended Subsec. (b) by allowing the commissioner to accept results of inspections performed by an owner or operator of a fleet of diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles or an authorized dealer or repairer and requiring a windshield sticker with the date of the inspection, amended Subsec. (c) by requiring an owner of a vehicle which fails to pass an inspection under Subsec. (b) to have the vehicle repaired and to present proof of emissions-related repairs, by allowing the commissioner to issue a two-year intrastate waiver from compliance with emissions standards to a vehicle failing to meet such standards but complying with minimum repair requirements, by defining minimum repair requirements as the expenditure of $1,000 and by requiring the commissioner to suspend the registration of a vehicle for which proof of emission-related repairs is not submitted, amended Subsec. (d) by deleting provisions re use of independent contractor and repair and reinspection requirements and by requiring the commissioner to suspend registration privileges when a diesel-powered commercial motor vehicle fails to stop and submit to an emissions inspection performed with a safety or weight inspection, and amended Subsec. (f) by limiting the fine of $500 to apply only to a second or subsequent offense “committed within one year after a previous violation”, effective dates of both July 1, 1999, and October 1, 1999, are stated in the public act (Revisor's note: It appears that since section 46, the effective date section, of P.A. 99-268 contains a specific reference to section 21 taking effect on July 1, 1999, that is the effective date of this section, notwithstanding the subsequent general reference to sections “15 to 30, inclusive” taking effect on October 1, 1999); P.A. 00-169 revised effective date of P.A. 99-268, S. 21 to July 1, 1999, amended Subsec. (c) to replace “the owner” with “any person, as defined in subsection (g) of section 14-164i” and amended Subsec. (g) by replacing “purchasers under conditional bills of sale” with “a purchaser under a conditional bill of sale and a lessee for a term of more than thirty days.”; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9 changed reference in Subsec. (b) from “subsection (f)” to “subsection (h)” of Sec. 14-164c, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 06-196 made a technical change in Subsec. (c), effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 08-150 amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change, to require commissioner to provide for “conduct” of inspections rather than “commencement”, to provide that inspections “may” rather than “shall” be performed in conjunction with any safety or weight inspection, and to require sticker bearing date of inspection to be affixed to windshield of vehicle “inspected in accordance with the provisions of this section”, and amended Subsec. (d) to replace provision re diesel-powered commercial motor vehicle which fails to “stop and submit” to emissions inspection “performed” in conjunction with any safety or weight inspection with provision re such vehicle which fails to “submit” to emissions inspection “requested” in conjunction with any safety or weight inspection; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection” in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 14-122 made a technical change in Subsec. (g).