BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1239 Hearing Date: 4/12/2016
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|Author: |Gaines |
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|Version: |2/18/2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Erin Riches |
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SUBJECT: Smog check: exemptions
DIGEST: This bill expands the existing smog check exemption
from pre-1976 model year vehicles to pre-1981 model year
vehicles.
ANALYSIS:
Smog Check Program
To help meet federal air quality standards, existing law
establishes the Motor Vehicle Inspection Program, commonly known
as the smog check program. The Department of Consumer Affairs
administers this program through the Bureau of Automotive Repair
(BAR). The smog check program generally requires vehicle owners
to have their vehicles tested every two years, with some
exceptions including gas-powered vehicles manufactured prior to
1976, alternatively fueled vehicles, and vehicles six model
years old or newer.
Existing law defines a "collector motor vehicle" as a motor
vehicle owned by a collector that is used primarily in shows,
parades, charitable functions, and historical exhibitions for
display, maintenance, and preservation, and is not used
primarily for transportation. Existing law provides a partial
smog check exemption for some collector vehicles. Specifically,
if the vehicle is at least 35 years old, and the owner can
demonstrate that the vehicle is insured as a collector vehicle,
then the vehicle is exempt from the visual and functional
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inspection of emission controls. However, the vehicle must
still pass a functional inspection of the fuel cap, a visual
inspection for liquid fuel leaks, and a tailpipe test.
This bill provides that all motor vehicles manufactured prior to
the 1981 model year are exempt from smog check.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The author states that existing law is inconsistent
because it requires vehicles to be at least 35 model years old
in order to qualify for a smog check exemption, yet also
mandates that a vehicle's model year (MY) must be older than
1976. This bill would change the date to 1981 in order to
maintain the 35-year exemption. The sponsor of this bill, the
Association of Car Clubs, states that older cars "are well
taken care of and driven sparingly. These types of vehicles
are normally insured with collector insurance and have mileage
restrictions dictated by the insurance company and have little
or no negative impact on the environment."
2)Expanding smog check exemptions. Existing law exempts
collector vehicles from some portions of smog check provided
they meet certain criteria, including being at least 35 years
old (e.g., MY 1981). Existing law separately exempts all
vehicles older than MY 1976 from smog checks altogether. This
bill would increase the latter exemption to all vehicles older
than MY 1981. By doing so, this bill would effectively add MY
1976-1981 collector cars to the full smog check exemption.
However, it would also add all MY 1976-1981 vehicles to the
smog check exemption. While the author and sponsor state that
collector cars are low mileage and that exempting them fully
from smog check would have little environmental impact,
non-collector cars are likely driven a significantly higher
number of miles.
3)GHG emissions. According to the state Air Resources Board
(ARB), transportation accounts for approximately 40% of the
state's total GHG emissions. Of the cars on California's
roads, just 25% account for 75% of vehicle emissions. BAR
data indicate that in 2015, an average of 30% of MY 1976-1981
vehicles failed a smog test. Exempting these vehicles from
smog check would allow thousands of vehicles that do not meet
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state emissions standards to continue driving on California's
roads.
4)Background. Prior to 1998, vehicles MY 1973 and earlier were
exempt from smog check. Subsequently, SB 42 (Kopp, Chapter
801, Statutes of 1997) established the "30-year rolling
exemption," allowing vehicles to "graduate" from smog check
once they reached 30 years of age. The Department of Consumer
Affairs opposed SB 42, stating that while the initial number
of vehicles exempted by the bill was modest, that number was
responsible for a significant share of the smog test failure
rate of the entire fleet. ARB also opposed the bill, arguing
that it would make it even more difficult to attain federal
air quality standards in areas such as the South Coast Air
Quality Management District. In 2004, the Legislature passed
and the Governor signed AB 2683 (Lieber, Chapter 704, Statutes
of 2004). AB 2683 repealed the 30-year rolling exemption and
instead applied the smog check exemption strictly to vehicles
manufactured prior to MY 1976.
5)Opposition concerns. Writing in opposition to this bill, the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) states that
since 2004, when AB 2683 was passed, "a host of medical
research has shown that levels of air pollution breathed by
Californians today is in fact far more damaging to public
health than was earlier suspected." The Coalition for Clean
Air notes that "the smog check program ? allows for
deterioration of the vehicle's emission controls over time.
To pass smog check, owners of older vehicles simply need to
maintain their vehicles." The California Air Pollution
Control Officers Association states that the smog check
program "is essential for clean air and public health" and "is
an equitable and cost-effective way to cut air pollution."
6)State assistance is available. The state provides assistance
to owners of high-polluting cars through several programs.
The Consumer Assistance Program, administered by BAR,
provides, for eligible customers, an opportunity to renew
registration even if the car does not pass a smog test,
provided the owner has spent a certain amount on repair;
repair cost assistance; or a voucher in return for "retiring"
(scrapping) the vehicle. BAR also administers, in conjunction
with the ARB, the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program (EFMP),
which provides funds for voluntary retirement of eligible
passenger vehicles and light- and medium-duty trucks that are
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high polluters. A component of this program, EFMP Plus-Up,
provides additional assistance to eligible customers in the
San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District and the South Coast
Air Quality Management District.
Related Legislation:
AB 550 (Waldron 2015) - would have allowed the owner of a
vehicle that failed a smog test to pay a smog abatement fee of
$200. This bill died in the Assembly Transportation Committee
without being set for hearing.
SB 1224 (La Malfa 2012) - would have expanded the smog check
exemption to pre-1981 model year vehicles. This bill failed
passage in this committee.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 6, 2016.)
SUPPORT:
Association of Car Clubs (sponsor)
15 individuals
OPPOSITION:
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
California Air Pollution Control Officers Association
Coalition for Clean Air
-- END --
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