• The CARB enforcement program is designed to deter noncompliance and to bring into compliance regulated entities that have not met regulatory requirements.
• To resolve violations, CARB uses civil litigation, administrative penalties, and criminal prosecution.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) enforcement program is designed to deter noncompliance and to bring into compliance regulated entities that have not met CARB’s regulatory requirements.

CARB’s enforcement program:

• Identifies, assesses, and resolves violations; and
• Strives to ensure fair and consistent treatment of each responsible party when applying the laws and regulations to each case.

To resolve violations, CARB uses three types of legal processes:

• Civil litigation: In cases where a mutual settlement cannot be reached, CARB may refer the matter to the Attorney General for civil litigation. As part of the civil process, CARB can obtain a court order or injunction to stop ongoing violations.
• Administrative penalties: CARB has the authority to seek administrative penalties for some violations. In this process, administrative hearings are conducted by administrative law judges using CARB’s administrative hearing procedures.
• Criminal prosecution: In some cases, CARB may identify potential criminal violations. In those instances, the case may be referred to the Attorney General, a District Attorney, or other prosecutors for criminal prosecution.

To ensure fair and consistent treatment of each responsible party when applying the laws and regulations to each case, the CARB enforcement process includes several steps:

• Identify a potential violation. CARB learns about potential violations through inspections, tips from the public, data analysis, referrals from other agencies, mandatory emissions reporting, and voluntary disclosure.
• Evaluate relevant information. Enforcement staff evaluates the information collected to determine violations of requirements. When more information is needed, CARB works with the responsible party to obtain information to identify and assess potential violations.
• Notify the responsible party. CARB may issue a citation, notice of violation, or equivalent document when the evidence is sufficient and a violation could be proven in court. CARB may also initiate a vehicle registration hold through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Once issued, a registration hold precludes a vehicle from being registered until the violation is cleared.
• Discuss/negotiate the violation with the responsible party. The responsible party has the opportunity to provide evidence to prove a violation did not occur. The discussion often becomes the negotiation between CARB and the responsible party that leads to a mutual settlement and case resolution.

Penalties

A key component of the settlement process is the determination of an appropriate penalty. Penalties are designed to:

• Remove any economic benefit a responsible party obtained through noncompliance, and
• Deter future violations across the industry.

While maximum penalties are established by statute, CARB measures the severity of the violation by considering all relevant circumstances, including the eight statutory factors, together with general considerations that apply to all penalty determinations.

When imposing penalties, CARB considers the following factors:

• The extent of harm to public health, safety, and welfare caused by the violation;
• The nature and persistence of the violation, including the magnitude of the excess emissions;
• The compliance history of the defendant, including the frequency of past violations;
• The preventative efforts taken by the defendant, including the record of maintenance and any program to ensure compliance;
• The innovative nature and the magnitude of the effort required to comply as well as the accuracy, reproducibility, and repeatability of the available test methods;
• The efforts of the defendant to attain, or provide for, compliance prior to the violation;
• The cooperation of the defendant during the investigation and any action taken by the defendant, including the nature, extent, and time of response of any action taken to mitigate the violation; and
• The financial burden to the defendant.

Maximum penalties are adjusted annually based on the California Consumer Price Index (California CPI). Each year, the CARB Enforcement Division publishes a memo documenting the changes to the California CPI and the resultant adjusted maximum penalties.

Public enforcement reports

CARB’s Enforcement Data Portal highlights CARB's enforcement efforts across the state, summarizes recently closed cases, and reports detailed statistics about enforcement-related program activities.