ARTICLE 5. Financial Provisions [44060. - 44063.]

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC 5.

in effect

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44060. Section 44060.

(a) The department shall prescribe the form of the certificate of compliance or noncompliance, repair cost waivers, and economic hardship extensions. (b) The certificates, repair cost waivers, and economic hardship extensions shall be in the form of an electronic entry filed with the department, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and any other person designated by the department. The department shall ensure that the motor vehicle owner or operator is provided with a written report, signed by the licensed technician who performed the inspection, of any test performed by a smog check station, including a pass or fail indication, and written confirmation of the issuance of the certificate. (c) (1) The department shall charge a fee to a smog check station, including a test-only station, and a station providing referee functions, for a motor vehicle inspected at that station that meets the requirements of this chapter and is issued a certificate of compliance, a certificate of noncompliance, repair cost waiver, or economic hardship extension. (2) The fee charged pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be calculated to recover the costs of the department and any other state agency directly involved in the implementation, administration, or enforcement of the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program, and shall not exceed the amount reasonably necessary to fund the operation of the program, including all responsibilities, requirements, and obligations imposed upon the department or any of those state agencies by this chapter, that are not otherwise recoverable by fees received pursuant to Section 44034. (3) Except for adjustments to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, as published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the fee for each certificate, waiver, or extension shall not exceed seven dollars ($7). (4) Fees collected by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund. It is the intent of the Legislature that a prudent surplus be maintained in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund. (d) (1) (A) Motor vehicles exempted under paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 44011 that are six or less model-years old shall be subject to an annual smog abatement fee of twelve dollars ($12). (B) Motor vehicles exempted under paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 44011 that are seven or eight model-years old shall be subject to an annual smog abatement fee of twenty-five dollars ($25). (C) The department may also, by regulation, subject motor vehicles that are exempted under paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 44011 to the twelve dollar ($12) annual smog abatement fee. Payment of the annual smog abatement fee shall be made to the Department of Motor Vehicles at the time of registration of the motor vehicle. (2) Except as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of, and subdivision (b) of, Section 44091.1, fees collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited on a daily basis into the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund. (e) The sale or transfer of the certificate, waiver, or extension by a licensed smog check station or test-only station to any other licensed smog check station or to any other person, and the purchase or acquisition of the certificate, waiver, or extension, by any person, other than from the department, the department’s designee, or pursuant to a vehicle’s inspection or repair conducted pursuant to this chapter, is prohibited. (f) Following implementation of the electronic entry certificate under subdivision (b), the department may require the modification of the analyzers and other equipment required at smog check stations to prevent the entry of a certificate that has not been issued or validated through prepayment of the fee authorized by subdivision (c). (g) The fee charged by licensed smog check stations to consumers for a certificate, waiver, or extension shall be the same amount that is charged by the department.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44060.5. Section 44060.5.

(a) Beginning July 1, 2008, the smog abatement fee described in subparagraph (A) or (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 44060 shall be increased by eight dollars ($8). (b) Revenues generated by the increase described in this section shall be distributed as follows: (1) The revenues generated by four dollars ($4) shall be deposited in the Air Quality Improvement Fund created by Section 44274.5. (2) The revenues generated by four dollars ($4) shall be deposited in the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund created by Section 44273. (c) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2035, and, as of January 1, 2036, is repealed.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44061. Section 44061.

The fees and penalties collected by the department pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund in accordance with the procedures established by the department, and is available to the department, as specified by Section 9886.2 of the Business and Professions Code, and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to any other state agency directly involved in the implementation of the motor vehicle inspection program, to carry out its functions and duties specified in this chapter or in any other law.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44062. Section 44062.

The Vehicle Inspection Fund and the Automotive Repair Fund are hereby abolished. The balances in those funds are hereby transferred to the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund. All fees collected by the department under this chapter and Chapter 20.3 (commencing with Section 9880) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code shall be deposited in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund and are available to the department as specified by Section 9886.2 of the Business and Professions Code.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44062.1. Section 44062.1.

