N.J.S. § 39:8-2 Inspectors of Motor Vehicles; Rules, Regulations

• Library: New Jersey Permanent Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through L. 2023, c. 194.
• Year: 2023
• Citation: N.J.S. § 39:8-2

a. The commission may designate and appoint, subject to existing laws, competent inspectors of motor vehicles to conduct examinations, other than the periodic inspections required pursuant to subsection b. of this section, of motor vehicles required to be inspected in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The inspectors may be delegated to enforce the provisions of the motor vehicle and traffic law.

b.

(1) The commission shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L. 1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations consistent with P.L. 1966, c.16 (C.26:2C-8.1 et seq.) and with the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act with respect to the type and character of the inspections to be made, the facility at which the vehicle shall be inspected, the frequency of inspections of motor vehicles and the approval or rejection of motor vehicles as a result of these inspections. These rules and regulations shall require the use of inspection tests that are designed to meet the enhanced inspection and maintenance requirements of the federal Clean Air Act and that have been proven to be feasible and effective for the inspection of large numbers of motor vehicles, except that these tests shall not include the "I/M 240" test. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the use of the "I/M 240" test in sampling for performance evaluations only or the use of the test at the option of a private inspection facility. The rules and regulations may distinguish between vehicles based on model year, type, or other vehicle characteristics in order to facilitate inspections or to comply with the federal Clean Air Act.

(2) The Department of Environmental Protection and the commission shall investigate advanced testing technologies, including but not limited to remote sensing and onboard diagnostics, and shall, to the extent permitted by law, pursue the use of such technologies, other than the "I/M 240" test, in motor vehicle emission inspections required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act. The commission shall adopt, to the extent practicable, advanced technologies to facilitate the retrieval of testing and other information concerning motor vehicles, which technologies shall include but not be limited to the use of computer bar codes and personal cards containing encoded information, such as a person's operating license, motor vehicle registration, and motor vehicle insurance, the inspection status of a motor vehicle, and mass transit fares, that can be accessed quickly by a computer.

c. Except as modified by the commission to distribute evenly the volume of inspections, all motor vehicles required by the commission, in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 39:8-1, to be inspected under this chapter shall be inspected biennially, except that:

(i) after certification by the commission of the federal approval by the Environmental Protection Agency of the State waiver request, model year 2006 and newer motor vehicles shall be inspected no later than five years from the last day of the month in which they were initially registered and thereafter biennially and a decal affixed thereto shall so indicate. Motor vehicles five model years old or newer, purchased in a foreign jurisdiction, and to be registered in this State, shall be subject to inspection not later than five years from the last day of the last calendar month of the model year of the vehicle, and thereafter, inspected biennially and a decal affixed thereto shall so indicate. Whenever a used motor vehicle five model years old or newer is purchased in this or any other state which has affixed thereto an unexpired decal issued pursuant to this paragraph or an unexpired New Jersey inspection certificate of approval and is initially registered by the purchaser in this State, the unexpired decal or unexpired New Jersey inspection certificate of approval displayed on the windshield shall be valid for the remaining time indicated thereon. Upon expiration of the decal or inspection certificate of approval, such vehicle shall be subject to inspection and inspected biennially thereafter; and