Title HSC — California Health & Safety Code

(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 i…

The test at the smog check stations shall be performed in accordance with procedures prescribed by the department and may require loaded mode dynamometer testing in enhanced areas, two-speed idle testing, testing utilizing a vehicle’s onboard diagnostic system, or other appropria…

(a) The department shall incorporate a visible smoke test into the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program by January 1, 2008. Any visible smoke from the tailpipe or crankcase of a motor vehicle during an inspection constitutes a failure. Steam from condensation by itsel…

(a) (1) The department, in cooperation with the state board, shall prescribe maximum emission standards to be applied in inspecting motor vehicles under this chapter. (2) In prescribing the standards, the department shall undertake studies and experiments which are necessary and …

(a) If the department, in consultation with the state board, determines that substantial demand for emission retrofit devices exists, the department shall develop a program for the certification of emissions retrofit device installations by licensed installers. The department may…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the testing and repair portion of the program shall be conducted by smog check stations licensed by the department, and by smog check technicians who have qualified pursuant to this chapter. (b) A smog check station may be license…

(a) The department shall develop a program for the voluntary certification of licensed smog check stations, or the department may accept a smog check station certification program proposed by accredited industry representatives. The department shall establish inspection-based per…

(a) A licensed smog check station that has been certified pursuant to Section 44014.2 may advertise that fact, and the advertisement may include the scope of work established by the program. (b) It is an unfair business practice and a violation of Section 17500 of the Business an…

(a) The enhanced program shall provide for the testing and retesting of vehicles in accordance with Sections 44010.5 and 44014.2 and this section. (b) The repair of vehicles at test-only stations is prohibited, except that the minor repair of components damaged by station personn…

(a) The inspection-based performance standards created for the certification program established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 44014.2 and subdivision (d) of Section 44014.5 shall be based on the same criteria. (b) The performance standards described in subdivision (a) s…

(a) The department shall require 2 percent of the vehicles required to obtain a certificate of compliance each year in enhanced program areas to receive their certificate from a licensed smog check station certified pursuant to Section 44014.2. (b) The department may require a nu…

(a) A licensed smog check station shall not issue a certificate of compliance, except as authorized by this chapter, to any vehicle that meets the following criteria: (1) A vehicle that has been tampered with. (2) A vehicle identified pursuant to subparagraph (K) of paragraph (3)…

(a) A certificate of compliance shall not be issued to any new motor vehicle or motor vehicle with a new motor vehicle engine which is not certified by the state board, and which is the subject of a transaction prohibited by Section 43152 or 43153. (b) With respect to a new motor…

The department shall, with the cooperation of the state board and after consultation with the motor vehicle manufacturers and representatives of the service industry, research, establish, and update as necessary, specifications and procedures for motor vehicle maintenance and tun…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section or Section 44017.1, a motor vehicle owner shall qualify for a repair cost waiver only after expending at least four hundred fifty dollars ($450) for repairs, including parts and labor. (b) The department shall periodically revise t…

(a) For purposes of this section, “low-income motor vehicle owner” means a person whose income does not exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty level. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 44017, for low-income motor vehicle owners qualified under Section 44062.1, the …

(a) The department shall provide a licensed smog check station with a sign informing customers about options when their vehicle fails a biennial smog check inspection, including, but not limited to, the option for qualified consumers to retire vehicles, receive repair assistance,…

(a) Upon registration with the Department of Motor Vehicles, a passenger vehicle or pickup truck that is a specially constructed vehicle, as defined in Section 580 of the Vehicle Code, shall be inspected by stations authorized to perform referee functions. This inspection shall b…

At the earliest possible date, as determined by the bureau, the bureau shall implement at the referee stations, where appropriate, an alternative workday schedule which substitutes Saturday working hours in lieu of another day during the Monday through Friday workweek, in order t…

(a) The motor vehicle inspection program may include advisory safety equipment maintenance checks, fuel efficiency checks, or both, on the motor vehicle if the department finds that cost-effective methods for conducting those checks exist and that the cost of the inspection to th…

(a) Every public agency, including, but not limited to, a publicly owned public utility, owning or operating any motor vehicle that is exempt from annual renewal of registration, and is otherwise subject to this chapter, shall obtain for the vehicle a certificate of compliance wi…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the department may license any registered owner of a fleet of 10 or more motor vehicles subject to this chapter, who so elects, to implement and conduct the tests and to perform necessary service and adjustment on the fleet’s v…

(a) The department, in cooperation with the state board, shall investigate new technologies, including the role of onboard diagnostic systems in vehicles, as a means both for detecting excess emissions and defective emission control equipment, and for assisting in determining wha…

(a) The department shall compile and maintain statistical and emissions profiles and data from motor vehicles that are subject to the motor vehicle inspection program. The department may use data from any source, including remote sensing data, in use data, and other motor vehicle…

The department shall act as a clearinghouse to provide access to the vendors who possess service information generated by the vehicle manufacturers.

