YES, we’ve got some great news! Last month we told you about a proposed California bill that would have made it mandatory in certain parts of the state to continue emissions testing on pre-1976 cars for the life of the vehicle. Many of you, some not even from California, answered the call and wrote letters on behalf of vintage car enthusiasts everywhere. And it worked! Joji from Toy Garage just emailed us to say that the bill went up before the legislature and passed, but the section in the bill concerning pre-1976 autos was removed and those cars will still enjoy their emissions exemptions!
We at JNC feel it’s important to preserve the environment, but it’s also important to preserve old cars. Legislation like this would have made it economically infeasible for many owners to keep a nostalgic around and doomed many such vehicles to the junkyard. Most importantly, however, their numbers are so few that their emissions contribute almost nothing to the overall volume of air pollution. Let’s go after the real offenders before singling out classic cars. Our deepest thanks to all who helped!
See the full SEMA press release after the jump.
SEMA Legislative Update
Old Car Emissions Exemption No Longer Threatened in 8 California Counties
Congratulations! The California old car hobby convinced California Senate legislators to amend legislation (S.B. 1549) that sought repeal of the state’s current emissions test
exemption for pre-1976 vehicles registered by new owners in the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District. The District includes eight counties in California’s Central Valley. Under the original bill, after Jan. 1, 2009, new owners seeking to register a pre-1976 vehicle in these eight counties would have been subject to emissions tests for the life of the
vehicle. Under the amendment, the repeal language was removed and the bill instead now requires the DMV to study the state’s special license plate programs and recommend improvements.
Thanks to all of you for contributing to this successful resolution!
if sen. dean florez was serious about this, then it was probably retaliation due to him being stuck behind a stinky old ford flat bed truck on a two-lane road in the middle of the central valley
after miles of inhaling noxious fumes, he probably started thinking “i know what i’ll do! i’ll introduce a bill that will remove the smog-belching loophole for these old jalopies; then, my family and i will breath only good, fresh air”
never mind that pre ’76 hobby cars contribute a miniscule amount to the central valley’s foul air dilemma
the majority of the foulness comes livestock methane, herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals de jour, heavy machinery, processing plants–plus whatever floats in from the coast
i know, pretty silly, but i don’t think he was really serious; i just think putting that clause in his bill allowed him leverage to get something else he wanted pushed through. that’s politics.