§22-5-15. Motor vehicle pollution, inspection and maintenance.

(a) As the state of knowledge and technology relating to the control of emissions from motor vehicles may permit or make appropriate and in furtherance of the purposes of this article, the director may provide by legislative rule for the control of emissions from motor vehicles. The legislative rule may prescribe requirements for the installation and use of equipment designed to reduce or eliminate emissions and for the proper maintenance of such equipment and of vehicles. Any legislative rule pursuant to this section shall be consistent with provisions of federal law, if any, relating to control of emissions from the vehicles concerned. The director shall not require, as a condition precedent to the initial sale of a vehicle or vehicular equipment, the inspection, certification or other approval of any feature or equipment designed for the control of emissions from motor vehicles, if such feature or equipment has been certified, approved or otherwise authorized pursuant to federal law.

(b) Except as permitted or authorized by law or legislative rule, no person shall fail to maintain in good working order or remove, dismantle or otherwise cause to be inoperative any equipment or feature constituting an operational element of the air pollution control system or mechanism of a motor vehicle required by rules of the director to be maintained in or on the vehicle. Any such failure to maintain in good working order or removal, dismantling or causing of inoperability subjects the owner or operator to suspension or cancellation of the registration for the vehicle by the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles. The vehicle is not thereafter eligible for registration until all parts and equipment constituting operational elements of the motor vehicle have been restored, replaced or repaired and are in good working order.

(c) The Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Administration, information and communication services division and the State Police shall make available technical information and records to the director to implement the legislative rule regarding motor vehicle pollution, inspection and maintenance. The director may promulgate a legislative rule establishing motor vehicle pollution, inspection and maintenance standards and imposing an inspection fee at a rate sufficient to implement the motor vehicle inspection program and shall do so when required pursuant to federal law regarding attainment of ambient air quality standards.

(d) The director may promulgate a legislative rule requiring maintenance of features of equipment in or on motor vehicles for the purpose of controlling emissions therefrom and shall do so when required pursuant to federal law regarding attainment of ambient air quality standards, and no motor vehicle may be issued a Division of Motor Vehicles registration certificate, or the existing registration certificate shall be revoked, unless the motor vehicle has been found to be in compliance with the director's legislative rule.

(e) The remedies and penalties provided in this section and section one, article three, chapter seventeen-a of this code, apply to violations hereof and the provisions of sections six or seven of this article do not apply thereto.

(f) As used in this section "motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in chapter seventeen-c of this code.