SEMA defeated California legislation to require annual (rather than biennial) smog-check inspections for vehicles 15 years old and older. The bill would also have required that funds generated through the additional inspection fees be deposited into an account which could then be used to scrap older cars. In an effort to sneak the bill through in the closing days of the legislative session, California Assemblyman Dave Jones amended a completely unrelated bill with the annual smog-check inspection language.
While pre-'76 motor vehicles would have remained exempt under existing California law, this proposal ignored 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 reductions. This latest action represents the second time SEMA was able to defeat this legislation.
For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.