(a)  Notwithstanding Section 43012, for the purpose of enforcing or administering Section 27156 of the Vehicle Code, the executive officer of the state board or an authorized representative of the executive officer, upon presentation of credentials or, if necessary under the circumstances, after obtaining a warrant pursuant to Title 13 (commencing with Section 1822.50) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, has the right of entry to any premises owned, operated, used, leased, or rented by an owner or operator of any vehicle operated for commercial purposes in order to inspect any such motor vehicle, secure emission samples therefrom, or inspect and copy any maintenance, use, or other records pertaining to that vehicle.

(b)  The state board may collect a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for each violation of Section 27156 of the Vehicle Code. Any penalties shall be paid to the Treasurer for deposit in the Air Pollution Control Fund.

(c)  The civil penalty specified in subdivision (b) may be collected for one or more violations involving the tampering with or disabling of a gasoline-powered vehicle’s air injection, exhaust gas recirculation, crankcase ventilation, fuel injection, carburetion, ignition timing, or evaporative control system, fuel filler neck restrictor, oxygen sensor or related electronic controls, or catalytic converter, or for the use of leaded fuel in a vehicle certified for the use of unleaded fuel only.

(d)  The civil penalty specified in subdivision (b) may not be collected for a violation that is related to any tampering or disabling of a gasoline-powered vehicle specified in subdivision (c) by a rental customer of that vehicle, including, but not limited to, a missing gasoline filler cap and a disconnected or missing heated air intake tube or vacuum hose. However, if more than 20 percent of an owner’s or operator’s gasoline-powered vehicles are found to be nonconforming during each of three consecutive inspections conducted 30 or more days apart during any one-year period, the civil penalty specified in subdivision (b) applies and shall be collected for each time a vehicle is found in a nonconforming condition.

(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1154, Sec. 3.)