Even if you don’t live in California you probably know it has the most stringent emissions testing rules in the country. Any car made in 1976 or newer must be smogged every two years, no exceptions. However, the newly proposed California Senate Bill 712, if passed, could exempt any car 35 years or older from smog tests, as long as it is insured as a collector vehicle. It has been nicknamed Leno’s Law, after California resident, car collector, and former talk show host Jay Leno, who is known for his vast car collection.
While a rolling exemption of 35 years or older would still make California one of the strictest states when it comes to emissions, Leno’s Law would be a huge step towards preserving classic cars. California used to have a rolling 20-year emissions test exemption, until that law was repealed in 2006. Now cars 49 years old must be smogged, which has become a deterrent for collectors who wish to restore or drive classic cars.
The 35-year rule plants the cutoff at 1990 for now, exempting all 80s cars. S.B. 712 was introduced by State Senator Shannon Grove of California’s 12th District. As the bill is currently written, each passing year would unlock another year of smog exemption, so in 2026 cars built in 1991 or older would be free from testing. This would be the biggest step towards preserving California’s rich car culture in nearly two decades. If you live in the Golden State, please reach out to your senator and ask them to vote for Leno’s Law.
Cars that are 35 years old and insured as collector cars to be driven just to car shows are mostly well maintained with minimal pollution. An exemption for smog checks every two years seems appropriate.
While I applaud the idea, I wish our California folks good luck. Can’t see this happening in the current political climate in California.
I can foresee overzealous CHP and local laws ignoring it.
CHP has nothing to do with emissions, unless your car registration has expired. California does NOT have vehicle inspections, just the biennial smog inspections.
Local communities don’t have smog regulations either.
It really makes sense when you run the numbers. The percentage of cars older than 35 years that are still registered has to be extremely small, and of those many are only driven on weekends or to show events. Adding the collector insurance requirement is a brilliant idea as the insurance limits the annual mileage. Cars of this vintage are no longer a significant contributor to air pollution as they represent an extremely small percentage of the total emissions generated. I hope it passes.
This is as far from me as it can get, but I wish californians good luck!
I am not aware of local californian news, but reading this, it feels like a somewhat amateur attempt to make things change. That said, Jay Leno is a strong public face for the cause and I hope they get somewhere with this.
In my head, government officials usually think about money first, then everything else, so I believe there should be some papers published before this bill could be seriously considered.
First, how many viable classic cars are sent away, sold from california to other states, in order to show that this is not just a dream in the sky for a handful of car-nuts and that this is something worth pushing for.
Then, a second study aiming at showing that while older cars usually sport worn, failed or absent smog equipment, old smog-techs were less efficient and not that helpful anyway, in modern numbers, so exempting classic cars (35 years old in this case) from the obligation of keeping old cars up to the specs from the year it was made would make but a dent in the overall californian vehicle population’s emissions. Because environment matters for californian lawmakers.
And finally one aiming at finding out the economic gains of making California friendlier to classic car ownership. Via making classic cars maintenance cheaper, there will be more tourism, rallies, festivals and whatnot where the money earmarked for smog equipment maintenance will pretty inevitably be spent. Because money matters for lawmakers.
This is a wildcard, but it could also be worth finding out if there could be money moving from oiligarches into lawmakers pockets? Considering the electrification we are living in, with less and less gas-powered vehicles, oil lobbies could be interested in spending a bit to widen the market to which they can sell gas? Especially to rich-running, carburator-fed gassers, usually tuned to extract a bit more power than stock, that we will actually be happy to fill up, each tank spent meaning we enjoy our hobby!
Bonus fact from skimming the S.B. 712 link in the article, californian motorcycles are not tested? Why aren’t you all on bikes?
Another CONCERN! In my checking (I have a number of collectable cars registered in Ca.), an insurance policy identified specifically as a policy for a collector car thru all the checking I’ve done with different companies will require FULL COVERAGE insurance, including fixed amount comp. and collision as well as mileage restrictions. I see absolutely no reason for California to require full coverage insurance when determining if a car is a collectable. The criteria logically should be age, and ‘mileage driven annually’. I have a number of cars insured with CSAA and every year they question and document mileage and it is used when determining the premium. Comp and collision coverage is optional, but not required. I have had this coverage for years. Love to hear any feedback or comments. Thanks, Kevin
… it’s not necessarily California Smog Check, per se, just the last two years, which has has gotten way-way-way out-of-hand. Abuse of power, it’s the whacked out DMV people, totally out of control. Multiple vehicles in my household, all, I maintain top-down full coverage. All of them pass smog check, like a cool breeze. I circle my vehicles to smog check, as required. No problem, with my hybrid daily driver, no problem with my winter weather 4WD station wagon, both rubber stamped through. Different story, , whole ‘nother thing entirely, rolling my vintage AW11 supercharged two-seater, something goes wacky, some DMV bureaucrat behind the curtain, barking orders at the smog check technician, ordering photographs. I don’t particularly appreciate devious government bureaucrats, hiding behind the curtain, pushing buttons on me – asj.