SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 518
89TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR GRAVES.
Pre-filed December 1, 1997, and 1,000 copies ordered printed.
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
S2546.01I
AN ACT
To repeal sections 307.350 and 307.366, RSMo Supp. 1997, relating to inspections of motor vehicles, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to the same subject.
Section A. Sections 307.350 and 307.366, RSMo Supp. 1997, are repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 307.350 and 307.366, to read as follows:
307.350. 1. The [owner] purchaser of every motor vehicle as defined in section 301.010, RSMo, which is required to be registered in this state, except:
(1) New motor vehicles which have not been previously titled and registered, prior to the initial motor vehicle registration or the next succeeding registration which is required by law;
(2) Those motor vehicles which are engaged in interstate commerce and are proportionately registered in this state with the Missouri highway reciprocity commission, although the owner may request that such vehicle be inspected by an official inspection station, and a peace officer may stop and inspect such vehicles to determine whether the mechanical condition is in compliance with the safety regulations established by the United States Department of Transportation; and
(3) Historic motor vehicles registered pursuant to section 301.131, RSMo; shall submit such vehicles to [an annual] one-time inspection of their mechanism and equipment in accordance with the provisions of sections 307.350 to 307.390 and obtain a certificate of inspection and approval and a sticker, seal, or other device from a duly authorized official inspection station. The inspection, except the inspection of school buses which shall be made at the time provided in section 307.375, shall be made at the time prescribed in the rules and regulations issued by the superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol; but the inspection of a vehicle shall not be made more than sixty days prior to the date of application for annual registration or within sixty days of when a vehicle's registration is transferred. The certificate of inspection and approval shall be a sticker, seal, or other device or combination thereof, as the superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol prescribes by regulation and shall be displayed upon the motor vehicle or trailer as prescribed by the regulations established by him. The replacement of certificates of inspection and approval which are lost or destroyed shall be made by the superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol under regulations prescribed by him.
2. For the purpose of obtaining an inspection only, it shall be lawful to operate a vehicle over the most direct route between the owner's usual place of residence and an inspection station of such owner's choice, notwithstanding the fact that the vehicle does not have a current state registration license. It shall also be lawful to operate such a vehicle from an inspection station to another place where repairs may be made and to return the vehicle to the inspection station notwithstanding the absence of a current state registration license.
3. [No person whose motor vehicle was duly inspected and approved as provided in this section shall be required to have the same motor vehicle again inspected and approved for the sole reason that such person wishes to obtain a set of any special personalized license plates available pursuant to section 301.144, RSMo, or a set of any license plates available pursuant to section 301.142, RSMo, prior to the expiration date of such motor vehicle's current annual registration.]
[4.] Notwithstanding the provisions of section 307.390, violation of this section shall be deemed an infraction.
307.366. 1. This enactment of the emissions inspection program is a mandate of the United States Congress pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq. In any city not within a county, any county of the first classification having a population of over nine hundred thousand inhabitants according to the most recent decennial census, any county of the first classification with a charter form of government and a population of not more than two hundred twenty thousand inhabitants and not less than two hundred thousand inhabitants according to the most recent decennial census, any county of the first classification without a charter form of government with a population of not more than one hundred eighty thousand inhabitants and not less than one hundred seventy thousand inhabitants according to the most recent decennial census and any county of the first classification without a charter form of government with a population of not more than eighty-two thousand inhabitants and not less than eighty thousand inhabitants according to the most recent decennial census, [as a part of the motor vehicle inspection procedure required by sections 307.350 to 307.390,] certain motor vehicles shall be tested to determine that the emissions system is functioning within the emission standards as specified by the Missouri air conservation commission and as required to attain the national health standards for air quality. The motor vehicles to be tested shall be all vehicles except those specifically exempted under subdivisions (1) to (3) of subsection 1 of section 307.350 and those exempted under this section.
2. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Motor vehicles with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating in excess of eight thousand five hundred pounds;
(2) Motorcycles and motortricycles;
(3) Model year vehicles prior to 1971;
(4) School buses;
(5) Diesel-powered vehicles;
(6) Motor vehicles registered in the area covered by this section but which are based and operated exclusively in an area of this state not subject to the provisions of this section if the owner of such vehicle presents to the director a sworn affidavit that the vehicle will be based and operated outside the covered area; and (7) New motor vehicles not previously titled or registered prior to the initial motor vehicle registration or the next succeeding registration which is required by law. Each official inspection station which conducts safety or emissions inspections in a city or county referred to in subsection 1 of this section shall indicate the gross vehicle weight rating of the motor vehicle on the safety inspection certificate if the vehicle is exempt from the emissions inspection pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection.
