[chokudoriS13]

A senator actually replied!

Thank you for writing to me about AB 2683, a bill that would repeal the
exemption from smog laws for cars that are 30 years of age or older.

I haven't decided how I will vote on this measure once it comes before me.
I have generally supported exempting antique or classic cars. However, I
was alive in 1976 and I don't consider myself an antique. In addition, I am
troubled by the continued reluctance of all of us to recognize the very real
economic costs of exempting these cars.

In the 1970's, Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas manufactured passenger
jet aircraft. McDonnell Douglas painted its planes in Long Beach. When new
air quality standards came into effect, these California jobs disappeared
because the planes had to be painted out of state. I am highly confident
that furniture and paint manufacturers in Southern California face a similar
choice, today--- shutting down or moving out of state. Both industries are
prone to emissions of volatile organic compounds and other controlled gases
that, in the aggregate, are tightly controlled in part to offset the impact
of older, less clean, motor vehicles that remain on the roads.

AB 2683 would repeal the 30-year rolling exemption and instead apply the
smog check exemption strictly to vehicles manufactured prior to the 1976
model year. 1976 model-year cars, on average, emit 155 times more
hydrocarbons per mile than new vehicles and, despite their very much smaller
share of the vehicle population, these vehicles continue to emit two to
three times the volume of pollutants in aggregate.
By 2010, pre-1982 cars (those that would be exempt from smog check at that
time under current law) are expected to account for 22% of the hydrocarbons
and 11% of the NOx emissions despite representing only 2.6% of the vehicle
population and 1.3% of the vehicle miles traveled. I would also note that
you, as a collector, are very different from many vehicle owners. You
maintain your car. Once a vehicle is exempt from the smog check, there is
little incentive for a non-collector to continue to maintain its emission
control equipment nor is there any mechanism to assure that such equipment
has not been modified or removed.

As indicated originally, I have previously supported the continued exemption
of older cars from the smog check laws. Now, my mind is not made up. We
may have to draw a line, starting with 1976 vehicles. I'm going to listen
carefully to this debate to determine what is fair. However, we've fought
hard to get California's economy back on track. The recession has
devastated the family finances of hundreds of millions of Californians. If
removing a few cars from the roads can produce such profound outcomes as
indicated above, and leave room in the air quality basin for existing
businesses, then I will seriously evaluate such a proposal.


All the best,
Jackie Speier
STATE SENATOR
8th Senate District

P.S. This letter focuses on the economic impact of the choice proposed by
AB 2683. I hope that the benefits of clean air to children and to the
elderly and infirm are so apparent as to not need great elaboration.