BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: sb 1224
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: la malfa
VERSION: 2/23/12
Analysis by: Eric Thronson FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: April 10, 2012
SUBJECT:
Smog check program exemption
DESCRIPTION:
This bill increases the number of vehicles exempted from the
smog check program by excluding vehicles with model years
between 1976 and 1980.
ANALYSIS:
To meet federal air quality standards, existing law requires
California-registered, gasoline-powered vehicles and certain
diesel-powered vehicles to undergo biennial smog inspections to
measure motor vehicle-related pollutants. State law exempts
vehicles with a pre-1976 model year 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 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 exempts vehicles with model years between 1976 and
1980 from the smog check program.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . According to the author, this bill serves two
purposes. First, this bill provides needed relief to
lower-income drivers who might own vehicles from this time
period and who cannot afford the repairs necessary to meet the
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state's emission standards. Second, this bill enables car
collectors to enjoy an exemption from smog inspections because
these vehicles are driven less and therefore do not contribute
significantly to poor air quality. The author points out
that, according to the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR),
approximately 162,000 vehicles with model years between 1976
and 1980 received smog checks during the past two years.
Compared to the roughly 27 million motor vehicles in
California, this bill will provide an exemption for just over
one-half of one percent of vehicles on the road today.
2.Exempting the highest polluting vehicles . This bill exempts
from the smog check program many vehicles contributing the
highest levels of pollution in the state. In 2004 the
California Air Resources Board (ARB) estimated that, by 2010,
pre-1982 cars would account for more than one-fifth of the
hydrocarbons and one-tenth of the nitrous oxide emissions in
the state despite representing only 2.6 percent of the vehicle
population and 1.3 percent of the vehicle miles traveled. On
average, 1975 model-year vehicles emit 30 times more
hydrocarbons per mile than a 2000 model-year vehicle and
despite their much smaller share of the vehicle population,
continue to emit two to three times the volume of pollutants
in aggregate. Once a vehicle is exempt from the smog check
program there is no incentive for its owner to continue to
maintain emission control equipment or any mechanism to assure
that such equipment has not been modified or removed.
3.History of the hard cap . Prior to 2005, existing law
contained a 30-year rolling smog check exemption, allowing
vehicles to "graduate" from the program once they reached 30
years of age. The Legislature set a hard date at which cars
aged out of the smog check program by passing AB 2683
(Lieber), Chapter 704, Statutes of 2004, which repealed the
30-year rolling exemption and instead created an exemption for
vehicles manufactured prior to the 1976 model year.
4.Weakening smog check standards can lead to unintended
consequences . Opponents, including local air quality
management districts, argue that this bill potentially
increases the burden on regions to meet air quality standards
set by state and federal governments. For example, SB 375
(Steinberg), Chapter 728 of 2008, required the ARB to set
greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for regions to meet
through local regulatory and planning efforts. Regional
agencies are developing future mitigation plans with the
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expectation that current air quality regulations, such as smog
check standards, will not be less stringent than they are
today. If the Legislature weakens the current air quality
standards for vehicles, it increases the amount of alternative
mitigation the regions will need to consider in order to meet
the ARB reduction targets.
5.The state's consumer assistance programs . The state makes
funding available for owners whose vehicles fail smog
inspections and cannot afford the necessary repairs through
the Consumer Assistance Program (CAP), which BAR administers.
Under the program, BAR will pay up to $500 to qualifying
owners for repair costs necessary to meet smog standards.
Alternatively, CAP also provides vehicle owners compensation
to voluntarily retire their vehicles that have failed a smog
inspection. In addition, some funding is available until 2015
to retire high polluting vehicles even if they are able to
pass a smog inspection. Currently, BAR provides $1,000 to a
vehicle owner who retires his or her vehicle and is working to
amend its regulations to provide $1,500 to owners who are
low-income.
6.Collector motor vehicles provided certain exemptions . In
order to not discourage classic car collectors in California,
existing law includes certain exemptions for owners of
collector motor vehicles. If a vehicle is more than 35 years
old, insured as a collector motor vehicle, and passes the smog
check's exhaust and fuel cap tests, it is exempt from the
visual and functional test component of the smog inspection.
SB 1224 (LA MALFA) Page 4
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 4, 2012)
SUPPORT: Association of California Car Clubs
Burgiemen Capitol City Car Club
Sierra Mustang Club of Sacramento
Rods and Relics of Lincoln Hills
Capital City Mopars
Specialty Equipment Market Association
Redding British Car Club
Pontiacs of Bakersfield
Roughly 550 individuals
OPPOSED: California Air Pollution Control Officers
Association
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
American Lung Association of California