Chapter 90F of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after Section 16, the following section:—

Section 17.  (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no commercial motor vehicle carrying within the Commonwealth any article, material, liquid, or substance identified in section 9 of chapter 148 of the General Laws shall be more than eight years old, unless the commercial motor vehicle is deemed safe and receives approval from the Highway Department following inspection on an annual basis.  The Highway Department shall make rules and regulations establishing procedures for inspection and approval within one-hundred eighty days of the passage of this act.  Any approval granted by the Highway Department shall be displayed on the exterior of the commercial motor vehicle.

(b) A commercial motor vehicle transporting any article, material, liquid, or substance identified in section 9 of chapter 148 that is operated for more than twenty-four consecutive hours must be placed out of service for a period of at least two hours to provide an opportunity for inspection and must be deemed safe by a mechanic certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) before transporting any article, material, liquid, or substance identified in section 9 of chapter 148.