BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 1740
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: jeffries
VERSION: 2/22/10
Analysis by: Jennifer Gress FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 15, 2010
SUBJECT:
Specially constructed vehicles: smog check
DESCRIPTION:
This bill increases the number of specially constructed
vehicles, from 500 to 750, that the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) may register using a process that may exempt the vehicle
from the smog check program and clarifies that an owner of a
specially constructed vehicle may re-register his or her vehicle
with a different model year in order to take advantage of the
exemption.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law prohibits the operation upon public highways of any
motor vehicle that has not been registered with DMV. An
application for registration must be accompanied by payment of a
sales and use tax that is based on the vehicle's value and a
certificate of compliance indicating that the vehicle has passed
its smog inspection.
To meet federal air quality standards, existing law requires
California-registered, gasoline-powered and certain
diesel-powered vehicles to undergo biennial smog inspections to
measure motor vehicle-related pollutants. New vehicles six
model-years old and newer, vehicles with a pre-1976 model year,
electric vehicles, motorcycles, and large commercial vehicles
are exempt from the smog check program.
The current smog inspection involves testing for the gaseous
emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of
AB 1740 (JEFFRIES) Page 2
nitrogen. Emissions standards have become more stringent over
time and are established by model year. For example, a 2004
model-year vehicle must produce fewer emissions to pass its smog
inspection than a 1990 model-year vehicle. If a vehicle fails
any component of a smog inspection, the vehicle owner must, with
some exceptions, repair the vehicle and pass a subsequent smog
inspection before being able to register or renew the
registration of the vehicle.
A specially constructed vehicle, sometimes referred to as a "kit
car," is defined as a vehicle that is "built for private use,
not for resale, and is not constructed by a licensed
manufacturer or remanufacturer." In 2001, the Legislature
passed and the Governor signed SB 100 (Johannessen), Chapter
871, which authorizes DMV to register up to 500 "specially
constructed vehicles" each year in a manner that may exempt the
vehicles from the smog check program.
Under SB 100, a specially constructed vehicle must be inspected
by smog inspection facilities authorized to perform "referee"
functions for the purposes of determining the vehicle model year
or the engine year used in the vehicle and thus the appropriate
emission control application for that model year. In
determining the model year of the vehicle or the engine (the
vehicle owner may choose whether the model year determination is
based on the vehicle or on the engine), the referee shall
compare the vehicle or engine to those of the era it most
closely resembles. The referee shall assign the 1960 model year
if the vehicle or the engine does not sufficiently resemble a
previously manufactured vehicle or engine.
If DMV receives an application for registration of a specially
constructed vehicle after it has already registered 500 such
vehicles during that calendar year, and the vehicle has not been
previously registered, DMV shall assign the vehicle the same
model year as the calendar year in which the application is
submitted for purposes of determining emissions control
equipment and inspection requirements for the vehicle.
Specially constructed vehicles that were registered after DMV
registered the first 500 vehicles may re-apply for registration
as a specially constructed vehicle in future years, in which
case an authorized referee would determine the model year of the
vehicle or its engine.
This bill :
AB 1740 (JEFFRIES) Page 3
Increases the number of specially constructed vehicles, from
500 to 750, that DMV may register using the SB 100 process
that may exempt those vehicles from the smog check program.
Clarifies that an owner of a specially constructed vehicle
that was not one of the first 500 vehicles to register in a
given year may, in a subsequent year, re-register his or her
vehicle with a different model year in order to earn one of
the 500 slots and be exempted from the smog check program.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author contends that the current 500 limit on the
number of specially constructed vehicles that may be exempted
from the smog check program is too low and too limiting. The
types of cars that will be brought into California with the
removal of this limit are almost exclusively used for car
shows and have limited environmental impact. Removing this
limit will allow hobbyists to more fully engage in their
trade, a trade which often has significant charitable and
economic benefits to California.
2.Demand for increase ? At the time this analysis was prepared,
DMV had registered only 403 specially constructed vehicles
under the SB 100 provisions. While all 500 slots will likely
be taken by the end of this calendar year, it does not appear
that 500 is a particularly low number.
3.Air quality impacts of specially constructed vehicles .
Specially constructed vehicles typically lack emission control
equipment and thus produce high levels of emissions.
According to data provided by the Air Resources Board (ARB)
comparing the emissions of specially constructed vehicle to
those produced by 2005 model-year vehicles, specially
constructed vehicles emit, on average, 200 times more
smog-forming emissions than the conventional vehicle.
Supporters of the measure refute ARB's findings. They contend
that while specially constructed vehicles are higher emitting
than conventional vehicles, their own analysis, based on one
vehicle, suggests that the magnitude of emissions is much
smaller than ARB indicates.
4.Costs of specially constructed vehicles and emission control
devices . According to representatives from the Specialty
Equipment Manufacturers Association, specially constructed
vehicles vary in cost from $80,000 to $450,000. A retrofit
AB 1740 (JEFFRIES) Page 4
device designed to reduce emissions from specially constructed
vehicles costs $6,000 to $6,500 and can enable a vehicle to
meet the 2003 model-year emission standards. Additionally,
General Motors is now manufacturing an engine that can be
placed in specially constructed vehicles that will enable the
vehicle to meet current 2010 emission standards. These
engines cost $8,000 to $10,000. In other words, the
technology exists to enable vehicles that register after the
500 cap has been met to meet more stringent emissions
standards. Furthermore, specially constructed vehicles are
expensive vehicles and some argue that if a vehicle owner can
afford to build such a vehicle, he or she could also afford to
retrofit the vehicle with an emissions control device.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 44-22
Appr: 11-6
Trans: 8-4
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 9, 2010)
SUPPORT: Cruisin' for a Cure
The Faithful
Good Guys Rod & Custom Association
Over the Hill Gang - Temecula Valley
Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association
Approximately 1200 individuals
OPPOSED: Bay Area Air Quality Management District
California Air Pollution Control Officers
Associations
Sierra Club
South Coast Air Quality Management District