California Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) rode shotgun, Smokey And the Bandit-style, alongside renowned car collector, world-famous comedian, and former host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno, in a ‘70s Pontiac Trans Am, through the Golden State’s capital. Grove, author of Senate Bill 712 (SB-712), a classic car smog exemption bill, joined Leno at a rally and cruise in Sacramento, Calif., in support of the proposed legislation that has now become known as Leno’s Law. The bill, which will have a great impact on car enthusiast communities by eradicating smog check requirements as Californians know them, passed the Senate Transportation Committee by a vote of 12-2 on April 8. SB-712 is now set for a hearing on April 21.
Specific SB-721 Language Reads:
“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.”
In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Senate.Ca.Gov, California Senate Bill 712, SEMA, and Jay Leno’s Garage.
Classic Cars Are The One Percenters
Supporters of the bill describe the environmental impact of classic cars, even without smog requirements, as minimal, due to the little time the vehicles spend actually being driven. Estimations by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) state that classic vehicles represent less than 1 percent of California’s registered vehicles on the road.
“California helped invent car culture—from lowriders in East L.A. to muscle cars in the Central Valley. These cars tell the story,” said Leno. “SB-712 is about keeping that story alive. These vehicles are driven occasionally, not daily, and it just makes sense to treat them differently.”
Leno speculates that the finite percent of vehicles that make up the classic car segment, and are actually still streetable, are not only on the road for a negligible amount of time, but they are already well-taken care of. He also argues that smog laws could ultimately turn people into criminals.
“You want to make a law easy to obey, because the harder it is to obey, the more likely people are to break it,”
Dollars And Sense (Sense of Cali’s Car Culture) Were Grove’s Inspo
Senator Grove’s desire to update the current smog law was rooted in community culture as well as recognition that the specialty market of the classic car industry is a boon to California’s economy. A release from Grove’s office outlined just how big of a boon the sector offers.
California alone accounts for 1,066 of the 7,000 small businesses that make up the $52 billion specialty automotive aftermarket industry, including:
- $40.44 billion for California’s economy
- 149,325 jobs
- $13.47 billion in wages and benefits
- $6.16 billion in taxes to the state
“From car shows to weekend cruises, classic cars bring people together and keep our history vibrant,” added Senator Grove. “With Jay Leno’s support, we’re sending a clear message: California values its automotive roots and the communities that keep them running.”
Both Grove and Leno would hate to see the industry vacate California for grass that’s greener in other states. They believe what happened to create California’s car culture should stay in California.
“California’s rich classic car culture, sparked by the post-war hot rod boom and boosted by Hollywood’s love for chrome and horsepower, has made it a paradise for enthusiasts like me,” stated Leno. “California’s smog check laws for classic cars need to be updated—they vary too much from state to state, and California’s rules don’t match up with neighboring ones.”
Jay Leno Just Loves Cars And Wants To Preserve The Ability For Enthusiasts To Drive Them
As a lover of most anything on wheels, Leno, in his YouTube series, Jay Leno’s Garage, puts cars of all kinds in front of his 3.8 million subs with weekly vid drops that showcase classics and currents. While there are plenty of supercars, rare one-offs, and even some never-heard-ofs, many OG rides make their appearance in the Emmy-award-winning series, such as the 2,500-horsepower, wheel-stander Barracuda called Hemi Under Glass that Leno walks away from after a multi-roll, and the 1967 Corvette Stingray that former president Joe Biden puts on a smokeshow with while cruising with Leno. And, although Leno feels the celebrity crowd can be better left out of law-making issues, the theory behind SB-712 tugs at his heart.
“We (California) have the hot rod culture; all the people come here; all the design studios, Toyota and Nissan, everybody, Hyundai, they all have design studios in California, because this is where the new ideas come from,” said Leno at the April rally. “When Lee Iaconcoca worked on the early Mustang, he had the horse turned west, because that’s where the good ideas were, and they’re still here. But to see all these ideas leave and to go to Texas and all these other places because it’s easier to do business… I don’t want to see the hot rod, or the mechanical interests, leave California the way the film business did.”
Leno’s celebrity isn’t the only power behind the bill. SB-712 is also supported by SEMA and is backed by enthusiasts across the state with bipartisan support, including co-author of the bill, Senator Dave Cortese (D–San Jose), Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. Updates to SB-712 can be followed here.
Read the full article here