(a) The department shall develop standards for the licensing of smog check stations. Tests, service, and adjustment at smog check stations shall be performed by a qualified smog check mechanic. (b) The licensing standards for smog check stations may include, but are not limited t…

The department shall develop standards for certification of institutions and instructors for purposes of providing training of smog check mechanics. The standards shall include criteria for applications, manuals, textbooks, laboratory equipment, laboratory exercises, hands-on wor…

(a) No smog check technician may perform tests or make repairs required by this chapter, for compensation, unless qualified by the department for the class and category of vehicle being tested or repaired. To qualify, smog check technicians shall pass a qualification test adminis…

No person shall perform, for compensation, tests or repairs of emission control devices or systems of motor vehicles required by this chapter unless the person performing the test or repair is a qualified smog check technician and the test or repair is performed at a licensed smo…

(a) (1) Any facility meeting the requirements established by the department pursuant to this chapter may be licensed as a test-only, test and repair, or repair-only smog check station. A licensed smog check station shall display an identifying sign prescribed by the department in…

Annual license fees for smog check stations and biennial license fees for smog check technicians shall be imposed by the department, but shall not exceed the reasonable cost of administering the qualifications and licensing program.

The department may impose an examination fee, sufficient to recover the reasonable cost of administering, developing, and updating the examination, for initial and biennial renewal smog check technician applicants. Payment of the fee entitles the applicant to be scheduled for an …

(a) A smog check station’s license or a qualified smog check technician’s qualification may be suspended or revoked by the department, after a hearing, for failure to meet or maintain the standards prescribed for qualification, equipment, performance, or conduct. The department s…

(a) The consumer protection-oriented quality assurance portion of the motor vehicle inspection program shall ensure uniform and consistent tests and repairs by all qualified smog check technicians and licensed smog check stations throughout the state, and shall include a number o…

The department may require that equipment manufacturers, submitting equipment for certification pursuant to Section 44036, submit proof of financial security, including, but not limited to, insurance sufficient to cover product liability claims, and secured funds for prepaid warr…

(a) To ensure uniform and consistent inspection, tests, and repairs by all qualified smog check technicians and licensed smog check stations, and to ensure consumer protection, manufacturers of motor vehicles shall provide, or cause to be provided, all emission control system ser…

(a) The department shall direct licensed smog check stations and technicians to private diagnostic assistance service information vendors or intermediaries who possess the electronically formatted information acquired under Section 44036.2, or with any other emissions-related inf…

(a) The department shall set standards for test analyzer system (TAS) calibration gases and shall establish criteria to certify and decertify gas blenders who blend, fill, or sell TAS calibration gases. (b) On and after January 1, 1990, no person shall blend, fill, or sell any TA…

The data collected by the equipment used by a smog check station, as required by regulations of the bureau, may be used by a licensed smog check station technician or operator when appealing a citation issued by the bureau.

(a) The department shall compile and maintain records, using the sampling methodology necessary to ensure their scientific validity and reliability, of tests and repairs performed by qualified smog check technicians at licensed smog check stations pursuant to this chapter on all …

(a) On or before January 1, 1995, the department shall design and establish the equipment necessary to operate a centralized computer data base and computer network that is readily accessible by all licensed smog check technicians on a real time basis. (b) The centralized compute…

(a) The department may enter into a contract for telecommunication, programming, data analysis, data processing, and other services necessary to operate and maintain the centralized computer data base and computer network specified in Section 44037.1. (b) The department may, for …

Until implementation of the centralized computer data base required pursuant to Section 44037.1, each smog check station shall transmit vehicle data and emission test or repair results to the department and transmit to the department vehicle data and emission measurements made be…

A written summary of the required information applicable to smog check stations in each district shall be published semiannually by the department and made available upon request to the owner of any motor vehicle subject to this chapter.

The department may require certificates of compliance, certificates of noncompliance, and repair cost waivers to contain a unique number encoded in bar code. These certificates may be sold to licensed smog check stations by the department, printed by test analyzer systems, or tra…

In order to expedite emissions testing and to eliminate errors in the transcription of vehicle data, the department shall, in cooperation with the Department of Motor Vehicles, furnish bar code labels or bar coded documents to all vehicle owners at the time of their vehicle’s ann…

(a) This section describes the qualifications to be met by smog check technician applicants effective January 1, 1995. The department shall, by regulation, establish requirements for the licensure of smog check technicians which are necessary to enable the program to meet the app…

(a) The department shall, by regulation, establish requirements for the training of smog check technicians which are necessary to enable the program to meet the applicable emission reduction performance standards, to include, at a minimum, all of the following: (1) Criteria for f…

(a) In addition to or in lieu of any other remedy or penalty, including, but not limited to, education, training, or an office conference, the department may issue a citation to a licensee, contractor, or fleet owner for a violation of the requirements of this chapter or a regula…

(a) If a person cited pursuant to Section 44050 wishes to contest the citation, that person shall, within 30 days after service of the citation, file in writing a request for an administrative hearing to the chief of the bureau or a designee. (b) (1) In addition to, or instead of…