BATON ROUGE - Residents in East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Iberville and Livingston parishes will still be required to receive federal vehicle emissions testing despite the elimination of the state vehicle inspection sticker.

Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill into law in June that will replace the state vehicle inspection sticker with a $6 QR code starting at the beginning of next year.

After Landry signed the bill, many residents began to wonder if emissions testing would be required. The federal emissions test has been a requirement for 33 years and costs an additional $8. 

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality told WBRZ on Tuesday that, as of now, emissions testing requirements will remain in effect. Existing emissions inspections will continue operations, LDEQ said in an email. 

"State agencies are working together to ensure continued compliance with federal air quality standards while coordinating with federal partners on implementation," LDEQ said.

The author of the bill, State Rep. Larry Bagley, had tried to eliminate the inspection sticker for almost 10 years. Lawmakers did not begin to advance the bill until this year, when Landry expressed his support for it. 

When Bagley put the bill together, he said he was not aware of the emissions test because he is a resident of Shreveport, where the tests are not required.