Leno’s Law Passes for Collector Cars in California

It’s been years in the making and held up a number of times in the California state legislature, but finally Senate Bill 1392, known as “Leno’s Law”, was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. It was presented by the governor’s office as; “a narrow smog-check exemption for qualifying collectors cars from the 1976 through 1985 model years that are insured as collector vehicles or driven less than 1,000 miles per year.”

Jay Leno advocated to ease emissions restrictions on classic cars without allowing for egregious pollution in the Golden State. While California does not require annual safety inspections it is strict smog-testing rules. 1975 model year or older cars are exempt from such testing. The point of Leno’s Law was to create space for slightly less-old cars to get smog exemptions, as well. The Bill as passed it is by no means a free-reign to drive older vehicles on California’s roads.

For starters, California specifically defines a collector car by these criteria:

• It is at least 35 model years old.
• It is used primarily in shows, parades, charitable functions, and historical exhibitions for display, maintenance, and preservation, and is not used as the owner’s primary mode of transportation.
• It has to actually comply with the exhaust emissions standards for its class and model year, and pass a functional inspection of the fuel cap plus a visual inspection for liquid fuel leaks.
• It is either insured as a collector motor vehicle, or determined to be driven fewer than 1,000 miles per calendar year.

The 1,000 mile limit per calendar year may well be a factor that has many owners trying to disable their odometer. Not good if you are pulled over for a roadside check, or for buyers who have no idea of what the actual mileage is of the vehicle.

The exemption Bill doesn’t start phasing in until January 1, 2028 and it is gated by a rolling model-year cutoff that determines whether a car gets a pass. It phases in like this:

• January 1, 2028: collector vehicles manufactured before the 1981 model year
• January 1, 2029: before the 1982 model year
• January 1, 2030: before the 1983 model year
• January 1, 2031: before the 1984 model year
• January 1, 2032: before the 1985 model year
• January 1, 2033: before the 1986 model year, where it stops

Note the “before” in each line—”before the 1981 model year” means 1980 and older, not 1981 and older.

By 2033 and onward, if you own a car manufactured after 1985, you are still going to subject to emissions testing. Of course for collectors like Jay, Senate Bill 1392 comes as a welcome relief.