BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
                              Senator Jim Beall, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:          SB 1239           Hearing Date:    4/19/2016
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          |Author:   |Gaines                                                |
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          |Version:  |2/18/2016                                             |
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          |Urgency:  |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
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          |Consultant|Erin Riches                                           |
          |:         |                                                      |
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          SUBJECT:  Smog check:  exemptions


            DIGEST:  This bill expands the existing smog check exemption  
          from pre-1976 model year vehicles to pre-1981 model year  
          vehicles.

          ANALYSIS:
          
          Smog check program

          To help meet federal air quality standards, existing law  
          establishes the Motor Vehicle Inspection Program, commonly known  
          as the smog check program.  The Department of Consumer Affairs  
          administers this program through the Bureau of Automotive Repair  
          (BAR).  The smog check program generally requires vehicle owners  
          to have their vehicles tested every two years, with some  
          exceptions including gas-powered vehicles manufactured prior to  
          1976, alternatively fueled vehicles, and vehicles six model  
          years old or newer.  

          Existing law defines a "collector motor vehicle" as a motor  
          vehicle owned by a collector that is used primarily in shows,  
          parades, charitable functions, and historical exhibitions for  
          display, maintenance, and preservation, and is not used  
          primarily for transportation.  Existing law provides a partial  
          smog check exemption for some collector vehicles.  Specifically,  
          if the vehicle is at least 35 years old, and the owner can  
          demonstrate that the vehicle is insured as a collector vehicle,  
          then the vehicle is exempt from the visual and functional  







          SB 1239 (Gaines)                                   Page 2 of ?
          
          
          inspection of emission controls.  However, the vehicle must  
          still pass a functional inspection of the fuel cap, a visual  
          inspection for liquid fuel leaks, and a tailpipe test.  

          This bill provides that all motor vehicles manufactured prior to  
          the 1981 model year are exempt from smog check.

          

          COMMENTS:

          1)Purpose. The author states that existing law is "inconsistent"  
            because it requires vehicles to be at least 35 model years old  
            in order to qualify for a smog check exemption, yet also  
            mandates that a vehicle's model year (MY) must be older than  
            1976.  This bill would change the date to 1981 "in order to  
            maintain the 35-year exemption."  The sponsor of this bill,  
            the Association of Car Clubs, states that older cars "are  
            normally insured with collector insurance and have mileage  
            restrictions dictated by the insurance company and have little  
            or no negative impact on the environment."  

          2)Pre-1976 exemption vs. collector car exemption. Existing law  
            includes two separate types of smog check exemptions relating  
            to older cars.  First, collector cars are exempted from some  
            portions of smog check, provided they meet certain criteria:  
            the owner must be able to demonstrate that the vehicle is  
            insured as a collector vehicle; the vehicle must be at least  
            35 years old (e.g., MY 1981); the vehicle must comply with  
            exhaust emissions standards for that vehicle's class and MY;  
            and the vehicle must pass a functional inspection of the fuel  
            cap and a visual inspection for liquid fuel leaks.  A  
            collector vehicle meeting these requirements is exempt from  
            the visual or functional check of emission control devices,  
            including the catalytic converter, but must undergo the other  
            portions of the smog test.  The visual check is important  
            because it is generally much easier to tamper with older  
            vehicles' emissions controls - e.g., to increase engine  
            performance - because older systems are much less  
            sophisticated.  For example, a vehicle owner can install a  
            diverter hose to bypass parts of the system; while the owner  
            can connect the hose properly in order to pass the smog test,  
            a visual check is likely to detect this adjustment.

            Existing law provides a separate exemption for vehicles older  








          SB 1239 (Gaines)                                   Page 3 of ?
          
          
            than MY 1976.  These vehicles are exempt from the smog check  
            program altogether.  

            This bill would expand the pre-MY 1976 exemption to all pre-MY  
            1981 vehicles, including collector vehicles.  By doing so,  
            this bill would make all MY 1976-81 collector cars - which are  
            currently subject to partial smog check - fully exempt.  The  
            sponsor of this bill states, "Requiring a costly smog  
            inspection only adds to the already high cost of owning and  
            maintaining such a vehicle and we feel that it's purely a  
            revenue collecting regulation."  California established the  
            smog check program, however, in order to help meet federal air  
            quality standards.  

