Can a Tennessee city require taxicabs from outside the county to pass the city county's vehicle emissions test before operating in the city?

Subject

Opinion No. 15-38, Authority of City to Require Vehicles Registered in Other Counties to Pass Emissions Tests, April 22, 2015

Plain-English summary

A Chattanooga city council member asked whether the city could require taxicabs operating in Chattanooga to pass Hamilton County's vehicle emissions test, even if the cabs were registered in some other Tennessee county that did not have an emissions program. The AG said no. Tennessee law channels vehicle registration to specific counties (the owner's home county, or the county where the vehicle is based) and ties emissions testing to that registration process. Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson counties were the only counties where vehicles had to pass an emissions test as a condition of registration. A vehicle registered in any other county did not have to pass any emissions test, and a city could not require what state law expressly did not require. Any such ordinance would conflict with state law and be unenforceable.

The AG added a guardrail in the other direction: a Hamilton County resident or business could not dodge the emissions test by registering its taxicabs in a county where it had no residence, no base of operations, and no commercial connection. County clerks were authorized to verify that an owner actually qualified for registration in their county before issuing it.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

In particular, Tennessee's vehicle emissions inspection program was substantially overhauled later in the decade and emissions testing has been discontinued in several of the originally designated counties. Anyone trying to apply this opinion today should check Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-03-29 and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's current vehicle inspection guidance.

Common questions

Why did Chattanooga want to do this?

Taxicabs operating in Chattanooga but registered outside Hamilton County were not subject to Hamilton's emissions standards, so they competed with locally registered cabs without bearing the same cost. The proposed ordinance would have closed that gap by tying the emissions test to operation in the city rather than to registration in the county.

What was the legal problem with that approach?

Tennessee law specifies where a vehicle must be registered: the owner's county of residence, or the county where the vehicle is based or to be operated. The emissions test, in turn, was a condition of registration in the six designated counties. A city ordinance requiring the emissions test for vehicles registered elsewhere would impose a requirement state law did not impose, and would interfere with the registration scheme. Tennessee cities have only the powers granted to them by the General Assembly, and cannot regulate in a way that conflicts with state law.

Could a taxicab company dodge the emissions test by registering its cabs in a non-emissions county?

Not legitimately. The statute restricts where a vehicle may be registered. A Chattanooga-based business operating cabs in Hamilton County would not qualify to register them in some other county where it had no residence, no principal office, and no actual base of operations. County clerks have statutory authority to verify residency or business location before issuing or renewing registrations, and a registration secured by misrepresenting those facts would itself be improper.

Which counties required emissions testing in 2015?

Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson. The state Air Pollution Control Board designated these counties based on attainment of national ambient air quality standards. The current list may differ from the 2015 list (see the Currency note above).

Background and statutory framework

A motor vehicle could not be operated on Tennessee streets and highways unless it was properly registered (Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(a)(1)), and registration had to be done in either the owner's county of residence or in a county where the vehicle was based or was to be operated (Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(c)). Commercial vehicle registrations could also be renewed in the county of the owner's principal place of business, the county of incorporation in the case of corporate owners, or any other county where the owner kept an office or place of business (Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-105(e)(1)).

Emissions testing was layered on top of registration. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(d)(2), the Commissioner of Revenue could not issue a registration for a vehicle based in a county that the state Air Pollution Control Board had designated as needing an emissions inspection program, except in compliance with the Board's rules. The Board's rules (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-03-29) implemented annual emissions inspections in the designated counties: Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson. Inspections were conducted by the state, designated local governments, or state-approved contractors, not by cities acting independently.

Because Tennessee cities exercise only powers granted by the state, an ordinance that conflicts with state law is preempted and unenforceable. The AG's earlier opinion already had to confront the fact that registration and emissions testing in designated counties are "inextricably linked" by statute, and the city could not separate them.

Citations

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(a)(1) (operation requires registration)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(c) (where to register)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(d)(2) (registration in designated emissions counties)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-105(a)(2) (county clerk verification authority)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-105(e)(1) (commercial vehicle renewal options)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-201-104 (Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-201-119 (emissions inspection program at registration)
• Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-03-29-.03, .05, .06, .09 (emissions inspection rules)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2015/op15-38.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
April 22, 2015
Opinion No. 15-38
Authority of City to Require Vehicles Registered in Other Counties to Pass Emissions Tests

Question 1

Can the Chattanooga City Council pass a regulation requiring taxicabs to pass Hamilton County emissions tests, if the vehicles are lawfully registered outside of Hamilton County?

Opinion 1

No. Because the Chattanooga City Council cannot require motor vehicles that are lawfully registered in another Tennessee county to be registered in Hamilton County, the Council cannot require motor vehicles lawfully registered in another county to pass Hamilton County emissions tests.

