PART I ADMINIST RATION OF THE GOVERNMEN T 

TITLE XVI PUBLIC HEAL TH 

CHAPTER 111 PUBLI C HEAL TH 

Section 142K Motor ve hicle em iss ions standards ; late mode ls 

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Section 142K. (a) In addition to the provisions of section one hundred and forty-two J 

authorizing the department of environmental protection to establish and administer setting 

motor vehicle emissions standards, for model years beginning with the model year nineteen 

hundred and ninety-three or as soon thereafter as allowable under federal law, the 

department of environmental protection, hereinafter referred to as the department, shall adopt 

motor vehicle emissions standards based on the California's duly promulgated motor vehicle 

emissions standards of the state of California unless, after a public hearing, the department 

establishes, based on substantial evidence, that said emissions standards and a compliance 

program similar to the state of California's will not achieve, in the aggregate, greater motor 

vehicle pollution reductions than the federal standards and compliance program for any such 

model year. The department shall publicly issue detailed written findings before and after 

holding a public hearing pursuant to this paragraph and said hearing shall be subject to the 

provisions for public hearings contained in chapter thirty A. A decision not to adopt said 

standards shall apply as long as the federal standards and the standards of the state of 

California do not change. Emissions standards adopted pursuant to this section shall include 

the one hundred thousand mile certification standards of the state of California. 

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the department may postpone, for no 

more than one year, the adoption of said motor vehicle emission standards if the department 

makes a written determination that none of the following states is likely to adopt California's 

motor vehicle emission standards for model year nineteen hundred and ninety-three pursuant 

to the requirements of 42 USC 7507: Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 

York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The department may further postpone adopting said motor 

vehicle emission standards for an additional year if the department makes a written 

determination that none of the aforesaid listed states is likely to adopt California's motor 

vehicle emission standards for model year nineteen hundred and ninety-four. 

(b) No corporation, person or other entity shall sell or offer for sale a motor vehicle or motor 

vehicle engine, manufactured during or after the first model year that the motor vehicle 

emissions standards specified in subsection (a) are in effect which is intended for use 

primarily in the commonwealth and which has not been certified according to regulations 

promulgated by the department; provided , however, that reasonable exemptions may be 

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made by the department for: ( 1) out-of-state registered vehicles transferred by inheritance, or 

by decree of divorce, dissolution or legal separation entered by a court of competent 

jurisdiction; (2) vehicles purchased by nonresidents prior to establishing residency in the 

commonwealth; and (3) used vehicles, as defined by regulations of the department, which 

were originally purchased in states with emission standards different from the standards of 

the commonwealth. Upon the granting of an exemption from the provisions of this section, a 

motor vehicle shall forever be exempt. The department may promulgate regulations including, 

but not limited to, prohibitions on the purchase, importation, delivery, receipt, rental, leasing 

or acquisition of motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines not in compliance with the 

provisions of this section. 

(c) On or before August first, nineteen hundred and ninety, the department shall promulgate 

regulations to ensure maximum motor vehicle pollution reductions pursuant to the provisions 

of this section including, but not limited to: engine family certification standards; after-market 

parts certification; one hundred percent assembly line functional testing; two percent 

manufacturer quality audits; post assembly line pre-sale new vehicle testing; dealership 

inspection; in-use testing; anti-tampering protections; on-board diagnostics, and warranty and 

recall requirements. The promulgation of these regulations may be postponed in accordance 

with the provisions of subsection (a) concerning postponement but, in no event shall the 

department promulgate regulations later than June first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two. 

(d) The manufacturer's warranty for passenger vehicles certified pursuant to subsection (a) 

shall extend, at a minimum, for three years or fifty thousand miles for emissions related parts 

with a retail cost of less than three hundred dollars and seven years or seventy thousand 

miles for emissions related parts with a retail cost of three hundred dollars or more. The 

department shall periodically adjust said three hundred dollar repair level by the percentage 

change in the consumer price index, as published by the United States Bureau of Labor 

Statistics. For the model year nineteen hundred and ninety-three, if the motor vehicle 

emissions standards as specified in subsection (a) are in effect, manufacturers shall report to 

the department all repairs made under warranty if the number of repairs on a specific model, 

for a specific emissions part, exceeds four percent of the total number of the model sold. For 

model year nineteen hundred and ninety-four and subsequent model years, if the motor 

vehicle emissions standards as specified in subsection (a) are in effect, manufacturers shall 

report to the department all repairs made under warranty if the number of repairs on a 

specific model for a specific emissions part exceeds two percent of the total number of the 

model sold. 

(e) Any corporation, person, municipality or other entity that violates the requirements of this 

section or any regulation adopted hereunder shall be punished by a fine of not more than 

twenty-five thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year or both such fine 

and imprisonment and shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five 

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thousand dollars for each such violation. Each day that a violation for any motor vehicle 

continues shall be a separate offense. The civil penalty may be assessed in an action 

brought on behalf of the commonwealth in any court of competent jurisdiction. 

The penalties imposed hereunder shall be in addition to all other enforcement powers of the 

department under applicable law. 

(f) The provisions of this section are intended as minimum requirements of the 

commonwealth's motor vehicle emissions program and shall not limit the department's 

authority to adopt and implement the stricter air quality regulations allowed under any other 

federal and state law. 

(g) To decrease the impact of out-of-state generated auto emissions on the air quality of the 

commonwealth, the department is hereby directed to work in cooperation with other states to 

facilitate Massachusetts' and other states' adoption of more stringent motor vehicle emissions 

control programs. The department is authorized to work in cooperation with and enter into 

contracts with other states in generating and reviewing certification, testing, recall af)d 

warranty data so long as such cooperation does not limit the effectiveness of the program 

established by this section and the department may adopt other states' certification results by 

reference. 

(h) The responsibilities hereunder shall be in addition to all other responsibilities imposed by 

any other general or special law or rule or regulation . 

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General Laws: CHAPTER 11 ection 142L 

PART I ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 

TITLE XVI PUBLIC HEAL TH 

CHAPTER 111 PUBLIC HEAL TH 

Section 142L Agricultural bu rning 

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Section 142L. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections one hundred and forty-two A to one 

hundred and forty-two E1 inclusive1 the burning of tree prunings, diseased plant materials 1 

and brush from land clearing operations, which are the direct result of the normal commercial 

pursuit of agriculture, as defined in section one A of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight, 

shall be allowed subject to the permission of the local fire chief which need not be in writing. 

Said permission shall be based solely upon whether or not appropriate meteorological 

conditions exist to ensure safe burning. 

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