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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20130&cosponId=12865
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House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: May 29, 2013 12:51 PM
From: Representative John A. Lawrence and Rep. Jaret Gibbons
To: All House members
Subject: Eliminate Emissions Testing for New Cars for the First Five Years After Purchase and Eliminate Emissions Testing for All Electric, Electric Hybrid, and Natural Gas Powered Vehicles
 
Dear Colleagues –

In the near future, we intend to introduce legislation that will provide for an exemption from the emissions test for the first five years after the vehicle is manufactured. In addition, automobiles powered via electricity and natural gas, as well as electric hybrid cars, would receive a lifetime waiver from emissions testing.

Everyone can agree that cars with black smoke pouring out the tailpipe are bad for the environment, public health, and fuel efficiency. With this in mind, the state instituted emissions testing several decades back to ensure cars were meeting clean air standards. Twenty years ago, the equipment necessary to test auto emissions was expensive and the fail rates for many makes and models were in the 5%-10% range.

Times have changed and so has modern emissions equipment on automobiles. Since 2008, all cars sold in Pennsylvania are required to meet stringent California emissions standards. In addition, all new cars are now equipped with “on board diagnostics” (OBD), which makes diagnosing many engine problems, including emissions issues, as simple for local repair shops as plugging in a computer cable. As a result of these developments, emissions testing for brand new automobiles has become largely redundant.

As an example, PennDOT data shows during calendar year 2010, of the over 203,000 model year 2009 automobiles tested statewide, only 539 failed the emissions test, or 0.26%. If all 203,000 individuals with 2009 model year automobiles tested paid a $50 emission test fee, that amounts to well over $10 million out of the pockets of everyday Pennsylvanians to track down 539 cars with malfunctioning emissions equipment. Put another way, it cost more than $18,800 to find each automobile with emissions problems. It is difficult to argue that current policy is an even remotely efficient or effective way to improve air quality.

In this light, our proposal would exempt cars from the emissions testing requirement for the first five years after manufacture. As emissions problems tend to crop up in the later years of a car’s lifespan, the emissions test would continue for older automobiles. Mechanics would continue to conduct a visual inspection of emissions equipment on all automobiles to look for any signs of tampering.

This legislation is similar to a proposal introduced by Senator Elder Vogel last session, which passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 36-13. We would appreciate your support of this initiative.



Introduced as HB1573