Section 44017 Of Article 2. Program Requirements From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 26. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 2.
44017
. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section or Section
44017.1, a motor vehicle owner shall qualify for a repair cost waiver
only after expenditure of not less than four hundred fifty dollars
($450) for repairs, including parts and labor.
(b) The limit established pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not
become operative until the department issues a public notice
declaring that the program established pursuant to Section 44010.5 is
operational in the relevant geographical areas of the state, or
until the date that testing in those geographic areas is operative
using loaded mode test equipment, as defined in this article,
whichever occurs first. Prior to that time, the following cost limits
shall remain in effect:
(1) For motor vehicles of 1971 and earlier model years, fifty
dollars ($50).
(2) For motor vehicles of 1972 to 1974, inclusive, model years,
ninety dollars ($90).
(3) For motor vehicles of 1975 to 1979, inclusive, model years,
one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125).
(4) For motor vehicles of 1980 to 1989, inclusive, model years,
one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175).
(5) For motor vehicles of 1990 to 1995, inclusive, model years,
three hundred dollars ($300).
(6) For motor vehicles of 1996 and later model years, four hundred
fifty dollars ($450).
(c) The department shall periodically revise the repair cost
limits specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) in accordance with
changes in the Consumer Price Index, as published by the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(d) No repair cost limit shall be imposed in those cases where
emissions control equipment is missing or is partially or totally
inoperative as a result of being tampered with.
(e) (1) No repair cost waiver shall be issued where a motor
vehicle has failed the visible smoke test created by the department
pursuant to Section 44012.1, unless paragraph (2) applies, or the
vehicle is owned by a low-income person, as defined in Section
44062.1 in which case the repair cost limit applicable pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 44017.1 shall apply.
(2) By January 1, 2008, the department shall adopt regulations
allowing a repair cost waiver, with the repair cost limit specified
in subdivision (a), where a motor vehicle has failed the visible
smoke test component of a smog check inspection, for individuals
under economic hardship but who do not meet the definition of
low-income person, as defined in Section 44062.1. The regulations
shall make eligible for the waiver those individuals whose household
means fall below the level necessary to achieve a modest standard of
living without assistance from public programs. The department shall
consult authoritative information sources including, but not limited
to, the United States Census Bureau, the Department of Finance, and
the California Budget Project.