BEIJING, June 24 -- Local governments must solicit public opinion before imposing driving restrictions to lower air pollution, a draft amendment to the Air Pollution Control Law reads.

The draft amendment -- tabled for a second reading Wednesday by the top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee -- gave provincial-level governments the authority to decide on driving restrictions but said they must take into account air pollution and vehicle emissions.

And "they must first solicit opinion from the public, experts and trade associations."

Public opinion will also be sought when setting air quality and air pollutant emission standards, according to the draft amendment, which added that the standards should be subject to regular assessment and revision.

The development came just as a spell of choking smog shrouded Beijing and the neighboring Tianjin municipality and Hebei Province.

The environment ministry said skies in the notoriously smoggy Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are unlikely to clear up until Sunday, adding that it had asked cities in the region to activate emergency plans, including imposing driving restrictions, in case of heavy smog.

One year after the world's second-largest economy "declared war" on pollution following decades of pursuing growth at the expense of air, water and soil quality, air pollution remains the top concern of many citizens, particularly those living in big, industrial cities in central and eastern parts of the country.

According to a communique released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection earlier this month, only 16 of the 161 major cities subject to air quality monitoring met the national standards for clean air in 2014.