BILL ANALYSIS
SB 811
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 811 (DeSaulnier)
As Amended May 4, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :24-13
TRANSPORTATION 9-4 APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|Eng, Blumenfield, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles |
| |Buchanan, Furutani, | |Calderon, Coto, Davis, |
| |Galgiani, | |Fuentes, Hall, |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal, John A. | |John A. Perez, Skinner, |
| |Perez, Solorio, Torlakson | |Solorio, |
| | | |Audra Strickland, |
| | | |Torlakson |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+---------------------------|
|Nays:|Jeffries, Garrick, |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, |
| |Miller, Niello | |Miller |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
assign specially constructed vehicles (kit cars) previously
registered outside California the model-year of the calendar
year the vehicle was first registered outside the state.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires DMV to register specially constructed vehicles
previously registered outside this state that apply for
registration in California using the model year of the
calendar year the vehicle was first registered.
2)Allows the owner of such a vehicle to apply for a different
model-year determination. If such an application is made
during a year in which DMV has already used a specific
methodology [described under Existing Law 2] to register 500
specially constructed vehicles, the application must be denied
and the vehicle will be subject to the emission control and
inspection requirements applicable to the same model-year as
the calendar year in which the vehicle was originally
registered outside California.
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3)Specifies that a denial of the application does not preclude
the vehicle owner from applying for a different model-year
determination in a subsequent calendar year.
4)Requires DMV, if it is unable to establish the year in which
the vehicle was originally registered, to assign the same
model-year as the calendar year in which the application for
registration was submitted, and allows DMV to establish by
regulation the procedures for determining the original year of
registration.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes DMV to register up to 500 specially constructed
vehicles per year using the method outlined below [Existing
Law 2], to determine the model-year of the vehicle for
registration and emission control purposes. 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."
2)Requires a specially constructed vehicle, upon registration
with DMV, to 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 first 500 such vehicles each year the vehicle
owner may choose whether the model year determination is based
on the vehicle or on the engine. Requires DMV, if it receives
an application for registration of a specially constructed
passenger vehicle or pickup truck after it has already
registered 500 such vehicles during that calendar year, and
the vehicle has not been previously registered, to 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.
3)Allows owners of vehicles that were not registered as
specially constructed to re-apply for registration as a
specially constructed vehicle in future years. If those
efforts are successful, the vehicle is subjected to the
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inspection process whereby an authorized referee determines
the model year of the vehicle or its engine.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, administrative costs to DMV are minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS : Existing law requires the owners of out-of-state
vehicles being re-registered in California to pay a sales and
use tax and to obtain a smog certificate of compliance. DMV
grants "full faith and credit" to other states' certificates of
title and uses the information on those documents to register
the vehicles in this state.
Existing law also authorizes DMV to register up to 500 specially
constructed vehicles (kit cars) per year, determining their
model-year by comparing the vehicles to those that they most
closely resemble. In order to determine the appropriate model
year of these vehicles for emission control standards purposes,
they must be inspected by smog inspection facilities authorized
to perform "referee" functions. In determining the model year
of the vehicle it's the owners option as to whether the referee
compares the vehicle or the engine to those of the era it most
closely resembles. Since most kit cars are designed to look
like classic cars, this provision thus effectively exempts them
from smog requirements.
Once 500 such vehicles have been registered in a given calendar
year, DMV still requires a smog inspection prior to
registration. In this instance a more accurate determination of
the engine type is likely and more stringent smog requirements
may apply.
According to the sponsor, the California Office of the Attorney
General (AG), several states have registration laws that allow a
specially constructed vehicle to be assigned a certificate of
title bearing the same model year designation as the vehicle it
most closely resembles. A California resident who built in 2008
a kit car designed to resemble a 1965 vehicle can first register
his or her vehicle in another state, be assigned the 1965 model
year, and then re-register the vehicle in California as a 1965
vehicle, allowing the vehicle to avoid smog inspection
requirements.
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The specially constructed vehicle industry is aware of this
loophole and the AG's office has seen a rise in California
residents who are purchasing these vehicles out-of-state and
returning them to California to avoid emission requirements.
Based on the AG's office's prior investigations, it is estimated
that between 3,000 and 5,000 specially constructed vehicles will
be brought into California every year that will not be required
to comply with California's vehicle emission requirements.
Additionally, as long as this loophole exists, it is believed
that the California-based kit car industry will suffer as people
seeking to avoid California emissions standards will simply stop
purchasing vehicles within the state and instead purchase and
take delivery of specially constructed vehicles out-of-state.
By assigning the model year using the first year of registration
to a specially constructed vehicles coming into this state,
rather than the year on the title, this bill will close this
loophole. It may, however, also result in newly-built kit cars
from out of state being unable to be registered in California
due to their engines not meeting current standards.
Related legislation: SB 232 (Benoit) would eliminate the 500
annual cap on the number of specially constructed vehicles that
DMV may register with a model year of the vehicle the specially
constructed vehicle most closely resembles. That bill is a
two-year bill that is currently in the Senate Transportation and
Housing Committee. AB 318 (Emmerson) would permit the Bureau of
Automotive Repair to charge a $160 fee for each referee
inspection performed on specially constructed vehicles
participating in an amnesty program. That bill is currently on
the Senate floor.
Legislative history: The current method of determining a
model-year designation for 500 specially-constructed vehicles
per year was established by SB 100 (Johannessen), Chapter 871,
Statutes of 2001 and modified by SB 1578 ( Johannessen), Chapter
693, Statutes of 2002.
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
SB 811
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FN: 0001936