California Smog Exemption

California Bill to Require ANNUAL Emissions
Tests for Vehicles 15-Years Old Moves to Senate Appropriations Committee

Legislation (A.B. 616) to require annual Smog check inspections for vehicles 15-years old and older has been approved by the California Assembly and the Senate Transportation Committee.   The bill now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration on August 20th.  A.B. 616 would also require that funds generated through the additional inspection fees be deposited into an account which can be used to scrap older cars.  You may recall that in 2004 a new law was enacted in California to require the lifetime testing of all 1976 and newer model-year vehicles.  Pre-1976 motor vehicles would remain exempt under A.B. 616.  

We Urge You to Contact Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee (List Below) Immediately to Oppose A.B. 616


Senator.Torlakson@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Cox@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Aanestad@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Ashburn@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Battin@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Cedillo@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Corbett@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Dutton@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Florez@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Kuehl@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Oropeza@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Ridley-Thomas@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Runner@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Simitian@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Steinberg@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Wyland@senate.ca.gov; Senator.Yee@senate.ca.gov


Please do not let A.B. 616 go through!



• A.B. 616 ignores the minimal impact vintage cars have on air quality.  

• A.B. 616 could entice vintage car owners into allowing these vehicles to be scrapped.  

• A.B. 616 ignores the fact that vehicles 15-years old and older still constitute a small portion of the overall vehicle population and are a poor source from which to look for emissions reduction.

• A.B. 616 ignores the fact that classic vehicles are overwhelmingly well-maintained and infrequently driven.  

• A.B. 616 would increase costs by creating an annual inspection fee for owners of these vehicles.  

• A.B. 616 represents another attempt by California legislators and regulators to scapegoat older cars.

• A.B. 616 would dramatically impact the ability of fixed and low income motorists from owning and driving their older vehicles.



Thanks,

Your Name

Your City, CA

Taxpayer  

Cut and paste the form letter and e-mail address in a new e-mail, then insert your name and city and send today!

John  

Done! We CANT let this go through!  
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So it's not a Jeep... sue me... it's still faster!

Questions? Comments? Concerns? PM Me!

Didn't you guys get the mass return emailings about how they don't check those addresses and to go to their websites and click the contact button?  
- Pete Trasborg, Associate Editor, JP Magazine

I actually got an answer back:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding Assembly Bill 616 (Jones).
I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

Assembly Bill 616 would require vehicles 15 years or older, with the
exception of pre-1976 model cars, to undergo annual smog inspections.
Current law requires eligible vehicles to undergo biennial smog
inspections.

This piece of legislation would place an undue burden upon car owners
simply because their vehicle is older than an arbitrary date set in law.
This bill would double the cost for those vehicle owners as they would
be required to submit to annual, instead of biennial, smog inspections.
Additionally, the arbitrary nature of the 15 year threshold concerns me.
I have not yet seen any evidence that 15 year old vehicles pollute our
air substantially more than 14 year old vehicles.  Declaring all
vehicles 15 years or older are guilty of being gross polluters without
any empirical data is backwards and does not reflect the spirit of the
law.  For these reasons, I oppose AB 616 in its current form.

AB 616 passed from the Assembly on June 5, 2007 by a vote of 46 to 33.
The bill is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Again, thank you for contacting me.  If I can be of further assistance,
please do not hesitate to call my office.

Sincerely,

DAVE COX
Senator, First District  
- Pete Trasborg, Associate Editor, JP Magazine

thats the same one I got pete, I don't even live in cali  
These tires were made for muddin and they're gonna throw mud all over you.

Yeah, 3 came back as mass mailings. But I got 3 responses so far, all against 616.