A bill that would pump the brakes on smog check requirements for certain classic cars got the green light from a group of legislators last week.
Sponsored by comedian and car enthusiast Jay Leno, the bill would exempt collector cars that are at least 35 model years old from biennial smog check inspections. It would also exempt those vehicles from smog checks upon the transfer of ownership.
The current version of the bill, which has yet to be considered by the full legislature, is opposed by some lawmakers who fear it would let high-polluting older cars stay on the road.
California law requires smog checks on cars at initial registration, and biennially upon the renewal of the registration, and again if ownership is transferred. Cars that have a manufactured year of 1975 or earlier, and are defined as a collector vehicle, can be exempt from certain smog tests. But those vehicles also must meet emissions standards and pass inspections for fuel cap and liquid fuel leaks, according to a fact sheet from Sen. Shannon Grove’s office.
It’s expensive to own cars made between 1976-1990, Grove’s office said, because “continued maintenance of these older emissions systems has become very costly and labor intensive.”
Grove’s bill, dubbed “Leno’s Law” after the former “The Tonight Show” host, would exempt cars that are at least 35 years old from smog inspections. The Bakersfield Republican said this would allow for “more people to engage in this unique car culture.”
Only about 1% of the 30 million registered cars in California are considered collector cars, and Grove told the Senate Transportation Committee last week that such cars typically are used for charitable functions, display, parades or shows.
“This bill ensures California remains a welcoming home for car culture — whether you’re restoring a ’76 Trans Am, cruising in a lowrider or just visiting your local classic car show,” Grove said. “We’re embracing the history, innovation and pride of these collector cars.”
The bill has bipartisan support, including from Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, who chairs the Transportation Committee.
Sens. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera; Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta; Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach; and Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, were among those who advanced the bill out of committee.
“Most of these cars are not your everyday cars,” said Strickland. “People drive their everyday car. But this is a car for enjoyment on a weekend, parade, things like that.”
Archuleta, whose district includes Brea and Placentia, said he has a 1967 Oldsmobile 442 that is tuned up twice a year. He said he and his wife have spent time searching for the original rims and tires. They also found the car’s original ashtray.
But Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat who represents southern Orange County communities, said she cannot support the bill because of environmental reasons. She also said she felt the bill should have been heard in the Environmental Quality Committee, which she chairs.
Blakespear said she reads the bill to mean that any car that is older than 1990 could get around having a smog check, and that such an exemption would “incentivize people to keep older, smoggier, junkier cars.”
“I’m not an absolute purist on this,” she said. “If this bill was modified to say that this is for cars that are driven less than 1,000 miles a year, they’re towed to the parade and then they’re driven in the parade, I would be willing to consider something like that as long as there was a check on the fact that the car was actually a collector and that it was very minimally used.”
“But to me, the breadth of this bill indicates that there will be a lot of cars that essentially have the exemption swallowing the rule,” she said. “So we will have cars that are kept in circulation that wouldn’t be otherwise. It will be broader than we think.”
Blakespear, along with Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-San Fernando Valley, were the only no votes in the committee.
Leno said he drives electric cars during the week, but weekends are reserved for working on the classics. He hosts a show on YouTube detailing restoration projects and other automotive content.
In a statement, Leno said, “California helped invent car culture — from lowriders in East L.A. to muscle cars in the Central Valley.”
“These cars tell the story,” Leno said. “These vehicles are driven occasionally, not daily, and it just makes sense to treat them differently.”
While at the statehouse to advocate for SB 712, Leno drove Grove around the Capitol in a 1976 Pontiac Trans-Am, the Sacramento Bee reported.
In other news
• The Assembly passed a resolution from Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster, honoring Sylvia Mendez, whose family was instrumental in the effort to end segregation laws in schools around the country. The resolution designates Monday, April 14 as Sylvia Mendez Day.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law last year legislation that made the landmark court case involving the Mendezes and other families in ending segregation laws a mandatory element of history and social science classes in California’s public schools.