State Rep.

Jaret Gibbons, D-10th, last week introduced a concurrent resolution asking Congress to re-evaluate the enhanced vehicle emissions inspection program required by an amendment to the federal Clean Air Act in 1990.“The emissions testing program has helped to reduce pollution from vehicles and improve air quality, but may have outlived its usefulness,” Gibbons said.“With many Pennsylvanians living on a tight budget, Congress should examine whether emissions testing is unnecessarily costly to drivers with updated vehicles and still relevant and fair today.”Technological advances in the last decade have made vehicles run much cleaner, he said, which is why at least 95 percent of vehicles pass.Gibbons said emissions inspections are unfair as they are only required for residents in 25 of the state’s 67 counties: Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Cambria, Centre, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Washington, Westmoreland and York.“The inherent unfairness is clear in Ellwood City. Residents on the Beaver County side of Division Avenue with a new car must get an emissions inspection annually, but a person living directly across the street in Lawrence County who drives a 1979 pickup doesn’t need one.”Most passenger vehicles from model year 1975 and newer are required to have an emissions inspection in Pennsylvania once a year during or before the vehicle’s annual safety inspection.Private garages and dealers set the price of the emissions inspection fee, which typically ranges from $25 to $40, pass or fail.