Staff Reports
California’s lawmakers have dusted off “Leno’s Law” and reintroduced it as Senate Bill 1392. This is the clear news: a revised, narrower version of the bill is moving through the Legislature now, co‑authored by Senator Dave Cortese and Senator Shannon Grove, and it would create a rolling smog‑check exemption for qualifying collector vehicles. For anyone who cares about vintage cars, small businesses that service them, or plain common sense, this matters.
What SB 1392 actually does
SB 1392 would exempt “collector motor vehicles” that are at least 35 model years old and are not the owner’s primary ride from California’s biennial smog checks. The bill starts by exempting cars made before 1981 and then advances one model year each year, eventually covering older vehicles up through the mid‑1980s. The bill focuses on the vehicle’s use — cars insured and registered as collector vehicles and used mainly in shows, parades, and exhibitions — not whether the owner happens to like a certain bumper sticker.
Why a targeted smog exemption makes sense
Let’s be honest: classic cars are a tiny slice of California’s road traffic. Sponsors note collector vehicles are well under one percent of the fleet. Most of these cars are driven sparingly, kept in careful hands, and support a local ecosystem of small shops, parts suppliers, and events. Add to that the practical reality — many smog test stations no longer handle pre‑OBD cars — and the current rules punish preservation, not pollution control.
Don’t fall for the doom‑and‑gloom talking points
Yes, regulators and environmental groups raised legitimate questions when an earlier version died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Fiscal impacts and air‑quality tradeoffs deserve scrutiny. But SB 1392 has been rewritten to narrow eligibility and address those objections. If the bill still needs tweaks — mileage caps, solid insurance proof, or carveouts for the worst‑offenders — fine. The right answer is smart compromise, not blanket rejection or bureaucratic theater that treats passionate hobbyists like scofflaws.
What to watch next — and why voters should care
Keep an eye on Assembly committee hearings, any fiscal analysis, and testimony from the California Air Resources Board. If lawmakers genuinely want to balance air quality with common sense, this version is the moment to fix last year’s procedural failure. Let’s pass a narrowly drawn exemption that preserves car culture, supports small business, and still protects clean air — all without letting red tape and fearmongering win the day.
