ANNUAL Emissions Tests for Vehicles OF 15-Years ?

[Doug Teulie]

Is this for real?

ANNUAL Emissions as in every year.

SEMA Action Network
Immediate Action Needed!
California Lawmaker Trying to Sneak by a Bill to Require ANNUAL Emissions Tests for Vehicles
15-Years Old and Older

Committee Hearing set for August 28. Call Now!!!



In an effort to avoid public scrutiny, California Assemblyman Dave Jones (Assemblymember.jones@assembly.ca.gov) has amended a completely unrelated bill with language to require annual Smog check inspections for vehicles 15-years old and older. This represents an obvious attempt to sneak through legislation in the closing days of the legislative session that had been previously defeated (A.B. 616). The new bill is designated as A.B. 3053.

While pre-1976 motor vehicles would remain exempt under existing California law, this proposal 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. Furthermore, the bill would direct that the funds generated through annual inspection fees be used to scrap older cars. This represents another attempt by California legislators and regulators to scapegoat older cars.

This is the type of activity that fuels distrust in public officials. SEMA caught this lawmaker’s underhanded attempt to circumvent public process and is now calling on you to help defeat A.B 3053 before it’s too late.

Time is of the Essence! We Urge You to Call the California Senate Appropriations Committee (List Below) Immediately to Oppose A.B. 3053


California Senate Appropriations Committee

Senator Tom Torlakson – Chair
Phone: 916/651-4007
Email: senator.torlakson@sen.ca.gov

Senator Dave Cox
Phone: 916/651-4001
Email: senator.cox@sen.ca.gov

Senator Sam Aanestad
Phone: 916/651-4004
Email: senator.aanestad@sen.ca.gov

Senator Roy Ashburn
Phone: 916/651-4018
Email: senator.ashburn@sen.ca.gov

Senator Gilbert Cedillo
Phone: 916/651-4022
Email: senator.cedillo@sen.ca.gov

Senator Ellen Corbett
Phone: 916/651-4010

Senator Robert Dutton
Phone: 916/651-4031
Email: senator.dutton@sen.ca.gov

Senator Dean Florez
Phone: 916/651-4016
Email: senator.florez@sen.ca.gov

Senator Sheila Kuehl
Phone: 916/651-4023
Email: senator.kuehl@sen.ca.gov

Senator Jenny Oropeza
Phone: 916/651-4028

Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas
Phone: 916/651-4026

Senator George Runner
Phone: 916/651-4017
Email: senator.runner@sen.ca.gov

Senator Joe Simitian
Phone: 916/651-4011
Email: senator.simitian@sen.ca.gov

Senator Mark Wyland
Phone: 916/651-4038

Senator Leland Yee
Phone: 916/651-4008

[Bob Beamesderfer]

SEMA doesn't joke around about things like that.

[Steve Ekstrand]

I can't find it on SEMA's site.
It doesn't make sense to me. 15yr old cars get smogged now. And SEMA usually writes better than that....

I'm thinking bogus.....

[Steve Ekstrand]

Wow.....

Looks like its real. Went to the Assembly site:


CURRENT BILL STATUS


MEASURE : A.B. No. 3053
AUTHOR(S) : Jones.
TOPIC : Smog check: annual inspection: repair assistance program.
HOUSE LOCATION : SEN
+LAST AMENDED DATE : 08/22/2008


TYPE OF BILL :
Active
Non-Urgency
Non-Appropriations
Majority Vote Required
State-Mandated Local Program
Fiscal
Non-Tax Levy

LAST HIST. ACT. DATE: 08/25/2008
LAST HIST. ACTION : Read second time. To third reading. Re-referred to
Com. on APPR. pursuant to Joint Rule 10.5.
COMM. LOCATION : SEN APPROPRIATIONS

TITLE : An act to amend Sections 44062.1 and 44094 of, and to
add Section 44012.7 to, the Health and Safety Code,
relating to air pollution.

[Doug Teulie]

Wow.....Looks like its real. Went to the Assembly site:.

If this passes the junk yards will be full of NICE 1976 - 1993 cars.
Every time older cars get smogged the risk of junking them increases because many owners don't know how to or think that they can afford to replace the cat. My cars pass smog and are nearly as clean if not cleaner than many new cars. If this passes I will get to deal with it every year and help pay to fill the junk yards.

When cars have value the yards look like the upper picture.



When cars have less value because of a state program the yards look like the lower picture.

[Steve Ekstrand]

But what is the change????

I have to smog my 1991 civic now???

[Bob Beamesderfer]

E-mailed all of those with addresses; the one to Cedillo bounced with a permanent error.

I'm writing to state my opposition to A.B. 3053. While Mr. Jones' heart might be in the right place, this effort amounts to penalizing a small minority of vehicle owners. In urban areas, most of the vehicles that would be covered are owned by collectors and spend very little time running on public roads. The net effect would pale in comparison to any meaningful efforts to cut air pollution from other sources.

