Leno's Law - Is it a slide towards dirty air?

 

I've started this three or four times already, and even now I'm not sure I want to jump into the fray. 

I've always been a car guy. I am the son of a car guy. I love performance cars; I've owned a few. I also love the environment. I worked for the California Bureau of Automotive Repair, partly enforcing the smog check program.

Leno's Law, or more correctly SB 712, is flawed in my opinion. First let's look at what SB 712 wants to do - exempt all vehicles 1990 and older from any smog inspection. People say that it exempts "collector cars" that are 35 years old or older. But what exactly is a collector car?

Google's AI says this "A collector car, in general terms, is a vehicle that is kept in good condition and used primarily for shows, parades, and exhibitions rather than daily driving. It's often a classic, vintage, or antique car that has become popular, desirable, or rare due to its brand, model, or historical significance. These cars are typically well-maintained and can increase in value over time." Sounds fairly specific to me.

SB 712 wipes out completely what defined a collector car. The original language stated that to be a collector car a vehicle must "(A) Submission of proof that the motor vehicle is insured as a collector motor vehicle, as shall be required by regulation of the bureau: (B) The motor vehicle is at least 35 model years old" That sounds reasonable to me but SB 712 erases all of that and simply states that a vehicle must be at least 35 years old.

Really? Is the author saying that any vehicle over 35 years old is collectible? 

Nowhere in any of the writing have I seen even a guesstimate of how many vehicles might be involved. Sure I've heard some people say there are not many old cars that still around. I think that depends on where you live.

Has anyone asked DMV how many vehicles from 1976 through 1990 ('75 is the current cutoff year for smog exemptions) are currently registered?

I was a member of the Inspection and Maintenance Review Committee from 2001 until October 2010. We often looked at exemptions for old vehicles. If my memory serves me correctly DMV could not, or would not, give us a breakdown of the number of older vehicles. Wouldn't a number of vehicles by age be relevant to any exemption?

An argument in favor of SB 712 is "collector cars are not daily drivers." Maybe your Lambo or Ferrari isn't a daily driver but what about all the others? Given that many cars from the mid-'80s to 1990 are considered to be part of the modern era, and given that some of them have already had their emission equipment ripped off, and given that they are often daily drivers I see smog pollution increasing.

Right now a huge number of vehicles are exempt from a smog inspection. Here's a list from DMV: 

    Your vehicle does not need a smog inspection if your:

• Gasoline-powered vehicle is a 1975 year model or older (This includes motorcycles and trailers.)

• Diesel-powered vehicle is a 1997 and older year model OR with a Gross Vehicle Weight of more than 14,000 pounds.

• Powered by natural gas and weighs more than 14,000 pounds. 

• An electric vehicle.

• Gasoline-powered and less than eight model-years old.

You know who pays for all those exemptions? The rest of us who have a vehicle that does not fall into any of those categories. Smog test equipment is not cheap. A smog check station depends on a large enough pool of vehicles to make a profit. As the pool shrinks they have to increase their prices or close up shop.

In 2023 about 1.77-million new cars were sold in California. Prior years were lower but not by much. So let's say 1.5-million cars per year for seven years; that's 10.5 million cars out of the approximate 30-million cars registered in California are exempt right off the top. I would posit that if passed, SB 712 might increase the vehicles exempt to nearly 50% of all vehicles. That is a lot of possible smog!

An argument I've heard a few times about why collector cars should be exempt is that the cost to inspect a collection can be onerous. Really? Are you telling me you can afford a collection of cars but you can't afford the smog fee? Do you have any idea how elitist that sounds? You know what, I pay the fee although I am retired and not wealthy. I want an age exemption for people!

Don't get me wrong, I am not against exemptions. I just want all the facts up front.