78R8640 T

By:  Barrientos                                                   S.B. No. 1159



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the regulation of motor vehicle emissions in counties 
participating in early action compacts.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 382, Health and Safety Code, is amended 
by adding Subchapter H to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER H.  VEHICLE EMISSION PROGRAMS IN

EARLY ACTION COMPACT COUNTIES
	Sec. 382.301.  EARLY ACTION COMPACT.  In this subchapter, 
"early action compact" means an emission reduction agreement that:
		(1)  is between the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the commission, and county officials, 
to include officials of the largest municipality within the county, 
of counties that are in attainment of the 1-hour National Ambient 
Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone but approach or monitor 
incidents which exceed the 8-hour NAAQS for ozone;
		(2)  is entered into by December 31, 2002;                             
		(3)  results in the submission of an early action plan 
that the commission deems adequate; and
		(4)  results in submission to the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency of a SIP revision by December 31, 2004, that 
provides for attainment of the 8-hour NAAQS for ozone on or before 
December 31, 2007.
	Sec. 382.302.  EARLY ACTION COMPACT COUNTY VEHICLE 
INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS.  (a)  An early action compact 
county that has included emissions reductions in its early action 
plan from a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program, and 
whose plan [that] has been deemed adequate by the commission, may 
formally request that the commission adopt requirements for that 
program.  The formal request shall be in the form of resolutions 
adopted by the county and the most populous municipality within the 
county according to the most recent federal decennial census.
	(b)  Following approval of the request, the commission by 
resolution may request the Public Safety Commission to establish a 
motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program under 
Subchapter F, Chapter 548, Transportation Code for vehicles as 
required by rules adopted under this section.
	(c)  Vehicle inspection and maintenance requirements for an 
early action compact county may include testing exhaust emissions, 
examining emission control devices and systems, or an alternative 
testing methodology that meets or exceeds United States 
Environmental Protection Agency requirements.  The requirements 
may apply to all or a subset of vehicles described in Section 
382.203(a) of this code.
	(d)  The commission may assess fees for vehicle inspections 
performed in accordance with the terms of the early action compact.  
The fees shall be set in amounts reasonably necessary to recover the 
costs of developing, administering, evaluating, and enforcing the 
early action compact vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance 
program.  An appropriate portion of the fee as determined by 
commission rule may be retained by the station owner, contractor, 
or operator to recover the cost of performing the inspections and 
provide for a reasonable margin of profit.
	(e)  The incentives for voluntary participation established 
under Section 382.216 of this code shall be available in early 
action compact counties.
	(f)  The early action compact counties may participate in the 
program established under Section 382.209 of this code.
	SECTION 2.  Section 548.301, Transportation Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
	(b)  The commission by rule may establish a motor vehicle 
emissions inspection and maintenance program for vehicles 
specified by the environmental [conservation] commission in a 
county for which the environmental [conservation] commission has 
adopted a resolution requesting the commission to establish such a 
program and for which the county and the municipality with the 
largest population in the county by resolution have formally 
requested a proactive air quality plan consisting of such a 
program.
	(c)  The commission by rule may establish, and the department 
shall implement, a motor vehicle emissions inspection and 
maintenance program for vehicles subject to and consistent with an 
early action compact entered into by federal, state, and local 
officials.
	(d) [(c)]  A program established under Subsection (b) and 
(c) may include reregistration-based enforcement.
	(e) [(d)]  A vehicle emissions inspection under this section 
may be performed by 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.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
act takes effect September 1, 2003.