HB3432 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 09683 CMK 29885 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB3432

Introduced 2/27/2007, by Rep. Jack D. Franks

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
625 ILCS 5/13B-80 new

Creates the Vehicle Emissions Act. Provides that the Environmental Protection Agency shall adopt and implement emission standards for new vehicles that are 2009 model-year or later for the control of emissions. Sets out a vehicle and engine certification program administered by the Agency. Prohibits the sale or registration in the State of certain vehicles that fail to meet the emission standards of the Act. Sets out special standards for vehicles with on board diagnostic systems. Sets out the procedure for a vehicle manufacturer to appeal the Agency standards. Authorizes the Agency to adopt emission standards for certain motorcycles registered or identified by the Secretary of State. Provides for the certification of school busses. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that nothing in the Chapter 13B of the Code, concerning emission inspection, shall limit the authority of the Agency under the Act. Contains other provisions.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning vehicles.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Vehicle Emissions Act.

Section 5. Definitions. For purposes of this Act:

"Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"New vehicle" has the same meaning as set out in Section 1-148.4 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.

Section 10. Environmental Protection Agency authority.

(a) The Agency shall adopt and implement emission standards for new vehicles that are 2009 model-year or later for the control of emissions from new vehicles that the Agency finds to be necessary and technologically feasible to carry out the purposes of this Act. Before adopting these standards, the Agency shall consider the impact of these standards on the economy of the State, including, but not limited to, their effect on vehicle fuel efficiency.

(b) The standards adopted under this Act may be applicable to vehicle engines, rather than to vehicles.

Section 15. Certification.

(a) No new vehicle or new vehicle engine shall be certified by the Agency unless the vehicle or engine meets the emission standards adopted by the Agency under Section 5 under test procedures adopted by the Agency under Section 25.

(b) For the certification of new vehicles or new vehicle engines, the Agency shall adopt, by rule, test procedures and any other procedures necessary to determine whether the vehicles or engines are in compliance with the emissions standards established under Section 10. The Agency shall base its test procedures on federal test procedures.

Section 20. New vehicles.

(a) No new vehicle, new vehicle engine, or vehicle with a new vehicle engine required under this Act to meet the emission standards established under Section 10 shall be sold to the ultimate purchaser, offered or delivered for sale to the ultimate purchaser, or registered in this State if the manufacturer has violated emission standards or test procedures and has failed to take corrective action, which may include recall of vehicles or engines, specified by the Agency in accordance with rules of the Agency. If a manufacturer contests the necessity for, or the scope of, a recall of vehicles or engines ordered under this Section and so advises the Agency, the Agency shall not require such recall unless it first affords the manufacturer the opportunity, at a public hearing, to present evidence in support of the manufacturer's objections. If a vehicle or engine is recalled under this Section, the manufacturer shall make all necessary corrections specified by the Agency without charge to the registered owner of the vehicle or vehicle with such engine or, at the manufacturer's election, reimburse the registered owner for the cost of making such necessary corrections.

The procedures for determining and the facts constituting compliance or failure of compliance shall be established by the Agency.

(b) For all vehicles equipped with on board diagnostic systems and certified in accordance with the test procedures adopted under Section 15, the Agency shall adopt rules that require a vehicle manufacturer to do all of the following to the extent allowed by federal law:

(1) Make available, within a reasonable period of time, and by reasonable business means, including, but not limited to, use of the Internet, as determined by the Agency, to all affected persons, the full contents of all manuals, technical service bulletins, and training materials regarding emissions-related vehicle information that is made available to their franchised dealerships.

(2) Make available for sale to all affected persons the manufacturer's emissions-related enhanced diagnostic tools, and make emissions-related enhanced data stream information and bidirectional controls related to tools available in electronic format to equipment and tool companies.

(3) If the vehicle manufacturer uses reprogrammable computer chips in its vehicles, provide equipment and tool companies with the information that is provided by the manufacturer to its dealerships to allow those companies to incorporate into aftermarket tools the same reprogramming capability.

(4) Make available to all affected persons, within a reasonable period of time, a general description of their on board diagnostic systems, which shall contain the information described in this paragraph. For each monitoring system utilized by a manufacturer that illuminates the on board diagnostic systems malfunction indicator light, the vehicle manufacturer shall provide all of the following:

(A) a general description of the operation of the monitor, including a description of the parameter that is being monitored;

(B) a listing of all typical on board diagnostic systems diagnostic trouble codes associated with each monitor;

(C) a description of the typical enabling conditions for each monitor to execute during vehicle operation, including, but not limited to, minimum and maximum intake air and engine coolant temperature, vehicle speed range, and time after engine startup;

(D) a listing of each monitor sequence, execution frequency, and typical duration;

(E) a listing of typical malfunction thresholds for each monitor;

(F) for on board diagnostic system parameters for specific vehicles that deviate from the typical parameters, the on board diagnostic system description shall indicate the deviation and provide a separate listing of the typical value for those vehicles; and

(G) the information required by this Section shall not include specific algorithms, specific software code, or specific calibration data beyond that required to be made available through the generic scan tool in federal regulations.

(5) Not utilize any access or recognition code or any type of encryption for the purpose of preventing a vehicle owner from using an emissions-related vehicle part with the exception of the powertrain control modules, engine control modules, and transmission control modules, that has not been manufactured by that manufacturer or any of the manufacturer's original equipment suppliers.

(6) Provide to all affected persons information regarding initialization procedures relating to immobilizer circuits or other lockout devices to reinitialize vehicle on board computers that employ integral vehicle security systems if necessary to repair or replace an emissions-related part, or if necessary for the proper installation of vehicle on board computers that employ integral vehicle security systems.

(7) All information required to be provided to affected persons by this Section shall be provided for fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory compensation, in a format that is readily accessible to all affected persons, as determined by the Agency.

(c) Any information required to be disclosed under a final rule adopted under this Section that the vehicle manufacturer demonstrates to a court, on a case-by-case basis, to be a trade secret shall be exempt from disclosure, unless the court, upon the request of an affected person seeking disclosure of the information, determines that the disclosure of the information is necessary to mitigate anti-competitive effects. In making this determination, the court shall consider, among other things, the practices of any vehicle manufacturer that results in the fullest disclosure of information listed in paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of this Section. In actions subject to this paragraph, the court shall preserve the secrecy of an alleged trade secret by reasonable means, which may include granting a protective order in connection with discovery proceedings, holding an in-camera hearing, sealing the record of the action, or ordering any person involved in the litigation not to disclose an alleged trade secret without prior court approval.

(d) If information is required to be disclosed by a vehicle manufacturer under subsection (c) of this Section, the court shall allow for the imposition of reasonable business conditions as a condition of disclosure, and may include punitive sanctions for the improper release of information that is determined to be a trade secret to a competitor of the manufacturer. The court shall also provide for fair, reasonable, and nondiscrimatory compensation to the vehicle manufacturer for the disclosure of information determined by the court to be a trade secret and required to be disclosed under subsection (c) of this Section. The court shall provide for the dissemination of trade secret information required to be disclosed under subsection (c) of this Section through licensing agreements and the collection of reasonable licensing fees. If the court determines that disclosure of any of the information required to be disclosed under subsection (c) of this Section constitutes a taking of personal property, a jury trial shall be held to determine the amount of compensation for that taking, unless waived by the vehicle manufacturer.

(e) The Agency shall periodically conduct surveys to determine whether the information requirements imposed by this Section are being fulfilled by actual field availability of the information.

(f) If the Director obtains credible evidence that a vehicle manufacturer has failed to comply with any of the requirements of this Section or the rules adopted by the Agency, the Director shall issue a notice to comply to the manufacturer. Not later than 30 days after issuance of the notice to comply, the vehicle manufacturer shall submit to the Director a compliance plan, unless within that 30-day period the manufacturer requests an administrative hearing to contest the basis or scope of the notice to comply in accordance with subsection (g) of this Section. The Director shall accept the compliance plan if it provides adequate demonstration that the manufacturer will come into compliance with this Section and the Agency's implementing rules within 45 days after submission of the plan. However, the Director may extend the compliance period if the Director determines that the violation cannot be remedied within that period.

(g) If the vehicle manufacturer contests a notice to comply under subsection (f) of this Section or the Director rejects the compliance plan submitted by the manufacturer, an administrative hearing shall be conducted by a hearing officer appointed by the Agency, in accordance with procedures established by the Agency. The hearing procedures shall provide the manufacturer and any other interested party at least 30 days notice of the hearing. If, after the hearing, the hearing officer appointed by the Agency finds that the vehicle manufacturer has failed to comply with any of the requirements of this Section or the rules adopted by the Agency, and the manufacturer fails to correct the violation with 30 days after the date of the finding, the hearing officer may impose a civil penalty upon the manufacturer in an amount not to exceed $25,000 per day per violation until the violation is corrected, as determined in accordance with the hearing procedures established by the Agency. The hearing procedures may provide additional time for compliance prior to imposing a civil penalty. If so, the hearing officer may grant additional time for compliance if he or she determines that the violation cannot be remedied within 30 days after the finding that a violation has occurred.

(h) The Agency shall, report annually to the General Assembly on the extent to which the implementation of this Act is effective in furthering the intent and policy of this Act.

(i) Nothing in this Section is intended to authorize the infringement of intellectual property rights embodied in United States patents, trademarks, or copyrights, to the extent those rights may be exercised consistently with any other federal laws.

Section 25. Test engines. Each new vehicle or engine required under this Act to meet the emission standards established under Section 10 shall be, in all material respects, substantially the same in construction as the test vehicle or engine, as the case may be, that has been certified by the Agency in accordance with this Act. However, changes with respect to new vehicles or engines previously certified may be made if the changes do not increase emissions above the standards for those vehicles or engines as certified and are made in accordance with procedures specified by the Agency.

Section 30. Motorcycles. The Agency may, by rule, adopt emission standards for 2009 or later model-year motorcycles registered or identified by the Secretary of State that are sold in the State on or after July 1, 2008, or such later date as established by the Agency by rule.

Section 35. School busses.

(a) In lieu of certification under Section 15, the Agency may certify a new vehicle designed for exclusive use as a school bus, or a new vehicle engine intended for use in a school bus, if the Director has granted a certificate of conformity for the school bus or engine under the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1857).

(b) The Agency shall grant a certification under subsection (a) of this Section only if the manufacturer of the school bus or engine demonstrates that an engine suitable for use in the manufacturer's standard type of school bus which meets the applicable emissions standards established by the Agency under Section 10 is not available for installation.

(c) The Agency, prior to granting a certification under subsection (a) of this Section, shall require a showing by the manufacturer of the school bus or engine of a good faith effort to procure or manufacture an engine which meets the standards established by the Agency under Section 10 and, in the case of the school bus manufacturer, a good faith effort to accomplish a school bus redesign to accommodate such an engine. In the absence of these showings, the Agency shall not grant a certification under subsection (a) of this Section.

Section 90. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by adding Section 13B-80 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/13B-80 new)

Sec. 13B-80. Vehicle emissions act. Nothing in this Chapter 13B shall limit the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Vehicle Emissions Act.