Cal. HSC § 44011.6 — California Code / Code hsc / Division 26 / Part 5 / Chapter 5 / Article 2 / Section 44011.6
Section 44011.6
Status: in_force

(a) The use of a heavy-duty motor vehicle that emits excessive smoke is prohibited.

(b) (1) As expeditiously as possible, the state board shall develop a test procedure for the detection of excessive smoke emissions from heavy-duty diesel motor vehicles that is feasible for use in an intermittent roadside inspection program. During the development of the test procedure, the state board shall cooperate with the Department of the California Highway Patrol in conducting roadside inspections.

(2) The state board may also specify visual or functional inspection procedures to determine the presence of tampering or defective emissions control systems in heavy-duty diesel or heavy-duty gasoline motor vehicles. However, visual or functional inspection procedures for heavy-duty gasoline motor vehicles shall not be more stringent than those prescribed for heavy-duty gasoline motor vehicles subject to biennial inspection pursuant to Section 44013.

(3) The chairperson of the state board shall appoint an ad hoc advisory committee that shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of heavy-duty engine manufacturers, carriers of property for compensation using heavy-duty gasoline or heavy-duty diesel motor vehicles, and the Department of the California Highway Patrol. The advisory committee shall cooperate with the state board to develop a test procedure pursuant to this subdivision and shall advise the state board in developing regulations to implement test procedures and inspection of heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles.

(c) Any smoke testing procedures or smoke measuring equipment, including any meter that measures smoke opacity or density and any recorder that stores or records smoke opacity or density measurements, used to test for compliance with this section and regulations adopted pursuant to this section, shall produce consistent and repeatable results. The requirements of this subdivision shall be satisfied by the adoption of Society of Automotive Engineers recommended practice J 1667, “Snap-Acceleration Smoke Test Procedures for Heavy-Duty Diesel Powered Vehicles.”

(d) (1) The smoke test standards and procedures adopted and implemented pursuant to this section shall be designed to ensure that no engine will fail the smoke test standards and procedures when the engine is in good operating condition and is adjusted to the manufacturer’s specifications.

(2) In implementing this section, the state board shall adopt regulations that ensure that there will be no false failures or that ensure that the state board will remedy any false failures without any penalty to the vehicle owner.

(e) The state board shall enforce the prohibition against the use of heavy-duty motor vehicles that are determined to have excessive smoke emissions and shall enforce any regulation prohibiting the use of a heavy-duty motor vehicle determined to have other emissions-related defects, using the test procedure established pursuant to this section.

(f) The state board may issue a citation to the owner or operator for any vehicle in violation of this section. The regulations may require the operator of a vehicle to submit to a test procedure adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) and this subdivision, and may specify that refusal to so submit is an admission constituting proof of a violation, and shall require that, when a citation has been issued, the owner of a vehicle in violation of the regulations shall, within 45 days, correct every deficiency specified in the citation.

(g) The department may develop criteria for one or more classes of smog check stations capable of determining compliance with regulations adopted pursuant to this section and may authorize those stations to issue certificates of compliance to vehicles in compliance with the regulations. The department may contract for the operation of smog check stations for heavy-duty motor vehicles pursuant to this subdivision, and only heavy-duty motor vehicles may be inspected at those stations.

(h) In addition to the corrective action required by this section, the owner of a motor vehicle in violation of this section is subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per day for each day that the vehicle is in violation. The state board may adopt a schedule of reduced civil penalties to be applied in cases where violations are corrected in an expeditious manner. However, the schedule of reduced civil penalties shall not apply where there have been repeated incidents of emissions control system tampering. All civil penalties imposed pursuant to this subdivision shall be collected by the state board and deposited in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund. Funds in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund, when appropriated by the Legislature, shall be available to the state board and the Department of the California Highway Patrol for the conduct of intermittent roadside inspections of heavy-duty motor vehicles pursuant to this section.

(i) Following the adoption of regulations pursuant to this section, the state board may commence inspecting heavy-duty motor vehicles. With the concurrence of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, these inspections may be conducted in conjunction with the safety and weight enforcement activities of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, or at other locations selected by the state board or the Department of the California Highway Patrol. Inspection locations may include private facilities where fleet vehicles are serviced or maintained. The state board and the Department of the California Highway Patrol may conduct these inspections either cooperatively or independently, and the state board may contract for assistance in the conduct of these inspections.

(j) The state board shall inform the Department of the California Highway Patrol whenever a vehicle owner cited pursuant to this section fails to take a required corrective action or to pay a civil penalty levied pursuant to subdivisions (h) and (k) in a timely manner. Following notice and opportunity for an administrative hearing pursuant to subdivision (n), the state board may request the Department of the California Highway Patrol to remove the vehicle from service and order the vehicle to be stored. Upon notification from the state board of payment of any civil penalties imposed under subdivision (h) and storage and related charges, the vehicle shall be released to the owner or designee. Upon release of the vehicle, the owner or designee shall correct every deficiency specified in any citation to that owner with respect to the vehicle.

(k) In addition to the corrective action required by subdivision (f), and in addition to the civil penalty imposed by subdivision (h), the owner of a motor vehicle cited by the state board pursuant to this section shall pay a civil penalty of three hundred dollars ($300) per citation; except that this penalty shall not apply to the first citation for any schoolbus. All civil penalties imposed pursuant to this subdivision shall be collected by the state board and deposited in the Diesel Emission Reduction Fund, which fund is hereby created. Funds in the Diesel Emission Reduction Fund, when appropriated by the Legislature, shall be available to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for research, development, and demonstration programs undertaken pursuant to Section 25617 of the Public Resources Code.

(l) The state board shall adopt regulations that afford an owner cited under this section an opportunity for an administrative hearing consistent with, but not limited to, all of the following: (1) any owner cited under this section may request an administrative hearing within 45 days following either personal receipt or certified mail receipt of the citation; (2) if the owner fails to request an administrative hearing within 45 days, the citation shall be deemed a final order and not subject to review by any court or agency; (3) if the owner requests an administrative hearing and fails to seek review by administrative mandamus pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure within 60 days after the mailing of the administrative hearing decision, the decision shall be deemed a final order and not subject to review by any other court or agency; and (4) the 45-day period may be extended by the administrative hearing officer for good cause.

(m) Following exhaustion of the review procedures provided for in subdivision (l), the state board may apply to the Superior Court of Sacramento County for a judgment in the amount of the civil penalty. The application, which shall include a certified copy of the final order of the administrative hearing officer, shall constitute a sufficient showing to warrant the issuance of the judgment.