As a Democrat, I'm disappointed that Mr. Jones would field something that the cynic in me sees showing up in his district mailer next year, touting how he pushed legislation to clean up the air.

I appreciate your consideration in this matter.

[Doug Teulie]

But what is the change????

I have to smog my 1991 civic now???

ANNUAL Emissions as in every year. twice as many times as a newer car.

[Steve Ekstrand]

Ah..... That blows. I HATE democrats. Especially, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Ah..... That blows. I HATE democrats. Especially, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS

Why do I think I laid that guilt-trip out in my e-mail? Translation: Stop being self-righteous, self-aggrandizing phonies! I almost included that impact of the older cars was low because most of them weren't running at all. I was thinking of a certain Mopar vehicle. Steve.

[Bob Pl]

I bet the assembly member gets a fat car allowance, which, of course, means WE are all buying him a new car every year or so.

[Steve Lepper]

This is VERY real... I've been sending emails since yesterday to every state assembly member I can find. This would mean 1976 to 15-year-old (moving target: would start with 1994) vehicles will have to have ANNUAL smog checks for the REST OF THEIR LIFE!

Next task is to find out more about this ASSemblyman Dave Jones, so we can make sure he does not get re-elected.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

This is VERY real... I've been sending emails since yesterday to every state assembly member I can find. This would mean 1976 to 15-year-old (moving target: would start with 1994) vehicles will have to have ANNUAL smog checks for the REST OF THEIR LIFE!

Next task is to find out more about this ASSemblyman Dave Jones, so we can make sure he does not get re-elected.

Jones' district is Sacremento, all urban/suburban.

A few years back, some Central Valley lawmaker wanted to do something similar in exchange for tighter smog restrictions on farm vehicles, which would have effected his constituents. SEMA slapped that one down.

[Jason Flores]

E-mailed all of those with addresses; the one to Cedillo bounced with a permanent error.

I'm writing to state my opposition to A.B. 3053. While Mr. Jones' heart might be in the right place, this effort amounts to penalizing a small minority of vehicle owners. In urban areas, most of the vehicles that would be covered are owned by collectors and spend very little time running on public roads. The net effect would pale in comparison to any meaningful efforts to cut air pollution from other sources.

As a Democrat, I'm disappointed that Mr. Jones would field something that the cynic in me sees showing up in his district mailer next year, touting how he pushed legislation to clean up the air.

I appreciate your consideration in this matter.

Bob, can you copy and paste your address "to" bar...so all of us can copy and paste the address and you message and change accordingly.

..maybe palero can write an algorithm that can email from random emails every 5 min so all their boxes are filled with identical emails!!!

[Bob Beamesderfer]

E-mailed all of those with addresses; the one to Cedillo bounced with a permanent error.

I'm writing to state my opposition to A.B. 3053. While Mr. Jones' heart might be in the right place, this effort amounts to penalizing a small minority of vehicle owners. In urban areas, most of the vehicles that would be covered are owned by collectors and spend very little time running on public roads. The net effect would pale in comparison to any meaningful efforts to cut air pollution from other sources.

As a Democrat, I'm disappointed that Mr. Jones would field something that the cynic in me sees showing up in his district mailer next year, touting how he pushed legislation to clean up the air.

I appreciate your consideration in this matter.

Bob, can you copy and paste your address "to" bar...so all of us can copy and paste the address and you message and change accordingly.

..maybe palero can write an algorithm that can email from random emails every 5 min so all their boxes are filled with identical emails!!!

Sorry, e-mailed them separately from the links in the top post.

[Mike Simanyi]

This seems like one of those subjects the ACLU would love to pick apart. It's essentially an additional "tax" on our lowest-income demographic, the people least able to protect themselves from politicians with an agenda.

Anyone know a good lawyer with connections to a taxpayer's advocate group... or perhaps even the state democratic party? I'd think they'd want to stop this kind of attack.

Mike

[Steve Ekstrand]

When I worked on the campaign to get the original old car exemption passed, it was a stunning divide. The republican's were 110% in support. The Socialists were 110% against. The fight was to presuade the more moderate Democrats which we succeeded in doing. I had worked for both Gary K. Hart and Jack O'Connell during the 80's and used those contacts to reach the moderate democrats. You'd think the very liberal democrats would be sensitive to the poverty arguments, but they aren't if it involves a car. Car's are evil. And frankly, they've never met increased regulation they didn't support.

In the last 15 years the balance of power has swung strongly towards that group of Socialist Democrats. I've never met a bunch of more clueless and out of touch people. I'm pretty sure they would like to pass a law seizing all cars and replacing them with a Prius for each family paid for by Chevron. The guys I worked for, Hart and O'Connell were never like that. In fact, they had great concern over the damage the far left side of the party could do both to the state and to the reputation of Democrats.

