The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a)
California’s air is the most polluted in the nation and the largest source of that pollution is automobiles.
(b)
California has the most stringent new car emission standards in the nation as well as a vehicle inspection (smog check) program that result in most cars producing very little pollution.
(c)
A small percentage of automobiles cause a disproportionate and significant amount of the air pollution in California.
(d)
These gross polluters are primarily vehicles in which the emission control equipment has been disconnected or which are very poorly maintained.
(e)
New technologies, such as remote sensing, can identify gross polluters on the roads, enabling law enforcement authorities to stop, inspect, and cite vehicles with disconnected emission control equipment, and can promote the development of incentives for the repair of other high-emitting vehicles.
(f)
Requiring owners to reconnect emission control equipment and developing incentives for needed maintenance on high-emitting vehicles may be cost-effective methods to reduce emissions and help achieve air quality standards in many districts.