ARTICLE 9. Repair or Removal of High Polluters [44090. - 44096.]

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC 9.

in effect

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44090. Section 44090.

For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) “Account” means the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account created pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 44091. (b) “High polluter” means a high-emission motor vehicle, including, but not limited to, a gross polluter.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44091. Section 44091.

(a) The High Polluter Repair or Removal Account is hereby created in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund. All money deposited in the account pursuant to this article shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department and the state board to establish and implement a program for the repair or replacement of high polluters pursuant to Section 44062.1 and Article 10 (commencing with Section 44100). (b) The department may accept donations or grants of funds from any person for purposes of the program and shall deposit that money in the account. Donations, grants, or other commitments of money to the account may be dedicated for specific purposes consistent with the uses of the account, including, but not limited to, purchasing higher emitting vehicles for the purpose of achieving the emission reductions required by the M-1 strategy of the 1994 State Implementation Plan (SIP). (c) The funds which are available in the account in any fiscal year for a particular area that is subject to an inspection and maintenance program shall be distributed to reflect the number of vehicles registered in that area to the total number of vehicles registered in areas that are subject to inspection and maintenance programs. That percentage shall be the percentage of the total funds allocated to the program in that fiscal year which are available for that particular area. (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that a prudent amount be determined to retain as a reserve in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund, and that any moneys in the fund above that amount be transferred to the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account. It is also the intent of the Legislature that those transferred moneys be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to support the programs described in this section. (e) During any fiscal year, the money in the account shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the following purposes: (1) Assistance in the repair of high polluters pursuant to the program established pursuant to Section 44062.1. (2) Voluntary accelerated retirement of high polluters. (3) Rulemaking, vehicle testing, and other technical work required to implement and administer the repair assistance program established pursuant to Section 44062.1 and the program described in Article 10 (commencing with Section 44100). (f) An amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000) annually for the 1997–98 fiscal year and the 1998–99 fiscal year shall be made available from the account for a program to evaluate the emission reduction effectiveness of the M-1 strategy of the 1994 SIP. (g) All remaining amounts in the account shall be available to the program of repair assistance established pursuant to Section 44062.1. (h) In no case shall the funding available in any subsequent fiscal year to the department for repairing or removing high-emitting vehicles under the inspection and maintenance program be less than the amount made available from the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund for that purpose in the 1995–96 fiscal year.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44091.1. Section 44091.1.

(a) Revenue from the fee specified in subparagraph (A) or (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 44060 shall be allocated as follows: (1) The revenues generated by six dollars ($6) of the fee shall be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund, and shall be available for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 44275)) to the extent that the state board or a participating district determines the moneys are expended to mitigate or remediate the harm caused by the type of motor vehicle on which the fee is imposed. (2) (A) Except as provided for in subparagraph (B), of the revenue generated by the remaining six dollars ($6) of the fee, four dollars ($4) shall be deposited in the account created by Section 44091, while the revenue generated by the remaining two dollars ($2) shall be deposited in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund and may be expended, upon appropriation, for, among other things, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project established as a part of the Air Quality Improvement Program pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 44274) of Chapter 8.9. (B) All revenue generated by the remaining six dollars ($6) of the fee described in this paragraph that is imposed at first registration of a motor vehicle and that is exempted under paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 44011 shall be deposited in the account created by Section 44091. (b) (1) Twenty-one dollars ($21) of the amount of the fee specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 44060 shall be deposited into the Air Pollution Control Fund and shall be available for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 44275)). (2) Four dollars ($4) of the amount of the fee specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 44060 shall be deposited into the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund to offset the reduction in revenues collected pursuant to Section 44060 caused by the exemption provided pursuant to Section 44011 for vehicles that are seven- and eight-model years old.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44091.2. Section 44091.2.

It is the intent of the Legislature that if the impact fee imposed pursuant to Section 6262 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is ruled unconstitutional by an appellate court or the California Supreme Court, or if the state is in any manner prevented by either of those courts from imposing or collecting the fee, the repair assistance program implemented pursuant to Section 44062.1 and any voluntary vehicle retirement program implemented by the department not be supported by money appropriated from the General Fund.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44092. Section 44092.

The high-polluter repair or removal program shall be designed to repair or remove motor vehicles registered in this state that are subject to an inspection and maintenance program and are producing high levels of emissions as a result of their use in this state.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44093. Section 44093.

The repair of high polluters under the program shall be designed to offer repair cost assistance to qualified low-income motor vehicle owners for vehicles that are in need of repairs to obtain a certificate of compliance, as determined by the department.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44094. Section 44094.

(a) Participation in the high polluter repair or removal program specified in this article and Article 10 (commencing with Section 44100) shall be voluntary and shall be available to the owners of high polluters that are registered in an area that is subject to an inspection and maintenance program, have been registered for at least 24 months in the district where the credits are to be applied and, are presently operational, and meet other criteria, as determined by the department. (b) The program shall provide for both of the following: (1) As to the repair of a high polluter, payment to the owner of up to 80 percent of the total cost of repair, as determined by the department, but the payment shall not exceed four hundred fifty dollars ($450). (2) As to the removal of a high polluter, the program shall be subject to Article 10 (commencing with Section 44100). (c) Except as provided in Section 44062.3, the department may specify the amount of money that may be paid to an owner of a high-polluting motor vehicle who voluntarily retires the vehicle. The amount paid by the department shall be based on the cost-effectiveness and the air quality benefit of retiring the vehicle, as determined by the department. (d) The department may authorize participation in the program based on a reasonable estimate of the future revenues that will be available to the program.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44095. Section 44095.

(a) The department shall administer the program in accordance with regulations adopted by the department. (b) (1) Nothing in this article shall be construed as superseding or precluding any similar program that is administered by a district, any other public agency, or any other person. (2) The state board shall develop a methodology for, and shall undertake, a uniform data analysis of the program operated pursuant to this article and any similar programs operated in this state for the purpose of providing an accounting of the emission reductions that are achieved by all such programs. (c) The department may directly operate the program or may provide for the program’s operation pursuant to an agreement. The department may enter into an agreement with local agencies, community colleges, air quality management districts, or private entities to perform all or any portion of the program.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44096. Section 44096.

(a) The state board shall review and assess the potential cost-effectiveness, in terms of dollars per ton of emissions reduced, of emissions reduction devices that are intended for installation in light-duty motor vehicles and meet the qualifications specified in subdivision (b). The results of the assessment shall be made available to the department and the districts, and shall be considered by the state board in determining whether an emissions reduction device is a cost-effective means of emissions reduction, as compared with the accelerated light-duty vehicle retirement program conducted pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with Section 44100) and any other vehicle retirement program authorized by the department or the districts. (b) The state board shall perform the review and assessment specified in subdivision (a) only for an emission reduction device that meets at least one of the following qualifications: (1) The device has received a certification under the California Environmental Technology Certification Program. (2) The device has received accreditation under the state board’s “Criteria and Test Procedures for Accrediting Emission Control Devices” (ARB “B” Designation) pursuant to Section 43630.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026