2009 North Carolina Code
Chapter 143 - State Departments, Institutions, and Commissions.
§ 143-215.107A. Motor vehicle emissions testing and maintenance program.

§ 143‑215.107A.  Motor vehicle emissions testing and maintenance program.

(a)        General Provisions. –

(1)        G.S. 143‑215.107(a)(6) shall be implemented as provided in this section.

(2)        Motor vehicle emissions inspections shall be performed by a person who holds an emissions inspection mechanic license issued as provided in G.S. 20‑183.4A(c) at a station that holds an emissions inspection station license issued under G.S. 20‑183.4A(a) or at a place of business that holds an emissions self‑inspector license issued as provided in G.S. 20‑183.4A(d). Motor vehicle emissions inspections may be performed by a decentralized network of test‑and‑repair stations as described in 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 51.353 (1 July 1998 Edition). The Commission may not require that motor vehicle emissions inspections be performed by a network of centralized or decentralized test‑only stations.

(b)        Repealed by Session Laws 2000, ch. 134, s. 2, effective July 14, 2000.

(c)        Counties Covered. – Motor vehicle emissions inspections shall be performed in the following counties: Alamance, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Chatham, Cleveland, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Granville, Guilford, Harnett, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Johnston, Lee, Lenoir, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Moore, Nash, Orange, Pitt, Randolph, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Union, Wake, Wayne, Wilkes and Wilson.

(d)        Additional Counties. – The Commission may require that motor vehicle emissions inspections be performed in counties in addition to those set out in subsection (c) of this section. In determining whether to require that motor vehicle emissions inspections be performed in a county, the Commission may consider the population of, and distribution of population in, the county; the projected change in population of, and distribution of population in, the county; the number of vehicles registered in the county; the projected change in the number of vehicles registered in the county; vehicle miles traveled in the county; the projected change in vehicle miles traveled in the county; current and projected commuting patterns in the county; and the current and projected impact of these factors on attainment of air quality standards in the county and in areas outside the county. The Commission may not require that motor vehicle emissions inspections be performed in any county with a population of less than 40,000 based on the most recent population estimates prepared by the State Budget Officer. The Commission may not require that motor vehicle emissions inspections be performed in any county in which the number of vehicle miles traveled per day is less than 900,000, based on the most recent estimates prepared by the Department of Transportation. In order to disapprove a rule that requires that motor vehicle emissions inspections be performed in one or more additional counties, a bill introduced pursuant to G.S. 150B‑21.3(b) must amend subsection (c) of this section to add one or more other counties in which the total population and vehicle miles traveled per day equal or exceed the total population and vehicle miles traveled in the county or counties listed in the rule that the bill would disapprove. (1999‑328, ss. 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7; 2000‑134, ss. 2, 3; 2004‑203, s. 5(l).)