TITLE 12 CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Section 9. Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, 12-9-1 through 12-9-70.

ARTICLE 2 MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSION INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE

12-9-48. Requirement of certificate of emission inspection; standards for issuance; inspectors, equipment, and procedures; notice of violation of emission standards; reinspection after repairs; time extension; inspection sticker; new vehicles; replacement stickers.

1. Each responsible motor vehicle subject to any requirement under Code Section 12-9-45 must receive a certificate of emission inspection once during any inspection term from an emission inspection station holding a valid certificate of authorization from the department. A certificate of emission inspection shall be issued for such a responsible motor vehicle if, upon inspection by a licensed mechanic inspector, the mechanic inspector determines, consistent with the terms of Code Section 12-9-45, with respect to such responsible motor vehicle:
   1. That any emission control equipment required on such responsible motor vehicle when new by the federal Clean Air Act and required to be inspected by the regulations of the board promulgated pursuant to this article has been inspected and the mechanic inspector has determined that such equipment has not been rendered unserviceable by removal, alteration, lack of maintenance, or other interference with its operation unless such equipment was replaced with equivalent equipment which has been certified by the USEPA;
   2. That an inspection and testing of the exhaust emissions of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide from such responsible motor vehicle have been performed;
   3. That an inspection and testing of evaporative emissions of hydrocarbons from such responsible motor vehicle have been performed;
   4. That the exhaust emissions and evaporative emissions from the responsible motor vehicle do not exceed any applicable emission standard or emission limitation for allowable emissions of hydrocarbon, nitrogen oxides, or carbon monoxide prescribed by the board pursuant to this article; and
   5. That any on-board diagnostic equipment required on such responsible motor vehicle when new by the federal Clean Air Act and required to be inspected pursuant to the regulations promulgated by the board has been inspected and the mechanic inspector has determined that such equipment meets the inspection criteria prescribed by the board.
2. Compliance with any applicable emission standards, emission limitations, standards for emission control equipment, or standards for on-board diagnostic equipment shall be determined by mechanic inspectors meeting qualifications; using methods, techniques, and equipment; under conditions; and following inspection procedures prescribed by the board pursuant to this article.
3. If the inspection discloses any violation of any applicable emission standard, emission limitation, standard of emission control equipment, or standard for on-board diagnostic equipment, then the owner shall be notified, in writing, of the air pollutant which exceeds the allowable emissions and the degree of excess or the specific emission control equipment or on-board diagnostic equipment which is in violation of the standard.
4. The owner shall have necessary maintenance and repairs performed on any responsible motor vehicle violating any applicable emission standard, emission limitation, standard for emission control equipment, or standard for on-board diagnostic equipment and return the responsible motor vehicle for reinspection at an emission inspection station within 30 days of the initial inspection. Such reinspection shall be at no charge to the owner. If, upon reinspection, such motor vehicle fails to meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this Code section, no certificate of emission inspection shall be issued unless the owner proves, by means of repair facility receipts or other written documents, that:
   1. He or she has replaced any emission control equipment, exhaust system equipment, or on-board diagnostic equipment or part thereof which has been removed, physically damaged, or otherwise rendered inoperable;
   2. He or she has spent at least $450.00 or such amount as the board establishes, consistent with the federal Clean Air Act, in the repair and maintenance of the responsible motor vehicle exhaust and evaporative, as applicable, emission control systems, on-board diagnostic equipment, or related equipment not covered by warranty since the initial inspection in the current inspection term; provided, however, that the $450.00 repair waiver authorized in this paragraph shall be increased annually by the percentage, if any, by which the Consumer Price Index for the most recent calendar year ending before the beginning of such year exceeds the Consumer Price Index for the calendar year 1989. For purposes of this paragraph, the Consumer Price Index is the average of the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, as of the close of the 12 month period ending the last day of August of each calendar year, and the revision of the Consumer Price Index which is most consistent with the Consumer Price Index for 1989 shall be used; and
   3. Such repairs and maintenance have produced a decrease in exhaust and evaporative emissions, as applicable, since the initial inspection.
5. A time extension, not to exceed the period of the inspection frequency, may be granted to obtain needed repairs on a vehicle in the case of economic hardship when waiver requirements contained in subsection (d) of this Code section have not been met. After having received a time extension under this subsection, a vehicle must fully pass the applicable test standards before becoming eligible for another time extension.
6. The board may require each responsible motor vehicle to display an emission inspection sticker issued in conjunction with a certificate of emission inspection on the motor vehicle once it has been approved as meeting the requirements of this article. Any emission inspection sticker shall bear such information as shall be required by the director. The mechanic inspector shall remove from the vehicle being inspected any old emission inspection sticker when a new emission inspection sticker is issued.
7. All certificates of emission inspection shall be issued for the inspection term.
8. A new responsible motor vehicle otherwise required under Code Section 12-9-45 to have an inspection or certificate of inspection shall not be required to have either that inspection or certificate at the time of the initial retail sale or delivery of that vehicle, but the required emission inspection and certificate of inspection shall be obtained prior to the vehicle registration date in the calendar year two years after the vehicle's model year or at such other time as the board may establish by rule or regulation.
9. The board may establish methods by which the owner of a responsible motor vehicle who has lost the certificate of emission inspection required in any inspection term may have a duplicate certificate of emission inspection issued. These methods may include, but are not limited to, the following:
   1. Any approved emission inspection station may issue said duplicate certification of emission inspection upon the owner's demonstrating to the mechanic inspector that the responsible motor vehicle has a current and valid inspection sticker affixed to its window;
   2. The director shall issue said duplicate certification of emission inspection upon the owner's demonstrating to the director that said vehicle had been inspected previously and bears a current and valid inspection sticker; or
   3. In the event a windshield bearing a valid emission inspection sticker is replaced, a new emission inspection sticker may be issued for such vehicle within 30 days after the replacement of the windshield without the necessity of reinspection if the owner of the vehicle executes an affidavit in a form furnished by the director stating that the windshield of his or her vehicle has been replaced and giving such other information as the director may require and pays to the inspection station a fee in an amount equal to the actual administrative cost of issuing such a sticker which shall be no less than the cost of the sticker plus the cost of computer access. The vehicle may be operated on the highways without an emission inspection sticker for 30 days after the replacement of the windshield if proof of the date of such replacement is carried in the vehicle.

      In all cases, the new emission inspection sticker or duplicate certificate of emission inspection shall be valid only for the remainder of the period for which the replaced emission inspection sticker or certificate of emission inspection was to be valid.

10. The inspection provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall not require any alteration of any portion of the engine or equipping of the engine with any device for the sole purpose of facilitating the conduct of such test during the testing periods for 1997 and 1998.

(Code 1981, §12-9-48, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 918, § 2; Ga. L. 1996, p. 336, § 7; Ga. L. 2009, p. 71, § 2/SB 198.)