Section 19-0320. Emissions inspections of heavy duty vehicles

1. When used in this section:
    a.  "Heavy  duty vehicle" means any vehicle powered by diesel fuel and
  having a gross vehicle  weight  of  greater  than  eight  thousand  five
  hundred  pounds,  except  that  those  vehicles  defined in sections one
  hundred one, subparagraph two of paragraph E  and  subparagraph  (a)  of
  paragraph  F  of  subdivision  seven  of section four hundred one of the
  vehicle and traffic law, and vehicles specified in subdivision  thirteen
  of  section  four  hundred  one of the vehicle and traffic law, and farm
  type tractors  and  all  terrain  type  vehicles  used  exclusively  for
  agricultural  or  mowing  purposes,  or for snow plowing, other than for
  hire, farm equipment, including self-propelled machines used exclusively
  in growing, harvesting or  handling  farm  produce,  and  self-propelled
  caterpillar  or  crawler-type  equipment  while  being  operated  on the
  contract site, and timber harvesting equipment such as harvesters,  wood
  chippers,  forwarders, log skidders, and other processing equipment used
  exclusively off highway for  timber  harvesting  and  logging  purposes,
  shall not be deemed heavy duty vehicles for purposes of this section.
    b.  "Roadside  program" means a roadside examination program conducted
  pursuant to the heavy duty  vehicle  emissions  reduction  act  for  the
  inspection of emissions and emission control equipment, at any public or
  quasi-public   location   as   designated   by   the   commissioner   of
  transportation  with  the  concurrence  of  the  department  and,  where
  appropriate, the New York state thruway authority.
    c.  "Annual  inspection  program"  means a program in which heavy duty
  vehicles registered or required to be  registered  in  counties  in  the
  state  designated  as being in serious, severe or extreme non-attainment
  of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone pursuant  to  the
  1990  amendments  of  the  federal  Clean  Air  Act (42 U.S.C. 7511) are
  annually inspected in accordance with this article.
    2. The department, jointly with the departments of motor vehicles  and
  transportation,  shall develop a program for the inspection of emissions
  from heavy duty vehicles. Such inspection program shall  consist  of  an
  annual  inspection program and a roadside program. The annual inspection
  program developed in accordance with this section shall  be  limited  to
  heavy  duty vehicles registered or required to be registered in counties
  in  the  state  designated  as  being  in  serious,  severe  or  extreme
  non-attainment  of  the  National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone
  pursuant to the 1990 amendments of the federal Clean Air Act (42  U.S.C.
  7511).  Under  no  circumstances  shall  such program require heavy duty
  vehicles to meet emission standards more stringent than the new  vehicle
  emission standards to which such vehicles were certified pursuant to the
  federal  Clean  Air  Act.  The  department shall, with the department of
  transportation and,  where  appropriate,  the  New  York  state  thruway
  authority,  jointly develop criteria for roadside program site selection
  and procedures for the control of traffic and operation of such sites.
    3. The department, jointly with the departments of motor vehicles  and
  transportation,  shall  adopt  rules  and  regulations establishing test
  standards, method, and equipment for the period of effectiveness of this
  section. The department shall  adopt  such  rules  and  regulations  and
  implement  such program by June first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine. The
  department shall consider establishing a hardship  waiver  based  on  an
  evaluation  of  fleet  size  and  cost  of  effective  repair, and shall
  consider  exempting  from  the   roadside   inspection   vehicles   that
  successfully pass an annual inspection as approved by the commissioner.
    4.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  title  twenty-one of article
  seventy-one of this chapter, operation of a heavy  duty  vehicle  which,
  when   tested,   exceeds   emission  levels  set  forth  in  regulations

  promulgated pursuant to this section  shall  be  a  violation,  and  the
  following  penalties  shall  apply to any violation found as a result of
  roadside emissions inspections:
    a. First violation:                    $ 700.00
       Second and subsequent violations:   $1300.00.
    b. The penalties set forth in paragraph a of this subdivision shall be
  reduced  to  one  hundred fifty dollars for the first violation and five
  hundred dollars for the second and subsequent violations by the court or
  administrative tribunal before which the summons or appearance ticket is
  returnable if the violation set  forth  in  the  summons  or  appearance
  ticket is corrected not later than thirty days after the issuance of the
  summons or appearance ticket and proof of such correction, as defined in
  paragraph   c  of  this  subdivision,  is  submitted  to  the  court  or
  administrative tribunal. The penalties described in this  section  shall
  not  apply  to  vehicles defined by section one hundred forty-two of the
  vehicle and traffic law or owned by a county, town, city, or village for
  a first violation provided the vehicle is repaired within thirty days of
  ticket issuance.
    c. Acceptable proof of repair or adjustment shall be submitted to  the
  court  or  administrative  tribunal  on or before the return date of the
  summons or  appearance  ticket  in  a  form  and  manner  prescribed  by
  regulations adopted pursuant to this section.
    5.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  title  twenty-one of article
  seventy-one of  this  chapter,  operation  of  any  heavy  duty  vehicle
  registered  or  required  to  be  registered  in  this  state  without a
  certificate  of  inspection  resulting  from  an  annual  inspection  as
  required  by  regulations  adopted  pursuant  to this section shall be a
  violation, and the following violation structure  shall  apply  to  such
  violations:
    a. First violation:                    $ 700.00
       Second and subsequent violations:   $1300.00.
    b.  The  penalties defined in paragraph a of this subdivision shall be
  reduced to three hundred fifty dollars for the first violation and seven
  hundred fifty dollars for second  and  subsequent  violations,  provided
  that  the vehicle in question bears a certificate which was valid within
  the last thirty days. The penalties described in this section shall  not
  apply to vehicles defined by section one hundred forty-two or owned by a
  county,  town,  city,  or  village  of the vehicle and traffic law for a
  first violation provided the vehicle is repaired within thirty  days  of
  ticket issuance.
    6.  Vehicles  found  in  violation  of  applicable  emission standards
  implemented pursuant to this program shall not be subject to impoundment
  or otherwise prevented from engaging in commerce as  a  result  of  this
  program.
    6-a.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, no penalty shall
  be imposed pursuant to this section where the operator of  such  vehicle
  has  been convicted of the same violation arising from the same incident
  pursuant to section three hundred one-b of the vehicle and traffic law.
    7. The department shall, to the extent  practicable,  coordinate  with
  appropriate  agencies  in  the  states  in the northeast ozone transport
  region and which have proposed or adopted heavy duty emission inspection
  programs to promote regional consistency in such programs.