Indiana Senate committee advances study on exempting drivers 65 and older from vehicle emissions testing in Lake and Porter counties

Senate Bill 103, a bill to create a study of whether drivers 65 and older in Lake and Porter counties could be exempted from Indiana’s biennial vehicle emissions testing, was advanced out of the Indiana Senate Environmental Affairs Committee by an 11-0 roll call vote.

The bill directs a state study to evaluate whether seniors could be exempted from the automobile emissions program that currently applies to Lake and Porter counties because they are designated nonattainment under the federal Clean Air Act and Indiana’s state implementation plan (SIP). "We're the only two counties left in the state of Indiana that must have that emissions testing done," said Senator Rick Niemeyer, chair of the committee and author of the bill. Niemeyer said the bill would examine options including exemptions and alternatives such as carpooling programs and would quantify the fiscal and administrative impacts.

The measure matters because the testing program traces to Indiana's SIP under the federal Clean Air Act and requires coordination with U.S. EPA Region 5,…