No Smog for Pre 1981 Vehicles!

Doug lamalfa introduced sb1224 which would exempt pre 1981 vehicles from smog. This is scheduled for hearings on March 27,2012. Write or call your California assembly or senate member to support. The legislative counsel’s digest states:

sb 1224, as introduced, la malfa. Smog check: biennial inspection:
exemption.
Existing law establishes a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance
(smog check) program, administered by the department of consumer
affairs. The smog check program requires inspection of motor vehicles
upon initial registration, biennially upon renewal of registration, upon
transfer of ownership, and in certain other circumstances. Existing law
exempts specified vehicles from being inspected biennially upon renewal
of registration, including, among others, all motor vehicles manufactured
prior to the 1976 model-year.
This bill instead would exempt all motor vehicles prior to the 1981
model-year from being inspected biennially upon renewal of registration.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
 
This should be enteresting. I have purposely passed over rigs for sale that are 76 and newer, due to the smog crapola. Kinda my loss I gues. But if this new preposal goes through, then that would probably open the doors to a buying frenzy of pre-81 vehicles.
 
Here is a response that you can cut and paste and send to your local senator.

Your fellow senator doug lamalfa has introduced sb 1224 which would exempt pre 1981 vehicles from biennial smog inspection. I am someone who owns a pre 1981 vehicle that continously passes all smog tests and feel that this bill is a very good idea. Please join your fellow senator and vote to approve this bill.

Thank you,


for those of you in the san mateo, santa clara, and santa cruz counties here is a link to send your message to Joe simitian:

send Joe an email | state senator Joe simitian
 
I posted this info on the planet. Thanks for the info!! Doug lamalfa is the senator for my district! I think we'll keep him!!
 
I've been waiting for this ever since das governator signed sally lieber's ab 2683 back in 2004 that repealed the rolling 30-year emissions inspection exemption and fixed the exempt years as 1975 and earlier.


This bill will first be heard by the state senate's transportation & housing committee on March 27. The committee members are:

senator Mark desaulnier (chair)
senator Ted gaines (vice chair)
senator Tom harman
senator christine kehoe
senator alan lowenthal
senator fran pavley
senator michael rubio
senator Joe simitian
senator Mark wyland

here is the link to the committee roster and contact info:

http://stran.senate.CA.gov/memberroster

At this time, it would be best for everyone to write a paper letter of support to each committee member and mail it in. A follow-up phone call and e-mail is a good idea, too.

This lets the committee members know that there is substantial constituent support for this legislation.

When (hopefully) the bill progresses to the senate floor, we all can then write and call our respective state senators in support of the bill.

I'll be on it this week with the mailed-in letters to the committee members.
 
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As I posted over on the planet, although this bill seems to be written as requiring an initial inspection and then none thereafter, it has been my recent experiences that tell me that May not be the case (to wit this particular language is already in the bill), just an updating of the year they let things "drop of the radar". Twice recently (past couple of years) I've registered pre-'75 vehicles and no inspection was required. Just completed the paperwork at the desk, paid fees, and received plates.

Hopefully this will be more of the same. Fingers crossed!
 
Here's a copy of my letter to the committee members:




dear senator ____________,

I am writing to you to express my support for sb 1224 (lamalfa/vargas) that would amend current law regarding exempt vehicle model years for biennial emissions inspections from 1975 and earlier, to 1980 and earlier vehicles.

As a collector and enthusiast of 1970s era classic vehicles, I was greatly disappointed to see the previous 30-year ‘rolling’ exemption changed, via ab 2683 in 2004. This dealt a great blow to collectors of 1976-1980 classic vehicles. Many owners of those late ‘70s vehicles have carefully restored them and do not drive them very often. From what I have observed, there are very few vehicles from the 1970s on the roads of California. To me, this means that most vehicles of that era are not ‘daily drivers’, compared with newer vehicles made within the past 20 years or so.
Because of this, I believe that the currently operated vehicles of the 1970s have only a very small effect on the annual vehicular emissions in the state.

Current state emissions laws make it extremely difficult to legally change the fuel delivery systems of 1976-1980 vehicles from the required older carburetors to electronic fuel injection systems that function better and produce fewer emissions. The passage of sb 1224 would encourage this type of change, for the benefit of both the vehicle enthusiast and the environment.

For these reasons, I urge you to support sb 1224.

Respectfully,


erik vanrenselaar
petaluma, CA
 
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