(a) The department shall offer a repair assistance program through entities authorized to perform referee functions. (b) (1) The repair assistance program shall be available to an individual who is a low-income motor vehicle owner, and who is either or both of the following: (A) The owner of a motor vehicle that has failed a smog check inspection. (B) The owner of a motor vehicle who was issued a notice to correct for an alleged violation of Section 27153 or 27153.5 of the Vehicle Code involving that vehicle, if the vehicle subject to that notice has failed a smog check inspection subsequent to receiving the notice. (2) The department shall offer repair cost assistance to individuals based on the cost-effectiveness and air quality benefit of the needed repair. Repair assistance may include retesting costs and the costs of repairs to remedy the violation of Section 27153 or 27153.5 of the Vehicle Code. (3) An applicant for repair assistance shall file an application on a form prescribed by the department, and shall certify under penalty of perjury that the applicant meets the applicable eligibility standards. (4) Verification of income eligibility shall be based on at least one form of documentation, as determined by the department, including, but not limited to, (A) an income tax return, (B) an employment warrant, or (C) a form of public assistance verification. (c) The repair assistance program shall be funded by the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account. (d) Repairs to motor vehicles that fail smog check inspections and are subsidized by the state through the program shall be performed at a repair station licensed and certified pursuant to Sections 44014 and 44014.2. Repairs shall be based upon a preapproved list of repairs for cost-effective emission reductions or repairs to remedy a violation of Section 27153 or 27153.5 of the Vehicle Code. (e) The qualified low-income motor vehicle owner receiving repair assistance pursuant to this section shall contribute a copayment, as determined by the department, either in cash, or in emissions-related partial repairs as verified by a test-only station pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 44015, or a combination thereof. If the repair cost exceeds the applicable repair cost limit, the department shall inform a motor vehicle owner of all options for compliance at the time of testing and repair. (f) The department may increase its contribution toward the repair of a motor vehicle under this program in excess of the amount authorized for the repair of a high polluter pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 44094, if the department determines that the expenditure is cost effective. In determining the cost-effectiveness of the expenditure, the department shall consider a failure of the visible smoke test, pursuant to Section 44012.1, and the costs associated with repairing a smoking vehicle. (g) The department shall collect data from the program to provide information to develop recommendations to improve the program. Data collection shall include all of the following: (1) The number of motor vehicle owners that are eligible for repair assistance. (2) The number of eligible motor vehicle owners that use repair assistance funds. (3) The potential for fraud. (4) The average repair bills. (5) The types of repairs being done. (6) The amount of partial repairs done prior to receipt of repair assistance. (7) The emissions benefits of providing repair assistance. (h) For purposes of this section, “low-income motor vehicle owner” means a person whose income does not exceed 225 percent of the federal poverty level, as published quarterly in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44062.2. Section 44062.2.

(a) The state board shall adopt, by regulation, procedures to establish an emissions credit exchange program whereby persons may contribute to the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund, and receive equitable emission reduction credits for those contributions. (b) Districts may establish procedures to generate marketable emission reduction credits from contributions toward the repair subsidy program specified in Section 44062.1. Emission reduction credits generated pursuant to this subdivision may be used to meet or offset transportation control measure requirements, average vehicle ridership reductions, or other mobile source emission requirements, as determined by the district. (c) The credits established pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) shall not be allowed until the emission reduction goals established by the amendments enacted in 1990 to the Clean Air Act (P.L. 101-549) have been achieved.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44062.3. Section 44062.3.

(a) The owner of a motor vehicle that has been registered without substantial lapse, as defined by the department, in the state for at least two years prior to vehicle retirement, and that has failed the most recent smog check inspection for that vehicle, may retire the vehicle from operation at a dismantler under contract with the bureau, at any time after learning of the smog check failure. The department shall pay a person who retires his or her vehicle under this section one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for a low-income motor vehicle owner, as defined in Section 44062.1, and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for all other motor vehicle owners. The department may pay a motor vehicle owner more than these amounts based on factors, including, but not limited to, the age of the vehicle, the emission benefit of the vehicle’s retirement, the emission impact of any replacement vehicle, and the location of the vehicle in an area of the state with the poorest air quality. (b) The department may permit vehicle retirement pursuant to subdivision (a) for any motor vehicle that has been registered without substantial lapse, as defined by the department, in the state for at least two years prior to vehicle retirement, and that fails any type of smog check inspection lawfully performed in the state.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 44063. Section 44063.

(a) There may be transferred into the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund the proceeds of the litigation known as M.D.L. Docket No. 150 AWT, as adjudicated in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. (b) The money transferred pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for use by the department to establish and implement a program for the repair, retrofit, or removal of gross polluting vehicles.

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