It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 31-47.1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-47.1 entitled "Motor Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program" is hereby amended to read as follows:

31-47.1-3. Inspection requirement. -- (a) Beginning no later than April {ADD July ADD} 1, 1997, each motor vehicle subject to the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a motor vehicle emissions inspection, conducted biennially.

(b) Motor vehicles subject to this chapter shall be determined by regulations, and shall include, but not necessarily be limited to: all 1968 and later model year light duty vehicles and light duty trucks up to and including eight thousand five hundred pounds (8,500 lbs.) gross vehicle weight rating.

(c) Any motor vehicle which is inspected and found not to comply with the standards and criteria for motor vehicle emissions inspections must, within thirty (30) days of the inspection, be reinspected and found to comply with the standards and criteria for motor vehicle emissions inspections, or have received a waiver certificate, or not be operated on the highways of the state.

(d) Any certificate issued under this chapter shall always be carried in an easily accessible place in or about the vehicle for which the certificate was issued.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.