By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
 Legislation to create a rolling emissions inspection exemption for vehicles that are 40 years old or older was not considered in committee before the mandatory deadline. |
Legislation to create a rolling emissions inspection exemption for vehicles that are 40 years old or older was not considered in committee before the mandatory deadline. The bill is dead for the year.
Arizona already has a 2011 law on the books to exempt all vehicles manufactured in model-year ’74 and earlier from the state’s mandatory biennial emissions inspection program. However, it has yet to take effect. Arizona regulators must first update the state’s air-quality plan and demonstrate that the exemption will not impact Arizona’s compliance with clean-air requirements. The updated plan must then be approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has indicated that it intends to submit a revised air-quality plan to the EPA by early 2015. The EPA will then have another 18 months to approve or reject the changes.
In the meantime, the current exemptions for pre-’67 vehicles and “collectibles” remain in effect. To qualify for the “collectible” exemption, a vehicle must be maintained primarily for use in club activities, exhibitions, parades or other functions of public interest and have a collectible vehicle or classic automobile insurance policy restricting use. The collectible exemption also requires the owner own a secondary vehicle for general transportation.
For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.