BILL ANALYSIS
SB 165
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 165 (Alan Lowenthal)
As Amended August 20, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: Vote not relevant
TRANSPORTATION 14-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, |
| |Jeffries, | |Bradford, |
| |Bill Berryhill, | |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| |Blumenfield, Buchanan, | |Davis, |
| |Eng, Furutani, Galgiani, | |De Leon, Gatto, Hall, |
| |Hayashi, Miller, Niello, | |Harkey, Miller, Nielsen, |
| |Norby, Portantino, | |Norby, Skinner, Solorio, |
| |Solorio | |Torlakson, Torrico |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Recasts code provisions dealing with the registration
of specially constructed vehicles. Specifically, this bill :
1)Switches from the Vehicle Code to the Health and Safety Code,
the responsibilities of the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR)
in regard to the registration of specially constructed
vehicles.
2)Switches from the Health and Safety Code to the Vehicle Code,
the responsibilities of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
in regard to the registration of specially constructed
vehicles.
3)Clarifies that specially constructed vehicles that are
currently registered may apply to register the vehicle using a
different model year determined in subsequent years.
4)Includes language to assure that this bill does not
inadvertently chapter out provisions included in AB 2461
(Emmerson).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines a specially constructed vehicle as a vehicle that is
built for private use, not for resale, and is not constructed
SB 165
Page 2
by a licensed manufacturer or remanufacturer, and requires all
such vehicles to be subject to the emission control system
testing and certification requirements established by BAR.
2)Requires a passenger vehicle or pickup truck that is a
specially constructed vehicle to be inspected by stations
authorized to perform referee functions for the purposes of
determining the engine model-year used in the vehicle or the
vehicle model-year, and the emission control system
application.
3)Grants the vehicle owner the option to choose whether the
inspection is based on the engine model-year used in the
vehicle or the vehicle model-year.
4)Requires the referee, in determining the engine model-year, to
compare the engine to engines of the era that the engine most
closely resembles and to assign the 1960 model-year to the
engine in any specially constructed vehicle that does not
sufficiently resemble a previously manufactured engine.
5)Requires the referee, in determining the vehicle model-year,
to compare the vehicle to vehicles of the era that the vehicle
most closely resembles and to assign the 1960 model-year to
any specially constructed vehicle that does not sufficiently
resemble a previously manufactured vehicle.
6)Allows DMV to provide an initial registration to no more than
the first 500 vehicles that meet the specified criteria and
are presented to the department each year for registration.
7)Requires DMV, when considering a registration application for
a specially constructed vehicle that is not among the first
500 applicants, to assign that vehicle the same model-year as
the calendar year in which the application is submitted, for
purposes of determining emissions inspection requirements for
the vehicle.
8)Requires DMV to develop and administer a vehicle registration
amnesty program, from January 1, 2010, until December 31,
2010, for vehicles that have been previously registered or
classified incorrectly and that are subsequently registered
correctly.
9)Prohibits bringing a criminal action for making false
SB 165
Page 3
statements relating to a vehicle's value, make, model, or for
failure to register the vehicle, against a current owner who
has been granted amnesty under the amnesty program.
10) Requires the owners of specially constructed vehicles who
apply for amnesty under this program to obtain an emissions
control certificate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, there is no significant impact on state
costs or revenues.
COMMENTS : The registration of specially constructed vehicles
(typically "kit cars") and, in particular, their potential
exemption from emission control requirements, has been the
subject of several pieces of legislation and a good deal of
controversy in recent years. This bill, however, is simply a
technical cleanup measure, the primary effect of which is to
place the statutory responsibilities of BAR and DMV for this
program into the appropriate state codes (the Health and Safety
Code for BAR and the Vehicle Code for DMV). The bill also makes
clear, consistent with the intent of current law, that specially
constructed vehicles that are currently registered may apply to
register the vehicle using a different model year determined in
subsequent years.
Related legislation: AB 1740 (Jeffries) would have increased to
750 the annual number of kit cars that would be eligible for
registration using a specific formula for determining their
model year. That bill failed passage in the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0006406