BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1615
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 7, 2004
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jenny Oropeza, Chair
SB 1615 (Denham) - As Introduced: February 20, 2004
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Smog Check: out-of-state vehicles
SUMMARY : Exempts out-of-state vehicles that are more than 30
years old from smog check requirement upon registration in the
state. Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals provisions that require the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) to require upon registration of a motor vehicle
previously registered outside this state, except for 1965 or
earlier model-year motor vehicles, a valid certificate of
compliance or a certificate of noncompliance, as appropriate,
for vehicle emissions standards.
2)Makes conforming changes in other, related statutes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires DMV to require a smog certificate upon registration
of a motor vehicle previously registered outside this state,
except for 1965 or earlier model-year motor vehicles.
2)Requires DMV to require smog certificates for initial
registration, registration renewal or registration transfer of
a motor vehicle that is less than 30 model-years old. (This
provision specifically applies to the initial registration of
out-of-state vehicles as well as domestic vehicles, despite
being inconsistent with the previously-cited statute.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. The bill was withdrawn from the Senate
Appropriations Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
COMMENTS : The sponsor of this bill, DMV, states that it is
intended to conform the requirements for out-of-state vehicles
with those for in-state vehicles with regard to the exemption
for vehicles 30 years old and older. DMV asserts that the
30-year exemption legislation enacted in 1997 overlooked
provisions dealing with the initial registration of out-of-state
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vehicles. With the so-called "30-year rolling exemption" now
operative, older out-of-state vehicles are being treated
differently than in-state vehicles of the same age. DMV states
that if it continues to enforce the two different sets of smog
check requirements, then the owners of out-of-state vehicles
would have grounds for lawsuits against the state. DMV notes
that "courts have ruled in prior cases pertaining to vehicle
license fee calculations and smog impact fees that it is
generally unconstitutional to apply disparate standards to
nonresident vehicles than those applied to California vehicles."
This bill would not affect smog check requirements for
out-of-state vehicles less than 30 years old when they are first
registered in California. Those vehicles would still be
required to have valid smog check certificates to be registered
and still would be subject to the state's biennial smog check
and related requirements.
SB 42 - Kopp (Chapter 801, Statutes of 1997) exempted 1967 to
1973 model-year cars from the state's biennial smog check
requirement, although those vehicles remain subject to
gross-polluter standards and requirements. The legislation also
established a "rolling" 30-year smog check exemption, beginning
in 2003 for 1974 model year vehicles. In 2004, all 1975 and
older vehicles are exempt; in 2005 all 1976 and older are
exempt; and so on. The intent of SB 42 was to acknowledge the
supposedly small impact of 30-year old and older vehicles on
vehicle emissions and air quality. Such vehicles are a very
small portion of the fleet and many are considered "classic
cars" by their owners and others. They are purported to be well
maintained and they operate less frequently than newer vehicles
in the statewide fleet. Other older, nonclassic, vehicles also
are relatively few in number and are probably driven fewer miles
on average. Vehicle owners and proponents of the 1997
legislation viewed the former smog check requirement for older
vehicles as excessive and argued that original and certified
emissions equipment and parts were hard or impossible to obtain.
Related legislation : Opponents of the 30-year rolling exemption
note that although older vehicles represent a small portion of
the state's vehicle fleet, they contribute far more pollution
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per vehicle than newer models. Consequently, AB 2683 (Lieber)
would repeal the 30-year rolling exemption and instead exempt
from smog check only those vehicles from model year 1975 and
earlier. That bill recently passed the Assembly. Inasmuch as
the purpose of this bill is to establish equivalent treatment
for domestic and out-of-state vehicles, DMV and the author have
asserted that this bill will be amended to reflect the
provisions of AB 2683, should AB 2683 advance in the Senate.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Department of Motor Vehicles (sponsor)
State Department of Finance
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
Specialty Equipment Market Association
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093