3102                                      LAWS OF MARYLAND                                    Ch. 492

WHEREAS, The State has diligently pursued its State
Implementation Plan with a mandatory inspection and
maintenance program as a part of that plan for 1983 through
1987; and

WHEREAS, The State has gone forward with the
preliminary and implementation phases of the mandatory
program by contracting with a firm that has agreed to
install and operate the inspection facilities; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly is wary of making
statutory changes that could result in the loss of certain
federal funds to the State; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly is ay/are of a certain
changing attitude toward the Federal Clean Air Act on
Capitol Hill and of certain federal legislative proposals
that would relax the requirements of that Act so that a
state could make changes to its State Implementation Plan
without fear of federal cutbacks; and

WHEREAS, The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency has made recent public statements
indicating opposition to federally mandated vehicle
inspection and maintenance programs; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly is in Session for only 90
days and it is unlikely such federal action will be taken by
the time of adjournment of the General Assembly on April 12,
1982; and

WHEREAS, Because the mandatory inspection and
maintenance program is statutorily required to take effect
before the General Assembly convenes for the 1983 Session,
the General Assembly feels it is necessary to modify the
date of implementation in order that it is deferred until
such time as it is more likely that a definitive federal
position has been established; and

WHEREAS, This deferral will allow the General    Assembly

during its 1983 Session to evaluate and modify, or      repeal,

if appropriate, the program in light of the Federal
position; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly intends to pursue, in

good faith, the attainment of the ambient     air quality

standards established by the U.S. Environmental     Protection
Agency; now, therefore,

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That section(s) of the Annotated Code of Maryland
read(s) as follows: