From the SEMA Washington, D.C., office
California's renewed "Leno's Law" effort just cleared an important hurdle. California SB 1392, authored by Sen. Dave Cortese, with Sen. Shannon Grove as a principal coauthor, has passed the California State Senate Transportation Committee with bipartisan support. The bill now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Leno's Law fell short of passage last year, but not before making the most progress ever for such legislation in California. Help make this year's effort a success by telling legislators to pass the bill now (it only takes a minute)!
Leno's Law creates a narrow, phased-in, collector-only pathway to a smog-check exemption for certain older vehicles. The bill starts with vehicles manufactured before the '81 model year and gradually expands, reaching vehicles manufactured before the '86 model year by 2032. Importantly, it does not change the existing pre-'76 exemption already in law.
This proposal intends to solve a practical problem many owners already recognize: testing options for older vehicles are becoming harder to access, less predictable and more expensive as legacy testing infrastructure declines. Leno's Law is also designed to focus on true collector vehicles: those used primarily for shows, parades, charitable functions and historical exhibitions, rather than as an owner's primary mode of transportation.
For more information on how to support Leno's Law and to stay updated on its progress, please contact SEMA Senior Manager for State Government Affairs Victor Muñoz at victorm@sema.org.
