I disagree in that the State is no longer "we", but is now career bureacrats that run the gov't with virtually no oversight by the legislature. I believe that bureacrats should be held accountable for their actions. In this case, they should compensate people for having their cars confiscated because they fail some arbitrary test. If there is no consequence of their actions, the test is likely to get more and more stringent, and impact more and more people.
If the people who pass this crap are held fiscally accountable for their actions, they are less likely to persue regulatory overkill because it costs them money. Ideally, the money should come out of the budget of the agency that regulates the smog test.
To me this is straight fifth amendment stuff: the gov't shall take no property without just compensation. I am open to other suggestions on how this feedback function could be accomplished.
It's pure unadulterated unscientific BS in the first place. The Smog Check II program also includes "butt sniffers" stationed at on ramps where cold engines are their most ineffecient at idle, waiting for the metering light and while being gunned to get up to merging speed!!!
It includes those stupid dynomometers that smog checking stations were forced to buy from a manufacturer whose lobbying efforts are still suspect to this day, etc., etc., etc... I only wish you could have heard all the years of discussion on KSFO in the mornings.
The closest you could have come was to listen to KGO on Saturday and Sunday nights from 10PM on to hear Dr. Bill Wattenburg polk so many holes in Smog Check II that he could drive his old gypo logging truck through 'em!!!
This is what I mean by us down here fighting and demonstrating against this with a scarce media resource and winning against Davis, only to lose with Schwarzenrenegger!!! It's doubly devastating!!! That's why I'm so enraged and I think many others are beginning to join my gettin hot under the collar!!!
Syncro! What do you think of this Schwarzenegger EnvironMental subtrafuge??? Are you thrilled with it??? Or, have I got you cornfused with someone who actually gives a spit???