[John Coffey]

I think the tax angle on the lower income group is the best way to approach this. In the UK the proposed green taxes on older vehicles has destroyed Brown politically.

e-mails sent.

[Doug Teulie]

It is my understanding that this Bill's intent to remove money and inconvenience owners of all cars 15 years and older on a rolling clock for the purpose of collecting funds for the state and to provide some money to people who choose to retire a worn out car. This is a tax on people who enjoy and maintain older cars. This is a tax on people who can't afford new cars. This is a tax on people who are saving money for retirement or paying high property tax on a house. The advantage is to the state and people who are less responsible or have trouble selling a worn out car they don't want. The provision to accommodate the very poor is a sugar coating and I don't see it justifying taking money and inconveniencing the rest of the responsible car owners. The fees collected on newer cars are greater than older cars so I can see how the state would support new car purchases. It is not the state's job to force incentives on the public to make people want to purchase new cars.

My two (76 and 80) cars pass smog and are nearly as clean if not cleaner than many new cars. The inconvenience of twice as many tests, double (tax) cost, and being labeled as a gross polluter each year with cars that get 30 miles to the gallon and don't put out measurable particulates when tested by the state's own test is clearly not fair. The state is not even looking at the test results to graduate the best of the population out of the gross polluter profile.

Quotes from the Bill

This bill would require the department to incorporate the annual
inspection of motor vehicles that are models which are 15 years old
or greater into the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program
by January 1, 2010, and would require funds generated through
additional inspection fees to be deposited into the High Polluter
Repair or Removal Account.

This bill would increase this amount to $750. The bill would make
the repair assistance program only available to low-income
individuals, would delete the provisions reducing the level to 185%
of the federal poverty level, and would instead change the maximum
income level to 300% of the federal poverty level. The bill would
make other conforming changes, and delete obsolete provisions of law.


Some feedback from Senator GEORGE C. RUNNER, JR.:

Thank you for your correspondence expressing opposition to Assembly Bill 3053 (Jones), which requires vehicles 15 years or older, except for pre-1976 model cars currently exempted from smog checks, to undergo annual, instead of biennial, smog inspections.

Last week, the bill was amended into this version. I oppose it because it seeks to justify doubling the cost of complying with Smog Check on a vast segment of the vehicle fleet under the supposition that statistically these vehicles are more likely to fail, or once repaired, more likely fail again at a later date. This argument seems to be predicated, at least statistically, on the philosophy that these vehicles are guilty until proven innocent.

AB 3053 is scheduled to be heard in Senate Appropriations Committee sometime this week. You may monitor the progress of this bill at http://www.sen.ca.gov/runner" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future regarding legislative issues of concern to you. It is an honor to serve the people in the California State Senate.

Sincerely,

GEORGE C. RUNNER, JR.
Senator, 17th District
*********************************************************
Click this link to see the amended version:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bil ... n_v97.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason Flores]

New Info..

http://www.sema.org/Main/ArticleDetail. ... ntID=60349

SEMA eNews, Vol. 11, No. 36 - Sep 04, 2008
CALIFORNIA BILL TO REQUIRE ANNUAL EMISSIONS INSPECTIONS FOR OLDER CARS FAILS . . . AGAIN!

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.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

This latest action represents the second time SEMA was able to defeat this legislation.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

Buy this guy Steve dinner!! Great news! I'm ashamed to be a registered Democrat if "jackasses" and I use that term since that's the mascot of the party, keep doing underhanded stuff like this.

[Steve Ekstrand]

Not all democrats are the same (same with repuglicans). We have a startling number of democratic legislators in California that ought to be called Socialist or Marxist. Maybe they should move to Venezuela? Wouldn't they be more happy there????

[Larry Andrews]

1) All politicians play games and are basically evil creatures. When any 'productivity' can be presented for reward simply because 'something 'useful' got done, it's more a reflection on the weakness of our society in the sense that people should know better than to accept that crap from the people we pay to do that work. It's time for a fresh start with people who are more interested in getting real work done than showing how they stood up to 'them'.

2) All three of my cars and my motorcycle are over 15 years old. Glad to see that our letters made a difference.

3) Doug's right - it ain't that damn hard to change out a cat and pass smog. A decent muffler shop will weld in a pep-boys special in for fifty bucks. Total cost less than $200 easy. The problem for us then becomes the silly SCCA ruleset! :mrt:

[Earl Merz]

The problem for us then becomes the silly SCCA ruleset!

Run prep or mod. Or even CSM. No problems...

[Doug Teulie]

The problem for us then becomes the silly SCCA ruleset!

Run prep or mod. Or even CSM. No problems...

Then you need a tow truck or flat.