Ohio2026Passed Legislature
HB115
E-Check Ease Act
Last scannedAug 25, 2026, 4:32 AM
In one sentence
This bill creates a new way for car owners to prove their vehicles meet air pollution rules by allowing them to sign an official statement instead of getting tested, and it moves testing locations to local businesses.
What it does
- Creates a decentralized inspection program that uses local auto repair shops and other established businesses as approved testing sites.
- Allows vehicle owners or lessees to request an alternative emissions certificate by signing a form stating their car follows the law instead of getting it physically inspected.
- Requires vendors to send notices to drivers at least 60 days before they must get inspected, listing nearby test sites within a specified distance.
- Extends exemptions for new cars from four years to six years and exempts hybrid vehicles that are seven years old or newer.
- Exempts battery electric motor vehicles from the inspection program entirely.
Who it affects
- Owners of motor vehicles in counties where emissions testing is required by federal law
- The Director of Environmental Protection and the Director of Administrative Services
- Local auto repair facilities and businesses that may operate as approved test sites
Limits and unknowns
- The bill only applies in counties where federal law requires an emissions inspection program.
- Specific rules for the new certificate and testing methods must be written by state officials before they take effect.
- The text does not list specific dates when these changes will begin.
Plain language
Terms to know
- E-Check program
- A state system where cars are tested to make sure they do not release too much pollution into the air.
- Alternative emissions certificate
- An official document a driver can get by signing a form that says their car follows emission laws, instead of getting it physically inspected.
- Decentralized program
- A system where testing happens at many different local locations like repair shops rather than just one central place.
Official record
Sources
Official summary
Enact the E-Check Ease Act
Official activity
Bill history
- As Introduced