1. (a) All 1975 and newer year model passenger cars and light-duty trucks registered in any designated county or presented for inspection in any designated county must be inspected, as part of, and at the time of, the required annual vehicle inspection and parameter vehicle inspection under the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program and the rules of the department applicable to the particular year model. Provided, that a vehicle is not subject to an initial vehicle idle emission inspection until after the date of the second anniversary of the vehicle's first sale. On vehicles originally sold and registered in Texas, it will be presumed that the date of the second anniversary of the vehicle's first sale will be upon the expiration of the two year safety inspection certificate unless the person seeking the safety inspection presents appropriate proof otherwise. On all vehicles that do not have a two year safety certificate it will be presumed that the date of the second anniversary of the vehicle's first sale will be the last day of September of the year model of the vehicle, unless the person seeking the safety inspection certificate presents appropriate proof otherwise. Appropriate proof will be in the form of any one of the following documents that include the date of the first sale: a bill of sale; a retail installment contract; the manufacturer's statement of origin; a purchase agreement; an extended warranty contract; or the first issued registration receipt. After the date of the second anniversary of the vehicle's first sale a vehicle may not be issued an annual safety inspection certificate until the vehicle has passed the appropriate vehicle idle emissions inspection required for that vehicle. A person seeking a safety inspection certificate may present appropriate proof in a form approved by the department that the vehicle has passed the vehicle emissions inspection required for that vehicle. The following vehicles are exempt from all vehicle idle emission inspection requirements:

   1. (1) a vehicle registered as an antique motor vehicle under Texas Transportation Code, §502.275;
   2. (2) a vehicle registered as a classic motor vehicle under Texas Transportation Code, §502.274;
   3. (3) a vehicle required to display a slow-moving emblem as defined by Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 547.001; or
   4. (4) a circus vehicle that is registered to an entity engaged in the business of a commercial variety show featuring animal acts for public entertainment, and which is licensed by the Texas Board of Health under Chapter 824 of the Health and Safety Code.
2. (b) Certified inspectors who have successfully completed the training and testing for the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program in designated counties must perform the vehicle idle emissions inspection and maintenance inspection on all 1975 and newer-year-model passenger cars and light-duty trucks presented for inspection. For purposes of the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program described in this section, the term "designated counties" means El Paso county. Vehicle idle emission inspections shall be conducted only in certified Official Texas Vehicle Inspection Stations.
3. (c) Certified inspectors in designated counties must perform the vehicle idle emissions inspection and maintenance inspection on all 1975 and newer-year-model passenger cars and light-duty trucks presented for inspection, provided that the certified inspectors have completed the training for the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program and hold the department's current inspector's certificate for such training.
4. (d) In order to determine whether a vehicle is currently registered in a designated county, certified inspectors in designated counties and in adjoining counties shall verify the registration. Vehicles registered in designated counties will be identified by a distinguishing validation sticker as determined by the Texas Department of Transportation.
5. (e) Vehicles having been inspected under the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program and found to have met the requirements of such program in addition to all other vehicle inspection requirements will be approved by the certified inspector, who will thereafter affix to the windshield an inspection certificate with a green numeral insert designating the month in which the vehicle was inspected. The only valid inspection certificate for those vehicles subject to the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program shall be an inspection certificate with the appropriate and currently effective green numeral insert.

6. (f) Provided, that a vehicle which is registered in a designated county and which is otherwise subject to the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program need not display an inspection certificate with a green numeral insert if:

   1. (1) the vehicle is owned by a person (or persons) who does not reside within any of the territorial boundaries of the designated county; and
   2. (2) the vehicle is operated within the territorial boundaries of the designated county on not more than 15 days per calendar year.
7. (g) If a person claiming to be covered by subsection (f) of this section is prosecuted for operating a vehicle on the highways in a designated county without displaying a valid inspection certificate, the defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the circumstances as provided in subsection (f)(1) and (2) of this section exist.
8. (h) Only those certified inspectors who have successfully completed the training and testing for the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program and who have received certification for such training and testing may perform the vehicle idle emissions inspection and maintenance inspections.
9. (i) For the purposes of the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program, the term "passenger car" shall have the meaning ascribed to it by Texas Transportation Code, §541.201(12), except that motor vehicles powered by diesel fuel or any fuel other than gasoline or gasohol are not included in the meaning of passenger car, if their design precludes the use of gasoline or gasohol without modification.
10. (j) For purposes of the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program, light-duty truck means a motor vehicle with a manufacturer's gross weight of 8,500 pounds or less, which shall include, but not be limited to, pickup trucks, panel delivery trucks, and carry-all trucks, except that motor vehicles powered by diesel fuel or any fuel other than gasoline or gasohol are not included in the meaning of light-duty truck if their design precludes the use of gasoline or gasohol without modification.

11. (k) Specific inspection requirements for passenger cars and light-duty trucks in the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program are as follows:

    1. (1) Only 1975 and newer-year-model vehicles will be inspected under this program. A vehicle's idle emissions standards shall be determined by the year model of the motor vehicle's chassis or motor vehicle's engine, whichever is the newer of the two, beginning with year model 1968.
    2. (2) The exhaust emissions of all applicable vehicles shall be tested for carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon levels according to Figure 1, Vehicle Idle Emissions Standards.
12. (l) The vehicle idle emissions inspection and maintenance fee is established, for the purposes of this section, as $6.00 which is in addition to the statutory inspection fee. The additional fee shall be charged upon completion of the vehicle idle emissions inspection and maintenance inspection, whether or not the vehicle passed the inspection.
13. (m) Pursuant to Texas Transportation Code, §548.405, willful failure to comply with these rules may result in revocation or suspension of an inspection station's certificate of appointment or the certified inspector's certificate.
14. (n) Pursuant to Texas Transportation Code, §548.601, any person operating on the highways in a designated county, a passenger car or light-duty truck currently registered in that county and required by this section to be inspected under the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program, without the valid inspection certificate as described in subsection (e) of this section, may be subject to prosecution and, if convicted, may be punished by a fine in an amount not to exceed that set out in Texas Transportation Code, §548.604.
15. (o) Inspection certificates issued prior to the effective date of this section shall be valid and shall remain in effect until the expiration date thereof.
16. (p) The Public Safety Commission authorizes the director of the Department of Public Safety to promulgate, publish, and distribute necessary manuals of instruction for the implementation of the Vehicle Idle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Program in a manner not inconsistent with these rules. Such manuals shall be available for public inspection at reasonable times at offices of the department, as designated by the director, throughout the state.

Source Note:The provisions of this §23.92 adopted to be effective December 25, 1995, 20 TexReg 10390; amended to be effective November 18, 1996, 21 TexReg 10991.