H.R. 724, "A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to remove the requirement for dealer certification of new light-duty motor vehicles"

H.R. 724, introduced by Rep. Robert Latta (R-OH) and Rep. Gary Peters (D-MI), amends the Clean Air Act to remove a requirement for auto dealers to provide specified documentation to new car purchasers related to pollution control systems installed in the vehicles.  The legislation strikes Section 207(h)(1) of the Clean Air Act, which requires the dealer to provide a certificate to each purchaser of a new passenger car or truck certifying that the vehicle conforms to pollution control requirements.  The certificate also must detail the manufacturer’s obligations under the required warranty for the vehicle’s pollution controls. 

Due to changes in automotive production, this requirement no longer serves any useful purpose.  The certification requirement was added to the Clean Air Act in the 1977 Amendments.  At that time, catalytic converters for pollution control were often installed at the dealership, and the certification requirement was intended to ensure dealers were installing working pollution control measures.  Today, pollution controls are built into the vehicles by the manufacturers, who are fully responsible for the functioning of the pollution control equipment.  Additionally, the requirement to provide pollution control warranty information to the vehicle purchaser is also established by existing, more detailed, regulatory requirements authorized under other sections of the Clean Air Act.

The bill was signed into law on June 9, 2014, as Public Law 113-109.