H. R. 8

One Hundred Fifth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight

An Act

To amend the Clean Air Act to deny entry into the United States of certain

foreign motor vehicles that do not comply with State laws governing motor vehicle

emissions, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Smog Reduction Act

of 1998’’.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF CLEAN AIR ACT.

Section 183 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7511b) is amended

by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(h) VEHICLES ENTERING OZONE NONATTAINMENT AREAS.—

‘‘(1) AUTHORITY REGARDING OZONE INSPECTION AND

MAINTENANCE TESTING.—

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No noncommercial motor vehicle

registered in a foreign country and operated by a United

States citizen or by an alien who is a permanent resident

of the United States, or who holds a visa for the purposes

of employment or educational study in the United States,

may enter a covered ozone nonattainment area from a

foreign country bordering the United States and contiguous

to the nonattainment area more than twice in a single

calendar-month period, if State law has requirements for

the inspection and maintenance of such vehicles under

the applicable implementation plan in the nonattainment

area.

‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply

if the operator presents documentation at the United States

border entry point establishing that the vehicle has complied with such inspection and maintenance requirements

as are in effect and are applicable to motor vehicles of

the same type and model year.

‘‘(2) SANCTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS.—The President may

impose and collect from the operator of any motor vehicle

who violates, or attempts to violate, paragraph (1) a civil penalty of not more than $200 for the second violation or attempted

violation and $400 for the third and each subsequent violation

or attempted violation.

‘‘(3) STATE ELECTION.—The prohibition set forth in paragraph (1) shall not apply in any State that elects to be exempt

from the prohibition. Such an election shall take effect upon
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the President’s receipt of written notice from the Governor

of the State notifying the President of such election.

‘‘(4) ALTERNATIVE APPROACH.—The prohibition set forth in

paragraph (1) shall not apply in a State, and the President

may implement an alternative approach, if—

‘‘(A) the Governor of the State submits to the President

a written description of an alternative approach to facilitate

the compliance, by some or all foreign-registered motor

vehicles, with the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance requirements that are—

‘‘(i) related to emissions of air pollutants;

‘‘(ii) in effect under the applicable implementation

plan in the covered ozone nonattainment area; and

‘‘(iii) applicable to motor vehicles of the same types

and model years as the foreign-registered motor

vehicles; and

‘‘(B) the President approves the alternative approach

as facilitating compliance with the motor vehicle inspection

and maintenance requirements referred to in subparagraph

(A).

‘‘(5) DEFINITION OF COVERED OZONE NONATTAINMENT

AREA.—In this section, the term ‘covered ozone nonattainment

area’ means a Serious Area, as classified under section 181

as of the date of the enactment of this subsection.’’.

SEC. 3. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by section 2 takes

effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. Nothing

in that amendment shall require action that is inconsistent with

the obligations of the United States under any international agreement.

(b) INFORMATION.—As soon as practicable after the date of

the enactment of this Act, the appropriate agency of the United

States shall distribute information to publicize the prohibition set

forth in the amendment made by section 2.

SEC. 4. STUDY BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the United States

shall conduct a study of the impact of the amendment made by

section 2.

(b) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study under subsection (a) shall

compare—

(1) the potential impact of the amendment made by section

2 on air quality in ozone nonattainment areas affected by

the amendment; with

(2) the impact on air quality in those areas caused by

the increase in the number of vehicles engaged in commerce

operating in the United States and registered in, or operated

from, Mexico, as a result of the implementation of the North

American Free Trade Agreement.
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(c) REPORT.—Not later than July 1, 1999, the Comptroller

General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on

Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee

on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report describing

the findings of the study under subsection (a).

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.