BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2683
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2683 (Lieber)
As Amended August 23, 2004
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |47-28|(May 26, 2004) |SENATE: |21-15|(August 24, |
| | | | | |2004) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Repeals the "30-year rolling exemption" that applies
to the Smog Check and Smog Check II programs.
The Senate amendments :
1)Add language to incorporate provisions contained in SB 1107
and SB 1615 that modify Vehicle Code sections also affected by
this bill.
2)Exempt vehicles that meeting statutory definition of
"collector motor vehicle," and are insured as such, from the
Smog Check test involving a visual or functional check of
emission control devices if the vehicle is at least 35 model
years old, complies with applicable exhaust emission
standards, and passes a functional inspection of its fuel cap
and a visual inspection for liquid fuel leaks.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires vehicles registered in areas which are classified by
the Environmental Protection Agency as serious, severe, or
extreme nonattainment areas for ozone or moderate or serious
nonattainment areas for carbon monoxide (i.e., the Sacramento
metropolitan area; San Diego; San Joaquin Valley; South Coast;
Southeast Desert; and, Ventura) to undergo "enhanced" biennial
inspections of their emission control equipment and systems.
These inspections feature "loaded-mode" dynamometer testing
and more sophisticated emissions analysis equipment that can
measure emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Requires
certain vehicles to be inspected at "test-only" inspection
stations.
2)Requires, additionally, the establishment of the enhanced smog
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check program in the urbanized areas of the San Francisco Bay
Air Basin, including the test-only station component of the
inspection program for designated vehicles.
3)Requires vehicles registered in other nonattainment basins to
undergo "basic" biennial inspections of their emission control
equipment and systems that are performed with the engine
operating in the idle mode only. There is no provision within
the basic program for test-only inspections.
4)Requires vehicles registered in all other areas of the state
to undergo the basic emissions test only upon change of
ownership.
5)Prohibits the implementation of the test-only element of the
enhanced program in any area not classified as a serious,
severe, or extreme nonattainment area for ozone or a moderate
or serious nonattainment area for carbon monoxide.
6)Exempts from all smog check programs any vehicles that are 30
or more model years old.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Declared the intent of the Legislature that vehicles of the
1975 model year and older shall be permanently exempted from
smog check requirements and that the Departments of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) and Consumer Affairs be afforded adequate time
to implement this bill's requirements.
2)Repealed the exemption for vehicles 30 years old or older from
vehicle maintenance and inspection programs, effective April
1, 2005.
3)Provided an exemption from those programs for vehicles that
were manufactured prior to the 1976 model year, effective
April 1, 2005.
4)Made corresponding changes to provisions regarding the need to
obtain smog certificates of compliance.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
analysis, DMV will incur one-time programming costs of
approximately $138,000.
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COMMENTS : Under existing law, the Smog Check program
essentially divides the state into three areas with different
emissions testing requirements for each. The enhanced program
(commonly referred to as Smog Check II) applies to areas that do
not meet federal or state air quality standards for ozone and
carbon monoxide and are the most polluted urbanized areas.
Vehicles in these areas are required to undergo biennial smog
checks and 15% of them must have their smog checks performed at
test-only stations. The basic program is administered in areas
that are less polluted. Vehicles in these areas must have
biennial testing at licensed test-and-repair stations.
Change-of-ownership areas are the more rural regions of that
state that require emissions testing only when a vehicle changes
ownership or is registered for the first time in California.
Prior to 1998, vehicles that were from the model year 1973 or
earlier were exempt from all elements of Smog Check and Smog
Check II. Subsequently, SB 42 (Kopp), Chapter 801, Statutes of
1997, established the so-called 30-year rolling exemption,
allowing vehicles to "graduate" from the program once they reach
30 years of age. It was argued at the time that it was
difficult for aging cars to pass smog tests because original
parts were difficult to locate, new testing procedures were
arbitrary and made it difficult for older vehicles to pass, and
testing cutpoints had been set at levels more stringent than
original manufacturer's specifications and were therefore
impossible for older vehicles to meet. This bill was supported
by, among others, classic car collectors and advocates for
low-income motorists who could neither afford to keep their
older vehicles well maintained nor to replace them with newer,
cleaner, models.
This bill would repeal the 30-year rolling exemption and instead
apply the smog check exemption strictly to vehicles manufactured
prior to the 1976 model year. Supporters of this bill point out
that 1976 model-year cars, on average, emit 155 times more
hydrocarbons per mile than new vehicles and, despite their very
much smaller share of the vehicle population, continue to emit
two to three times the volume of pollutants in aggregate. By
2010, pre-1982 cars (those that would be exempt from smog check
at that time under current law) will account for 22% of the
hydrocarbons and 11% of the NOx emissions despite representing
only 2.6% of the vehicle population and 1.3% of the vehicle
miles traveled. Supporters also note that once a vehicle is
exempt from smog check there is no incentive for its owner to
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continue to maintain its emission control equipment nor is there
any mechanism to assure that such equipment has not been
modified or removed.
While opponents agree that a small number of vehicles account
for a lion's share of vehicular emissions, they contend,
contrary to the data cited above, that the offending vehicles
are distributed among all model years. They further claim that
the vehicle population targeted by the bill tends to be well
maintained and infrequently driven. Finally, they believe they
are being scapegoated for the failure of California to meet its
air quality goals and assert, "California must lead the way in
attacking motor vehicle pollution where it lives and not on the
backs of old car collectors and lower-income citizens."
In regard to low-income owners of older vehicles, it should be
noted that the BAR administers a Consumer Assistance Program
(CAP) that offers financial assistance for smog check-related
repairs. CAP provides up to $500 to assist a vehicle owner
whose household income is up to 185% of the federal poverty
standard to meet Smog Check requirements.
This bill includes a three-month delayed implementation date to
afford DMV adequate time to advise owners of vehicles from the
1976 model-year of the new requirements.
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0008736