bvr775
11-09-04, 07:38 PM
I ran across this today and figured that the cali folks would bee intrested
http://www.shadetreemechanic.com/df_nov_2004_newsletter.htm
Governor Signs Smog Check Exemption Repeal Bill into Law
Despite receiving thousands of messages in opposition to the bill from dedicated SEMA Action Network (SAN) members across the state, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed A.B. 2683 into law. The new law repeals California’s current rolling emissions-test exemption for vehicles 30 years old and older and replaces it with a law requiring the lifetime testing of all 1976 and newer model-year vehicles.
We remain confident that the facts are on our side: California’s 30-year rolling exemption recognized the minimal impact vintage cars have on air quality, since they constitute a minuscule portion of the overall vehicle population. These older cars are overwhelmingly well maintained and infrequently driven and are poor candidates for reducing pollution. They are, in the end, convenient scapegoats for legislators, regulators and stationary source polluters using exaggerated data and inflated annual mileage assumptions in order to secure any legislative victory that sounds as if it will reduce emissions.
"The SAN has generally encouraged the enactment of environmental legislation to create genuine air quality improvement," said SEMA Vice President of Government Affairs Steve McDonald. "When such efforts become the subject of hyperbole and misinformation, it is our duty to speak out. We challenge supporters to spot a single vehicle of a model year relevant to this bill on their next commute. These cars and trucks are simply not the problem. The old-car hobby must stand united against future attacks from environmental activists and smokestack industries that will accomplish nothing except require unnecessary testing, waste money and burden car hobbyists."
The new law becomes effective April 1, 2005. As originally written, the bill would have required vehicles of the post 1975 era to undergo an enhanced smog inspection for the duration of the vehicle’s life. However, hobbyists were able to secure a small concession in the enacted version of the law, in which vehicles 35 years old or older of the post 1975 era need only undergo a basic Smog Check inspection, a tailpipe test, functional inspection of the fuel cap and a visual inspection for liquid fuel leaks. To qualify for this basic test, these vehicles must be insured under a collector policy and only driven to parades, exhibitions, etc.
"With the California Air Resources Board having proposed yearly testing of these older vehicles, this new law could be far costlier and even more burdensome to vehicle collectors in the future," McDonald added. "Even the benefits of the less stringent smog check inspection available to these 1976 and newer model-year vehicles could be short lived. These regulators could set emissions standards to any level that suits their purposes in order to ensure inspection failures of these 1976 and later model cars. Nothing in this new law prevents regulators from bringing model-year 1968 through 1975 vehicles back into the Smog Check program at a later date."
As always, the SAN is grateful to the thousands of car clubs, media outlets and enthusiasts throughout the state that bombarded the Governor’s office with phone calls, letters and e-mails requesting his veto of the is bill. Working together, we will live to fight another day!
http://www.shadetreemechanic.com/df_nov_2004_newsletter.htm
Governor Signs Smog Check Exemption Repeal Bill into Law
Despite receiving thousands of messages in opposition to the bill from dedicated SEMA Action Network (SAN) members across the state, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed A.B. 2683 into law. The new law repeals California’s current rolling emissions-test exemption for vehicles 30 years old and older and replaces it with a law requiring the lifetime testing of all 1976 and newer model-year vehicles.
We remain confident that the facts are on our side: California’s 30-year rolling exemption recognized the minimal impact vintage cars have on air quality, since they constitute a minuscule portion of the overall vehicle population. These older cars are overwhelmingly well maintained and infrequently driven and are poor candidates for reducing pollution. They are, in the end, convenient scapegoats for legislators, regulators and stationary source polluters using exaggerated data and inflated annual mileage assumptions in order to secure any legislative victory that sounds as if it will reduce emissions.
"The SAN has generally encouraged the enactment of environmental legislation to create genuine air quality improvement," said SEMA Vice President of Government Affairs Steve McDonald. "When such efforts become the subject of hyperbole and misinformation, it is our duty to speak out. We challenge supporters to spot a single vehicle of a model year relevant to this bill on their next commute. These cars and trucks are simply not the problem. The old-car hobby must stand united against future attacks from environmental activists and smokestack industries that will accomplish nothing except require unnecessary testing, waste money and burden car hobbyists."
The new law becomes effective April 1, 2005. As originally written, the bill would have required vehicles of the post 1975 era to undergo an enhanced smog inspection for the duration of the vehicle’s life. However, hobbyists were able to secure a small concession in the enacted version of the law, in which vehicles 35 years old or older of the post 1975 era need only undergo a basic Smog Check inspection, a tailpipe test, functional inspection of the fuel cap and a visual inspection for liquid fuel leaks. To qualify for this basic test, these vehicles must be insured under a collector policy and only driven to parades, exhibitions, etc.
"With the California Air Resources Board having proposed yearly testing of these older vehicles, this new law could be far costlier and even more burdensome to vehicle collectors in the future," McDonald added. "Even the benefits of the less stringent smog check inspection available to these 1976 and newer model-year vehicles could be short lived. These regulators could set emissions standards to any level that suits their purposes in order to ensure inspection failures of these 1976 and later model cars. Nothing in this new law prevents regulators from bringing model-year 1968 through 1975 vehicles back into the Smog Check program at a later date."
As always, the SAN is grateful to the thousands of car clubs, media outlets and enthusiasts throughout the state that bombarded the Governor’s office with phone calls, letters and e-mails requesting his veto of the is bill. Working together, we will live to fight another day!