Jay Leno Classic Car Bill Gets Butchered In California

Earlier this year, Jay Leno stepped in to help push for a bill that would eliminate smog checks for classic cars in California. Now that bill is moving to the Senate floor, but only after a committee butchered it, making significant changes enthusiasts are less than pleased to see.

Semi-truck crash leads to millions of angry bees released.

Bill SB 712, which has been called “Leno’s Law” by many, originally was written so any car 35 years or older wouldn’t have to pass a smog check every two years. On older cars, doing this can be difficult and expensive, especially for a ride that’s used only occasionally, so enthusiasts were understandably excited about it becoming state law.

However, once certain anti-pollution and health groups got wind of the bill, they started working on members of the state Senate Appropriatons Committee. After all, vehicles are often blamed for almost the entirety of air pollution, and classic cars are a popular target for these groups.

The result was two amendments added to the bill, significantly narrowing which rides qualify for the smog check waiver. This means many enthusiasts will be left with zero relief and they’re not happy.

First, a classic car would have to bear the state’s historical license plate, which some gearheads think is ugly. Plus, it costs an extra $25, reports the Santa Cruz Sentinel. The only way a vehicle can legally have that tag is if it’s exclusively used for “historical exhibitions, parades or historic vehicle club activities” or so says California state law.

In other words, you couldn’t take your classic Mustang with historic plates for a short cruise and visit the diner in town – that would technically be illegal.

The second amendment dictates that a car not subject to smog checks must be covered by collector car insurance. While that’s common for classic rides, such coverage restricts how much mileage an owner can put on a vehicle per year.

Groups who are opposed to this law have slapped these amendments on it out of fear classic cars will be driven so much, the air quality in California would degrade rapidly. Laugh all you want, it’s a ridiculous notion.

A statement made by State Sen. Aisha Wahab, a Democrat from Fremont who’s on the state Senate Appropriatons Committee and voted no on the bill sums this attitude up nicely. “Clean air is a necessity. Collecting cars is a hobby. I do not support rolling back progress on a public health issue we have spent decades trying to improve.”

For car enthusiasts, this attitude that our hobby is silly at best if not a public nuisance that should be eliminated isn’t new to us. But it seems certain politicians and special interest groups are intent on running gearheads out of the Golden State for good.

They may very well become successful in that quest and if so, will reap the economic consequences.

Image via Jay Leno’s Garage/Facebook