Question 2

Would such an ordinance violate State law?

Opinion 2

Yes. State law provides that motor vehicles shall be registered in the county of the owner's residence or in a county in which the vehicle is based or is to be operated. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(c). Commercial motor vehicle registrations may be renewed in the county of the owner's principal place of business, the county of incorporation in the case of a corporate owner, or any other county in which the owner or corporate owner maintains an office or place of business. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-105(e)(1). The proposed ordinance would violate these State laws by requiring motor vehicles lawfully registered in another Tennessee county to pass Hamilton County emissions tests even though those emissions tests are not required for registration of those vehicles.

Question 3

Would such an ordinance be enforceable?

Opinion 3

No. Such an ordinance would not be enforceable because it would be contrary to State law.

ANALYSIS

A motor vehicle may not be operated on the streets or highways of this State unless it is properly registered. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(a)(1). "Application for registration shall be made . . . to the county clerk of the county of the owner's residence or of a county wherein the vehicle is based or is to be operated, except that a nonresident may apply directly to the department [of Revenue] for registration." Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(c).

With regard to emissions testing, State law mandates that

[t]he commissioner [of Revenue] shall not issue a registration for a vehicle based in a county that has been designated by the Tennessee air pollution control board to have a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program in order to attain or maintain compliance with national ambient air quality standards, except in accordance with terms and conditions as are established in rules of the board.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(d)(2).

"The office of county clerk may make inquiry into an owner, including, but not limited to, review of driver records for the purpose of establishing an owner's residence or address, before issuing a renewal of registration." Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-105(a)(2). "The registration issued for a commercial vehicle may be renewed through the office of the clerk of the county of the owner's principal place of business within the state, or of the county of incorporation in the case of a corporate owner or of any other county in which the owner or corporate owner maintains an office or place of business." Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-105(e)(1).

Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-201-104 establishes the Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board. The Board must promulgate rules that "(1) [s]pecify the type of vehicle inspection and maintenance program to be established and implemented; and (2) [e]stablish that the inspection associated with the vehicle inspection and maintenance program will occur on an annual basis in connection with the vehicle registration renewal." Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-201-119. One such rule, Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-03-29-.03, requires light-duty motor vehicles registered in designated counties to be inspected annually for compliance with emissions performance and anti-tampering test criteria set forth in Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-03-29-.05 and 1200-03-29-.06. Currently, the designated counties are Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson. See Vehicle Inspection Program, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, available at http://www.tn.gov/environment/air/air_emissions-testing.shtml.

Pursuant to Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-03-29-.09(1), "[t]he motor vehicle inspection program shall be operated by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Air Pollution Control, the State approved local government and/or the State approved contractor." "All motor vehicle inspections shall be conducted at official or mobile inspection stations operated by the Department, local government and/or contractor except those fleet inspections provided for in Paragraph 1200-03-29-.09(3) of this regulation." Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-03-29-.09(2).

As the foregoing statutes and regulations indicate, motor vehicle registration and emissions testing in designated counties are inextricably linked. Because Hamilton County is a designated county, its existing emissions tests are mandated by the State as a condition precedent to motor vehicle registration and renewal.

The statutes specify that motor vehicles shall be registered in the county of the owner's residence or the county in which the vehicle is based or is to be operated, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(c), and commercial vehicle registrations may be renewed in the county of the owner's principal place of business, the county of incorporation in the case of a corporate owner, or any county in which the owner or corporate owner maintains an office or place of business, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-105(e)(1). Thus, provided that the taxicabs in question are lawfully registered in another county, Chattanooga cannot require those taxicabs to be registered in Hamilton County. For the same reason, Chattanooga cannot require taxicabs that are lawfully registered in another county to pass emissions tests required for registration in Hamilton County.

On the other hand, taxicab owners in Chattanooga cannot avoid Hamilton County emissions tests by registering their motor vehicles in another county in which they are ineligible to be registered under these statutes. Motor vehicle owners may not register their vehicles in just any county in this State. The county of registration is limited to the county of the owner's residence or a county in which the vehicle is based or is to be operated. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101(c). Commercial motor vehicle registrations may be renewed in the county of the owner's principal place of business, the county of incorporation in the case of a corporate owner, or any other county in which the owner or corporate owner maintains an office or place of business. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-105(e)(1). To enforce these requirements, county clerks are authorized to make inquiry regarding the motor vehicle owner's eligibility for registration in the county before issuing the registration. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-105(a)(2).

HERBERT H. SLATERY III
Attorney General and Reporter

ANDRÉE SOPHIA BLUMSTEIN
Solicitor General

R. MITCHELL PORCELLO
Assistant Attorney General

Requested by:
The Honorable JoAnne Favors
State Representative
35 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0102