Posted on 04/25/2015 1:21:51 AM PDT by Cowman
A bill proposed in California would allow classic car owners to cut a check to the DMV for $200 to get out of the state’s notoriously strict smog test. But naturally, it’s a bit more complicated than just paying off the Golden State.
Any car in California built on or after 1976 has to undergo a smog test every two years (not so for pre-76 cars, which is one of the reasons my 1976 BMW 2002 is now living in Florida).
AB550 seeks to amend that law to allow vehicles 30 years or older to bypass the test, but only after a series of steps. Here’s what the changes state:
44011.7. (a) The owner of a motor vehicle that is required to obtain a certificate of compliance pursuant to Section 44011 may elect to pay a smog abatement fee of two hundred dollars ($200) if the motor vehicle meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Is 30 or more model-years old.
(2) Was manufactured during or after the 1976 model-year.
(3) Fails a smog test required pursuant to this chapter.
(4) Fails a subsequent smog test after necessary repairs were made.
(b) Payment of the smog abatement fee established pursuant to this section shall be made to the Department of Motor Vehicles at the time of the registration of the motor vehicle.
(c) Fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Air Quality Improvement Fund created by Section 44274.5.
It seems simple, but the obvious question is how the state would confirm how “necessary repairs were made.” Does that mean ensuring the car is putting out the lowest possible amount of emissions or making drastic changes to the powertrain to get inline with the sniffer test? Or can you just pay off a mechanic to say that “necessary” repairs were made and it’s still a rolling superfund site? There’s really no clarification, which doesn’t exactly bode well for the language’s passage.
The bill was proposed by Assembly Member Marie Waldron, a Republican from Southern California’s 75th district, and has the support of the SEMA Action Network. SEMA has attempted to do something similar in the past with a bill that would exempt all pre-1981 cars from emissions inspections in California. That failed, but maybe lining the pockets of the state with a couple of Benjamins means AB550 has a shot.
I’ve got an 85 300ZX that just barely passes each time. I could use this bill.
When you know the world of construction workers and waitresses, and the working class.
Then you know what the “smog test” means, it throws many into homelessness, and wrecks many lives.
Many people live on the edge, month to month, and even when they think that they are getting ahead and have a Pickup truck, an apartment, and a $1,000.00 in savings.
The “smog Test” comes up and it all ends, they lose the truck, or the Toyota, the job, the apartment, everything.
Back when I lived in CT I had an F150 that failed since it was new — and Ford couldn’t fix it. After Ford fought with the state a while they granted a waiver for the sniff test. That’s when I figured out it was about money not smog.
Wow, Wow, Wow.
God I despise this stuff.
I don’t know how many decades this covers, but it destroys life.
No emissions testing for an antique. AND my property taxes went from $500/year to $5.85/yr. [Of course, I sacrificed ABS brakes, AWD, infrared wipers, TPMS, heated seats & steering wheel, super AC, CD player, 300 HP, AC Power Outlets]...but, but I do have a neat cassette player. Heh.
Were you around in CT, when emissions was handled by indi companies.....then the state took over and built mandatory emission stations .....that was a fiasco and now it back to indi testing.
From abortion to direct taxation to child protective services; isn't that what a Progressive, Command and control government does though? I know someone who was in charge of the formulation lab at a major contract research organization in the days before Obama.
He's a substitute science teacher now.
The waitress or sheetrocker that looses everything because of the smog regs may have been put in that position by our benevolent government.
When one sees it from decade to decade, it can be so hard to live through.
In my little county (~30K) we are exempt from the vehicle emissions inspections for Georgia. Rule is over 100K I think.
Us too! We’re still using an ‘86 Toyota Corolla. Works fine, but we hold our breaths with every smog check!
NJ, miraclulously did away with state inspection altogether for older diesel vehicles. I moved to PA, but kept my ‘91 Jetta diesel and my ‘04 Ram 2500 registered in NJ. So far in 4 years only one cop gave me flack for not getting a PA driver’s license. Supposedly I had 40 days to do so after moving here. I view myself as a temporary resident due to the many field deployments for work I have to the Permian Basin.
Crank windows? Hand-cranked windows is the ultimate jackpot.
Is the California Air Resources Board still employing folks with fake PhDs?
When I was a kid the thing to do was to get a clunker car and fix it up. Nobody had ever heard of TPMS (you kicked the tire) 15 Speaker bluetooth stereo (AM was just fine) Backup cameras (You have a mirror) or a car that parked itself (If you can't park it YOU SHOULDN'T BE DRIVING IT.) I have to wonder about the kids today that have all of this stuff and don't have any idea about how to do without these things.
“That’s when I figured out it was about money not smog.”
That’s way it’s always been in MD. If you failed but could prove you’d spent $400 on attempts to fix it, you got a waiver. They test every two years. My 1999 SUV is due in June.
Years ago I had an ‘82 Chevy that passed even though most of the smog controls were disconnected. It’s a scam.
...power windows, power brakes, power seats, automatic transmission, radio.......
That’s sarcasm...right?
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