          3)Older vehicles have much higher GHG emissions.  According to  
            the state Air Resources Board (ARB), transportation accounts  
            for approximately 40% of the state's total GHG emissions.  Of  
            the cars on California's roads, just 25% of vehicles account  
            for 75% of vehicle emissions.  This is partly because the smog  
            check program does not hold older cars to the same emissions  
            standards as newer cars.  Not only are emissions standards for  
            older cars less stringent, but allowances are also made for  
            normal wear and tear in a vehicle's emissions control system  
            as it ages.  Thus, even if an older vehicle passes a smog  
            test, it is still higher-emitting than a newer vehicle.  

            Notwithstanding the lower emissions standards, BAR data  
            indicate that in 2015, an average of 30% of MY 1976-1981  
            vehicles failed a smog test.  Exempting these vehicles from  
            smog check would allow thousands of vehicles that do not meet  
            state emissions standards to continue driving on California's  
            roads.  Although the author and sponsor state that exempting  
            collector cars fully from smog check would have little  
            environmental impact because these vehicles are low mileage,  
            non-collector cars are likely driven a significantly higher  
            number of miles.   

          4)Background on smog check exemptions.  Prior to 1998, vehicles  
            MY 1973 and earlier were exempt from smog check.   
            Subsequently, SB 42 (Kopp, Chapter 801, Statutes of 1997)  
            established the "30-year rolling exemption," allowing vehicles  
            to "graduate" from smog check once they reached 30 years of  
            age.  The Department of Consumer Affairs opposed SB 42,  
            stating that while the initial number of vehicles exempted by  
            the bill was modest, that number was responsible for a  








          SB 1239 (Gaines)                                   Page 4 of ?
          
          
            significant share of the smog test failure rate of the entire  
            fleet.  ARB also opposed the bill, arguing that it would make  
            it even more difficult to attain federal air quality standards  
            in areas such as the South Coast Air Quality Management  
            District.  In 2004, the Legislature passed and the Governor  
            signed AB 2683 (Lieber, Chapter 704, Statutes of 2004).  AB  
            2683 repealed the 30-year rolling exemption and instead  
            applied the smog check exemption strictly to vehicles  
            manufactured prior to MY 1976.  

          5)Opposition concerns.  Writing in opposition to this bill, the  
            Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) states that  
            since 2004, when AB 2683 was passed, "a host of medical  
            research has shown that levels of air pollution breathed by  
            Californians today is in fact far more damaging to public  
            health than was earlier suspected."  The Coalition for Clean  
            Air notes that "the smog check program ? allows for  
            deterioration of the vehicle's emission controls over time.   
            To pass smog check, owners of older vehicles simply need to  
            maintain their vehicles."  The California Air Pollution  
            Control Officers Association states that the smog check  
            program "is essential for clean air and public health" and "is  
            an equitable and cost-effective way to cut air pollution."  

          6)State assistance is available.  The state provides assistance  
            to owners of high-polluting cars through several programs.   
            The Consumer Assistance Program, administered by BAR,  
            provides, for eligible customers, an opportunity to renew  
            registration even if the car does not pass a smog test,  
            provided the owner has spent a certain amount on repair;  
            repair cost assistance; or a voucher in return for "retiring"  
            (scrapping) the vehicle.  BAR also administers, in conjunction  
            with the ARB, the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program (EFMP),  
            which provides funds for voluntary retirement of eligible  
            passenger vehicles and light- and medium-duty trucks that are  
            high polluters.  A component of this program, EFMP Plus-Up,  
            provides additional assistance to eligible customers in the  
            San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District and the South Coast  
            Air Quality Management District.  

          7)Second hearing.  Testimony, but no vote, was taken on this  
            bill in this committee on April 12.  At the hearing, the  
            author pledged to work with opponents on possible amendments  
            to address their concerns.  The committee had not yet received  
            any draft amendments on the morning of April 14.








          SB 1239 (Gaines)                                   Page 5 of ?
          
          

          Related Legislation:
          
          AB 550 (Waldron 2015) - would have allowed the owner of a  
          vehicle that failed a smog test to pay a smog abatement fee of  
          $200.  This bill died in the Assembly Transportation Committee  
          without being set for hearing.

          SB 1224 (La Malfa 2012) - would have expanded the smog check  
          exemption to pre-1981 model year vehicles.  This bill failed  
          passage in this committee.  

          FISCAL EFFECT:  Appropriation:  No    Fiscal Com.:  Yes     
          Local:  No


            POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the committee before noon on  
          Wednesday,
                          April 13, 2016.)
          
            SUPPORT:  

          Association of Car Clubs (sponsor)
          Rods and Relics of Lincoln Hills
          Specialty Equipment Market Association
          19 individuals

          


          OPPOSITION:

          Bay Area Air Quality Management District
          California Air Pollution Control Officers Association
          Coalition for Clean Air
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