3. In addition to the fee authorized by subsection 5 of section 307.365, a fee, not to exceed eight dollars and fifty cents for inspections conducted prior to January 1, 1993, and not to exceed ten dollars and fifty cents for inspections conducted thereafter, as determined by each official safety and emissions inspection station located in any city or county described in subsection 1 of this section, may be charged for an automobile emissions and air pollution control inspection in order to attain the national health standards for air quality. Such fee shall be conspicuously posted on the premises of each such inspection station. The official safety and emissions inspection station shall issue a certificate of inspection and an approval sticker or seal certifying the emissions system is functioning properly. The certificate or approval issued shall bear the legend: "This cost is mandated by your United States Congress." No owner shall be charged an additional fee after having corrected defects or unsafe conditions in the automobile's emissions and air pollution control system if the reinspection is completed within twenty consecutive days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and if such follow-up inspection is made by the station making the initial inspection.
4. The air conservation commission shall establish, by rule, a waiver amount which may be lower for older model vehicles and which shall be no greater than seventy-five dollars for model year vehicles prior to 1981 and no greater than two hundred dollars for model year vehicles of 1981 and all subsequent model years.
5. An owner whose vehicle fails upon reinspection to meet the emission standards specified by the Missouri air conservation commission shall be issued a certificate of inspection and an approval sticker or seal by the official safety and emissions inspection station that provided the inspection if the vehicle owner furnishes a complete, signed affidavit satisfying the requirements of this subsection and the cost of emissions repairs and adjustments is equal to or greater than the waiver amount established by the air conservation commission pursuant to this section. The air conservation commission shall establish, by rule, a form and a procedure for verifying that repair and adjustment was performed on a failing vehicle prior to the granting of a waiver and approval. The waiver form established pursuant to this subsection shall be an affidavit requiring:
(1) A statement signed by the repairer that the specified work was done and stating the itemized charges for the work; and
(2) A statement signed by the inspector that an inspection of the vehicle verified, to the extent practical, that the specified work was done.
6. The department of revenue shall require evidence of the inspection and approval required by this section in issuing the motor vehicle annual registration in conformity with the procedure required by sections 307.350 to 307.370.
7. Each safety and emissions inspection station located in any city or county described in subsection 1 of this section shall purchase from the highway patrol sufficient forms and stickers or other devices to evidence approval of the motor vehicle's emissions control system. In addition, safety and emissions inspection stations may be required to purchase forms for use in automated analyzers from outside vendors of the inspection station's choice. The forms must comply with state regulations.
8. In addition to the fee collected by the superintendent pursuant to subsection 5 of section 307.365, the highway patrol shall collect a fee of seventy-five cents for each automobile emissions certificate issued to the applicable official safety and emissions inspection stations, except that no charge shall be made for certificates of inspection issued to official safety and emissions inspection stations operated by governmental entities. All fees collected by the superintendent pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the "Missouri Air Pollution Control Fund", which is hereby created.
9. The moneys collected and deposited in the Missouri air pollution control fund pursuant to this section shall be allocated on an equal basis to the Missouri state highway patrol and the Missouri department of natural resources, air pollution control program, and shall be expended subject to appropriation by the general assembly for the administration and enforcement of sections 307.350 to 307.390. The unexpended balance in the fund at the end of each appropriation period shall not be transferred to the general revenue fund, except as directed by the general assembly by appropriation, and the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, relating to the transfer of funds to the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium, shall not apply to this fund. The moneys in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer as provided by law, and the interest shall be credited to the fund.
10. The superintendent of the Missouri state highway patrol shall issue such rules and regulations as are necessary to determine whether a motor vehicle's emissions control system is operating as required by subsection 1 of this section, and the superintendent and the state highways and transportation commission shall use their best efforts to seek federal funds from which reimbursement grants may be made to those official inspection stations which acquire and use the necessary testing equipment which will be required to perform the tests required by the provisions of this section.
11. The provisions of this section shall not apply in any county for any time period during which the air conservation commission has established a motor vehicle emissions inspection program pursuant to sections 643.300 to 643.355, RSMo, for such county.
12. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 307.390, violation of this section shall be deemed a class C misdemeanor.