BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1239|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1239
Author: Gaines (R), et al.
Amended: 5/31/16
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 6-5, 4/19/16
AYES: Cannella, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Roth, Wieckowski
NOES: Beall, Allen, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 18-18, 6/1/16 (FAIL)
AYES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines,
Galgiani, Hueso, Huff, Liu, Mendoza, Moorlach, Morrell,
Nguyen, Nielsen, Roth, Stone, Vidak
NOES: Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Glazer, Hall, Hancock,
Hill, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning,
Pan, Pavley, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hernandez, Hertzberg, Runner, Wolk
SUBJECT: Smog check: exemptions
SOURCE: Association of Car Clubs
DIGEST: This bill expands the existing smog check exemption
from pre-1976 model year vehicles to pre-1981 model year
vehicles.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law provides that the federal Clean
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Air Act and its implementing regulations are intended to protect
public health and environmental quality by limiting and reducing
pollution from various sources. Under the federal Clean Air
Act, US EPA establishes National Ambient Air Quality Standards
that apply for outdoor air throughout the country. These
federal standards exist for several air pollutants due to their
negative impact on public health above specified concentrations.
Regions that do not meet the national standards for any one of
the standards are designated nonattainment areas.
Existing state and federal law requires nonattainment regions of
California to meet existing clean-air standards by 2015 for
annual particulate matter (PM) 2.5, and by 2023 for the 8-hour
average ozone standard. The South Coast and San Joaquin air
basins recently missed the 2015 attainment deadline for the last
PM 2.5 standard. Additionally, tougher federal air quality
standards for both particulates and ozone issued in 2006 and
2008 will require reductions in those regions well above and
beyond those already planned.
Existing state law:
1)Establishes the Motor Vehicle Inspection Program, commonly
known as the smog check program, to help meet federal air
quality standards,. 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 (MYs) old or newer.
2)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.
3)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 inspection of emission controls.
However, the vehicle must still pass a functional inspection
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of the fuel cap, a visual inspection for liquid fuel leaks,
and a tailpipe test.
This bill:
1)Exempts all motor vehicles manufactured after MY 1975 but
prior to MY 1981 from smog check, provided the vehicle
qualifies as a collector car under existing law.
2)Sunsets this exemption on January 1, 2019.
Comments
1)Purpose. The author states that existing law is "inconsistent"
because it requires vehicles to be at least 35 MYs old in
order to qualify for a smog check exemption, yet also mandates
that a vehicle's MY must be older than 1976. This bill
changes 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 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)Pre-1976 exemption vs. collector car exemption. Existing law
includes two separate types of smog check exemptions relating
to older cars. First, collector cars are exempted from some
portions of smog check, provided they meet certain criteria:
the owner must be able to demonstrate that the vehicle is
insured as a collector vehicle; the vehicle must be at least
35 years old (e.g., MY 1981); the vehicle must comply with
exhaust emissions standards for that vehicle's class and MY;
and the vehicle must pass a functional inspection of the fuel
cap and a visual inspection for liquid fuel leaks. A
collector vehicle meeting these requirements is exempt from
the visual or functional check of emission control devices,
including the catalytic converter, but must undergo the other
portions of the smog test. The visual check is important
because it is generally much easier to tamper with older
vehicles' emissions controls - e.g., to increase engine
performance - because older systems are much less
sophisticated. For example, a vehicle owner can install a
diverter hose to bypass parts of the system; while the owner
can connect the hose properly in order to pass the smog test,
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a visual check is likely to detect this adjustment.
Existing law provides a separate exemption for vehicles older
than MY 1976. These vehicles are exempt from the smog check
program altogether.
This bill expands the pre-MY 1976 exemption to all MY 1976-81
collector vehicles. By doing so, this bill makes all MY
1976-81 collector cars - which are currently subject to
partial smog check - fully exempt. The sponsor of this bill
states, "Requiring a costly smog inspection only adds to the
already high cost of owning and maintaining such a vehicle and
we feel that it's purely a revenue collecting regulation."
California established the smog check program, however, in
order to help meet federal air- quality standards.
3)Older vehicles have much higher 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% of vehicles account
for 75% of vehicle emissions. This is partly because the smog
check program does not hold older cars to the same emissions
standards as newer cars. Not only are emissions standards for
older cars less stringent, but allowances are also made for
normal wear and tear in a vehicle's emissions control system
as it ages. Thus, even if an older vehicle passes a smog
test, it is still higher emitting than a newer vehicle.
Notwithstanding the lower emissions standards, 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
state emissions standards to continue driving on California's
roads. This exemption will make it more difficult for the
state to achieve state air-quality goals and to meet federally
mandated air-quality standards.
4)Background on smog check exemptions. 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
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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 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
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/Prior Legislation
AB 550 (Waldron, 2015) would have allowed the owner of a vehicle
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that failed a smog test to pay a smog abatement fee of $200.
The bill died in the Assembly Transportation Committee.
SB 1224 (La Malfa, 2012) would have expanded the smog check
exemption to pre-1981 MY vehicles. The bill died in the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Unknown costs to BAR to modify information technology systems.
These costs would likely to be incurred a second time when
the exemption expires in 2019. (Vehicle Inspection and Repair
Fund)
Unknown loss of smog certification revenues, potentially in
excess of $150,000 for two years, depending on the number of
vehicles insured as collector cars. (Vehicle Inspection and
Repair Fund)
Minor and absorbable BAR costs to update smog check
regulations and publications. (Vehicle Inspection and Repair
Fund)
Likely minor costs to the Department of Motor Vehicles to
review evidence that a vehicle is insured as a collector in
order to waive the smog check requirement. (Motor Vehicle
Account)
SUPPORT: (Verified5/27/16)
Association of Car Clubs (source)
Petersen Automotive Museum
Pontiacs of Bakersfield
Rods and Relics of Lincoln Hills
Specialty Equipment Market Association
900+ individuals
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OPPOSITION: (Verified5/27/16)
American Lung Association of California
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
California Air Pollution Control Officers Association
Coalition for Clean Air
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sierra Club California
Prepared by:Erin Riches / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
6/1/16 18:32:44
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