49-551. Air quality fee; air quality fund; purpose

A. Every person who is required to register a motor vehicle in this state pursuant to section 28-2153 shall pay, in addition to the registration fee, an annual air quality fee at the time of vehicle registration of one dollar fifty cents. Unless and until the United States environmental protection agency grants a waiver for diesel fuel pursuant to section 211(c)(4) of the clean air act, every person who is required to register a diesel powered motor vehicle in this state with a declared gross weight as defined in section 28-5431 of more than eight thousand five hundred pounds and every person who is subject to an apportioned fee for diesel powered motor vehicles collected pursuant to title 28, chapter 7, articles 7 and 8 shall pay an additional apportioned diesel fee of ten dollars.

B. The registering officer shall collect the fees and immediately deposit, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, the air quality fees in the air quality fund established pursuant to subsection C of this section and shall deposit the diesel fees in the voluntary vehicle repair and retrofit program fund established pursuant to section 49-474.03.

C. An air quality fund is established consisting of monies received pursuant to this section, gifts, grants and donations, and monies appropriated by the legislature. The department of environmental quality shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to the lapsing of appropriations. Interest earned on monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Monies in the air quality fund shall be used, subject to legislative appropriation, for:

1. Air quality research, experiments and programs conducted by or for the department for the purpose of bringing area A or area B into or maintaining area A or area B in attainment status, improving air quality in areas of this state outside area A or area B and reducing emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants throughout the state.

2. Monitoring visible air pollution and developing and implementing programs to reduce emissions of pollutants that contribute to visible air pollution in counties with a population of four hundred thousand persons or more.

3. Developing and adopting rules in compliance with sections 49-426.03, 49-426.04, 49-426.05 and 49-426.06.

D. The department shall transfer four hundred thousand dollars from the air quality fund to the department of administration for the purposes prescribed by section 49-588 in eight installments in each of the first eight months of a fiscal year.

E. This section does not apply to an electrically powered golf cart or an electrically powered vehicle.