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Committee advances amendment to bar DMV from changing emissions-inspection rules
Summary
On May 19 the committee considered an ANR-drafted amendment to clarify that nothing in the motor-vehicle bill authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to alter emissions-inspection rules; agency officials said emissions remain under the Agency of Natural Resources and federal approval would be required for changes.
The committee met Tuesday to consider an amendment intended to make clear that the Department of Motor Vehicles may not use the bill to change state emissions-inspection rules.
Damian Leonard, Office of Legislative Council, presented the amendment and said it would add a subsection specifying that "nothing in the section would be construed to permit DMV to amend the rules relating to emissions inspections," which are under the jurisdiction of the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR). Leonard said the amendment was drafted with ANR and that the Department of Motor Vehicles had told staff it had no concerns with the language.
Why it matters: ANR regulates emissions as part of the state implementation plan that the federal Environmental Protection Agency must approve. Leonard warned that changing state emissions requirements without federal sign-off could force broader changes — for example, federal reviewers could require expanded onboard-diagnostics coverage for more vehicles if inspection standards were relaxed.
Matt Russo, deputy commissioner for the Department of Motor Vehicles, told the committee the agency had "no intention of changing anything emissions related for the inspection" and that the DMV was "totally fine with the amendment." ANR staff had asked the committee to remove emissions from any rule changes in the bill to avoid confusion at the federal level.
Committee members asked whether the amendment would affect specialty vehicles or exemptions for older cars. Leonard and other staff clarified that the amendment is narrowly written to preserve safety inspections (such as visual exhaust checks for specialty vehicles) while excluding emissions-inspection rule changes.
Procedure and next steps: The chair said the amendment would be offered between second and third reading, and the committee recorded a show-of-hands straw poll in support. The chair reported a straw-poll result of 9-1-1 for the Burbank ("Molly") amendment; a final formal vote had not yet occurred and the amendment will proceed according to standard second-to-third reading procedures.
The committee moved on after confirming clerks and sponsoring members would coordinate filing and printing for the amendment.
