BILL ANALYSIS SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 435 SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Pavley VERSION: 4/13/09 Analysis by: Jennifer Gress FISCAL: yes Hearing date: April 14, 2009 SUBJECT: Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program (smog check): motorcycles DESCRIPTION: This bill requires the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), beginning January 1, 2012, to incorporate specified motorcycles into the smog check program. ANALYSIS: To meet federal air quality standards, existing law requires California-registered, gasoline-powered vehicles, and beginning January 1, 2010 certain diesel-powered vehicles, to undergo biennial smog inspections to measure motor vehicle-related pollutants. New vehicles six model years old and newer, vehicles with a pre-1976 model year, electric vehicles, motorcycles, and large commercial vehicles are exempt from the smog check program. Upon initial registration and upon a change of ownership and registration of a vehicle, the vehicle owner must submit to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) a valid certificate of compliance indicating that the vehicle has passed its smog inspection. If a vehicle fails any component of a smog inspection, the vehicle owner must, with some exceptions, repair the vehicle and pass a subsequent smog inspection before being able to register or renew the registration of the vehicle. This bill requires BAR, beginning January 1, 2012, to incorporate Class III motorcycles that are a 2000 model-year or newer into the smog check program. In doing so, the bill: SB 435 (PAVLEY) Page 2 Defines a Class III motorcycle as a motorcycle containing an engine with displacement of 280 cubic centimeters (cc) or greater. Requires, by July 1, 2011, BAR, in cooperation with the Air Resources Board (ARB), to develop regulations, including testing procedures, for incorporating motorcycles into the smog check program. Specifies that motorcycles subject to a smog inspection shall be tested using procedures determined to be appropriate by BAR in consultation with ARB. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose . According to the author, an additional 5.2 tons of smog-forming pollutants are released into California's air from motorcycles, which are currently exempt from the smog check program. California car owners must have their vehicles inspected and tested every two years, but motorcycles, which are more polluting than cars, are not tested at all. Based on emission standards for new vehicles, passenger vehicles emit 0.09 grams of smog-forming pollutants per mile driven, while motorcycles emit 1.29 grams per mile. The pollution produced by motorcycles, in other words, is about 14 times that which is produced by cars. Furthermore, the past decade has seen improvements in pollution control equipment for motorcycles, and most now come equipped with catalytic converters. Many motorcycle enthusiasts, however, remove the factory installed emissions control equipment and replace it with "custom" parts that are far more polluting. This practice violates state law, but ARB lacks an effective way to enforce the prohibition. By requiring motorcycles to undergo biennial smog inspections, this bill will help to ensure that motorcycles are in compliance with equipment standards that control the emissions of smog-forming pollution, thereby improving air quality and public health. 2.Attainment of air quality standards . Incorporating motorcycles into the smog check program was identified as a measure to attain national ambient air quality standards in the state's 2007 State Implementation Plan (SIP). States that contain areas designated as nonattainment for a particular air SB 435 (PAVLEY) Page 3 pollutant must develop a SIP to demonstrate how those areas in the state will attain the federal standard for that pollutant. A state's SIP is a combination of state and local air quality planning documents that identify the air pollution control strategies or measures that the state and local agencies will implement under their respective authorities in order to attain the federal standard. The smog check program is an example of a mobile source strategy to reduce emissions from passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks. California's 2007 SIP assumed that the measure would be implemented beginning January 1, 2010. This bill requires BAR to implement the measure January 1, 2012. 3.Opposition . Opponents contend, in part, that motorcycles do not contribute enough pollution to warrant being included in the smog check program, arguing that they constitute less than three percent of the total number of motor vehicles in California and that they travel, on average, 25 percent or less than a car or truck. Opponents further estimate that, because of their lower use and higher gas mileage, motorcycles represent only 1.5 percent of all mobile source emissions. 4.Tampering . An ARB staff report cited a 2003 Motorcycle Industry Council survey finding that 38 percent of motorcycles had modified exhaust systems. A more recent ARB survey of 2003-2007 model-year motorcycles found that 85 percent of newer motorcycles in Southern California (primarily Harley Davidson's) had some form of exhaust modification. Tampered vehicles emit, on average, two to three times more smog-forming emissions than a non-tampered motorcycle. Furthermore, depending on the make and model of the motorcycle, as well as the extent of modification, tampered motorcycles can emit up to ten times more than non-tampered ones. 5.Re-tampering ? For owners who modify their motorcycles, it may be a relatively straightforward task to un-modify their vehicles prior to a smog inspection, pass the inspection, and then re-modify them. Requiring biennial smog inspections may ensure that unmodified motorcycles continue to meet their emission standards, but it may not be as effective in addressing emissions from modified motorcycles. 6.Why Class III motorcycles with a 2000 model-year or newer ? The bill applies only to those motorcycles that are Class III, defined as having an engine with a displacement of at least SB 435 (PAVLEY) Page 4 280 cc and that are a 2000 model-year or newer. With regard to the class of motorcycle, Class III motorcycles have larger engines and thus pollute more than Class I or II motorcycles. With regard to model year, these motorcycles constitute about 72 percent of all registered motorcycles in the state. Furthermore, the 2000 model year reflects when market penetration of emission control devices for motorcycles occurred. In 2000, 35.2 percent of all motorcycles were built with catalytic converters; in 2008, that number had increased to 87 percent. Because of the increased reliance on emission control equipment such as catalytic converters in 2000 model-year and newer motorcycles, tampering has a greater impact on emissions than it did for motorcycles manufactured prior to 2000. Without an inspection and maintenance program (i.e., smog check) for motorcycles, there is no way to assess whether a motorcycle has been tampered with. Despite these findings, some questions remain regarding whether this universe is the most appropriate for inclusion in smog check. What percentage of total emission reductions is achieved by incorporating this universe relative to including all motorcycles or some smaller set of motorcycles? What are the advantages and disadvantages of including different sets? Further explanation may be warranted. 7.Distinguishing different classes of motorcycles . Existing law does not refer to engine size in its definition of motorcycle, however, DMV defines a motorcycle as having more than 150 cc, no more than three wheels, and weighing less than 1500 pounds. DMV does not, however, document the class or engine size of the motorcycles it registers and is thus not readily able to differentiate motorcycles that would or would not be subject to the smog check program as required by this bill. POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on Wednesday, April 8, 2009) SUPPORT: American Lung Association (co-sponsor) National Parks Conservation Association (co-sponsor) Bay Area Air Quality Management District California Emissions Testing Industries Association Coalition for Clean Air Natural Resources Defense Council Planning and Conservation League SB 435 (PAVLEY) Page 5 Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District Sierra Club California Union of Concerned Scientists OPPOSED: ABATE of California, Inc. Art of the Chopper Company 72 individuals