If you live in California, it is time to contact your reps for SB 712.
Summary of Bill:
SB 712, as introduced, Grove. Smog check: exemption. Existing law establishes a motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (smog check) program that is administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The smog check program requires inspection of motor vehicles upon initial registration, biennially upon renewal of registration, upon transfer of ownership, and in certain other circumstances. Existing law exempts specified vehicles from being inspected biennially upon renewal of registration, including, among others, all motor vehicles manufactured prior to the 1976 model year. Existing law also exempts from specified portions of the smog test a collector motor vehicle that is insured as a collector motor vehicle, is at least 35 model years old, complies with the exhaust emissions standards for that motor vehicle’s class and model year as prescribed by the department, and that passes a functional inspection of the fuel cap and a visual inspection for liquid fuel leaks. This bill would delete the above partial smog check exemption for collector motor vehicles from existing law. Instead, the bill would fully exempt a collector motor vehicle from the smog check requirement if the vehicle is at least 35 model years old and proof is submitted that the motor vehicle is insured as a collector motor vehicle, as specified.
https://trackbill.com/bill/california-senate-bill-712-smog-check-exemption/2671682/?
If you think they are going to lighten up on smog on gas cars or let up on the electricification you are more likely to piss up a rope. It can be done but California is in a berkeley off mood about emissions and any federal driven right now and are not going to back down anytime soon.
Ontario did away with smog checks a while back. It may be a matter of diminishing returns.
If this goes through, it'll have an effect on car culture, although maybe not as much as it would have when magazines were a thing. All the big books (other than our hosts) were based in CA, so they emphasized the pre-76 cars to avoid smog difficulties. Now Californians will be able to play with newer cars than that!
Hmm, this isn't good for the market for our CA-legal turbo kits for the 1990 Miata :)
So... they are going to require no gas only cars / trucks, want to eliminate all natural gas in houses as well as powerplants, make small engines and generators illegal to sell (!!), require solar on all new houses, ect, ect, and yet, not require older cars to be smogged?!?!? Yeah, I am doubtful....
I got a letter from CARB a bit back that seemed very concerned about how much gas I had in my classic cars fuel tank! Obviously concerned about evaporative emissions!!
However, I did have someone guess that there is a possibility because of the every diminishing returns with smog stations. Fewer and fewer cars require tailpipe tests, and it's possible in the future the stations may not even be needed for new cars. He was thinking that if all the smog stations closed, they would have to do it at the DMV... and you know, NO way that is going to work.
I am just worried that for cars that still need to be smogged, finding a test stations is going to get harder and harder.
rb92673
New Reader
3/4/25 7:31 p.m.
Not very practical to get collector plates unless you only go to car shows.
A collector car is used primarily in shows, parades, charitable functions, and historical exhibitions for display, maintenance, and preservation. It cannot be a vehicle used primarily for transportation. (Vehicle Code section 259)
https://www.bar.ca.gov/consumer/smog-check-program/collector-cars
In reply to rb92673 :
That sounds like the sort of cars that shouldn't need emissions checks since their mileage is negligible.
Which is eminently reasonable, they aren't going to be driven very much if at all, why waste resources testing them?
Given what I understand about California vehicle registration, it's possible that some collector cars only ever get driven to inspection stations. If this bill passes, they can stay put and develop righteous flat spotted tires and diaper rub marks in the paint 
Am I reading this right? It looks like there is already a collector car option that avoids the full blown smog check requirement...
How are collector cars inspected?
The Referee will perform an abbreviated inspection. During the inspection, the Referee will:
- Confirm the vehicle meets the criteria for a collector car.
- Confirm proof of insurance as a collector car.
- Perform a Smog Check, which includes the following:
- A test of tailpipe emissions.
- A functional test of the fuel cap.
- A visual check for liquid fuel leaks. (Health and Safety Code section 44011(c))
It sounds like instead of the full blown smog check, they just do the tailpipe sniffer test, check the fuel cap, and make sure the fuel system isn't leaking. I'm thinking of my '92 Galant VR4 in a couple years. I've never had trouble passing a smog check. It's fairly heavily modified, but everything looks like it is factory- unless you knew exactly what factory should look like for that rare car. Larger turbo, intercooler, intake and exhaust piping, fuel system, etc.. But it passes the checks with low emissions. But it's getting very hard to find places that will smogs on OBD1 cars, and the ones that do are more scrutinizing than in the past. I'm afraid they won't pass my 2.5" non stock cat, despite the clean numbers. It looks like don't need to worry about that in 2 years? The new bill looks even better, but sounds like a tough sell in CA. I'll wrire my rep anyway. My GVR4 and Miata don't get many miles on them. It seems like a waste to have to smog them in less miles than most cars get oil changes.
Regarding collectors plates in CA: I very very rarely see them. They are almost never used.
They would be more used if they were for old cars that people drove everyday. For someone who has a collectors car, one of the primary appeals is that they are classic. Classic plates kind of look ridiculous on an old car. For a more modern classic, like a 90's car, they might work a bit better.
It's far more common to see classic plates (allowed, with an extra fee, as long as plates are clean, title wise) or modern custom black and yellow plates (for an extra fee of course).
I have modern (blue on white) plates on my convertible, which is white, which works. I have original year classic black on yellow plates on my Ghia, but it almost a requirement since the car is yellow!
They don't look too bad on a white car, especially a truck, since the truck plates are a bit different normally anyway.
truck plates
rb92673 said:
Not very practical to get collector plates unless you only go to car shows.
A collector car is used primarily in shows, parades, charitable functions, and historical exhibitions for display, maintenance, and preservation. It cannot be a vehicle used primarily for transportation. (Vehicle Code section 259)
https://www.bar.ca.gov/consumer/smog-check-program/collector-cars
If this bill passes, it's collector car insurance, not plates.
Same thing Arizona does, except California requires it to be an older car than AZ.
It's possible that they would be able to do what Massachusetts did: discontinue smog tests on pre-1996 cars and run an OBD2 scan on later cars. There are no rollers or visual inspections in MA anymore.
However, I'm not sure this bill will pass. What percentage of micropollutant (CO, HC, NOx) emissions are from the pre-1996 fleet compared to the post-1996 fleet? Isn't a new car going to emit 1/1000 of the pollution of a '70s car?
In reply to chaparral :
Part of their issue is a perfect storm of high density and cars that are effectively immortal. In low density areas there isn't much issue, and in other high density areas, old cars only exist for collectors and enthusiasts. You don't see retired people driving a car until they die then passing it along to someone who just keeps driving it.
