BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1740
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1740 (Jeffries) - As Amended: March 25, 2010
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:8-4
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
As proposed to be amended, this bill increases by 250 vehicles
the number of specially constructed vehicles (or kit cars) that
can be registered using alternative emission standards less
rigid than those applying to other newly manufactured vehicles.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Raises, from 500 to 750, the number of vehicles that can be
registered based on smog criteria applicable to the year of
the vehicle or engine the kit car is designed to replicate
(instead of the year in which the kit car or is manufactured.)
2)Allows the registered owner of a specially constructed vehicle
that is currently registered or incorrectly registered to
change the vehicle's registration using the alternative
methodology, subject to the overall 750 vehicle limitation.
FISCAL EFFECTS
1)Minor and absorbable costs to the Department of Motor Vehicles
(special fund).
2)Minor increase (probably less than $10,000) in costs to Bureau
of Automotive Repair related to conduct additional referee
smog checks.
COMMENTS
1)Background . A specially constructed vehicle, or kit car, is
one which is not built for resale nor constructed by a
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licensed manufacturer. Instead, they are typically built at
home by hobbyists and classic car enthusiasts. Kit cars are
often replicas of well-known and expensive classics and are
designed so that anyone with a fair degree of technical skill
can build them to a standard where they can be driven on the
public roads.
The Legislature in 2001 enacted SB 100 (Johannessen) Chapter
871, Statutes of 2001, which modified the way a kit car's
engine model-year is determined for smog inspection purposes.
Prior to SB 100, because of the difficulty of determining the
precise engine model-year resulting from the use of
unassociated engine parts and the special nature of these
vehicles, DMV designated them as being from the current
model-year. A current-year designation subjects vehicles to
relatively stringent smog standards, which many kit cars are
unable to meet.
SB 100 required, for the first 500 applications each year,
that specially trained smog inspection station referees assign
the model-year designation based on the model year of the car
or engine the specially constructed vehicle most closely
replicates - and in cases where such a designation is not
possible, to provide a 1960 model-year designation (thereby
completely exempting them from emission control requirements
and from biennial smog inspections).
SB 1578 (Johannessen) Chapter 95, Statutes of 2002, expanded
the scope of SB 100 so that the alternative smog standards
apply to both registrations and renewals. Kit cars that are
registered after the 500-vehicle annual limitation has been
met in any given year must meet smog standards for the year in
which the vehicle was manufactured or first registered, and is
also subject to biennial smog inspections.
In 2008 and 2009, the governor signed AB 619 (Emmerson),
Chapter 420/2008 and AB 318 (Emmerson), Chapter 235/2009,
which created an amnesty program for kit car owners who
illegally registered their vehicles to avoid emissions
requirements and registration fees and sales taxes.
2)Rationale . The bill is intended to expand the number of kit
cars that can operate without smog controls in California.
Proponents of the bill assert that auto hobbyists contribute
widely to the state's economy, through employment of workers
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in auto trades, specialty equipment manufacturing,
registration fees, and sales taxes. They also argue that the
cars are only driven a few miles and that they have an
insignificant impact on statewide auto emissions.
3)Concerns . Data from the Air Resources Board (ARB) indicates
that kit cars that lack emissions controls are substantially
dirtier than regular automobiles. The data indicate that a
typical kit car in good condition emits 13.15 grams per mile
of hydrocarbons (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). This is
nearly 200 times the emissions of a 2005 passenger vehicle
(which emits 0.07 grams per mile of HC and NOx.
4)Amendments . The amendments: (a) clarify that the 750 vehicle
limit applies to all registrations, including those by owners
seeking to change the vehicle's registration by using the
alternative method; (b) reinstate current law provisions,
removed in previous versions of the bill, which are related to
the treatment of vehicles denied the alternative registration
procedure (once the state has reached the 750 cap); and (c)
make other technical changes.
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916)
319-2081