Motor Vehicle Emission Control Act of 1987
Latest action. Referred to subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Health and the Environment.
Motor Vehicle Emission Control Act of 1987 - Amends the Clean Air Act to establish emission standards for light-duty and heavy duty vehicles and engines, including diesels, for: (1) carbon monoxide; (2) oxides of nitrogen; (3) particulates; and (4) hydrocarbons. Sets emissions standards for hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide for motorcycles. Requires onboard hydrocarbon control technology to recover emissions from the fueling of light-duty vehicles. Requires the regulation of formaldehyde emissions from non-gasoline fueled vehicles. Prohibits the manufacture or sale of engines requiring leaded gasoline. Requires the regulation of carbon monoxide emissions over a specified temperature range. Doubles the life of light-duty vehicles and engines for purposes of standards established by this Act. Requires each of a manufacturer's vehicles and engines, not the average, to meet each of the emissions standards of this Act. Requires certificates of conformity to be suspended or revoked if fewer than 90 percent of new vehicles or engines tested in a sampling period conform with applicable regulations. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to use State information when making determinations of nonconformity. Requires the Administrator to establish an additional testing center at high altitude conditions to ascertain conformance with emissions standards throughout a vehicle's useful life. Revises civil penalties for violations of this Act, including those for tampering with environmental control devises. Requires States with vehicle inspection and maintenance programs to adopt quality control audits. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on significant repeated or common defects and actions taken to remedy such defects. Requires motor vehicles to be labeled with the full warranty costs under the Clean Air Act's emissions requirements. Prohibits high altitude emission standard exemptions. Limits the sulfur content of diesel fuel. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on the adequacy of such standards for achieving particulate emission standards. Limits the Reid vapor pressure of gasoline. Regulates fuel sales in nonattainment areas for oxygen content. Requires the Administrator to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the use of such fuels. Modifies civil penalties for violations of fuel and additives requirements.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 17, 1987. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 21, 1988: Referred to Subcommittee on Health and the Environment.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 100th Congress (1987-88), 713 of the 9,582 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 7.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
DAVID SKAGGS (D-CO) introduced it on December 17, 1987. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 17, 1987, 14148 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 14113 days ago, on January 21, 1988.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 100th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1989 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers