Got this from SEMA today California Bill to Require ANNUAL Emissions Tests for Vehicles 15-Years Old and Older Dies in Committee Legislation (A.B. 859) in the California Assembly to require annual Smog check inspections for vehicles 15-years old and older was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and is essentially dead for the year. The bill would also have required that funds generated through the additional inspection fees be deposited into an account which could have been used to scrap older cars. Pre-1976 motor vehicles would have remained exempt under A.B. 859. Thanks and congratulations to all of you who participated in this effort to defeat A.B. 859! It will probably be back next year.

Phrase the lord!There's hope after all...maybe.

Thanks again for keeping us informed.

im kinda slow at this......so let me straighten this out!...if your car is 15yrs or older..its smog excempt? I KNOW I GOT THIS WRONG thats why PLEASE CORRECT ME!

I copied this from SmogTips.com.

1975 & Older Effective 04/01/05: Under the old law, 1975 and subsequent model year vehicles became exempt from Smog Check when they turned 30 years old. A 1976 model year vehicle was exempt in 2005, a 1977 in 2006, etc. Under the new law... commenced April 1, 2005, exempt from smog check requirements are any motor vehicle manufactured prior to the 1976 model year. All vehicles 1976 and newer vehicles will be tested according to state emission law. This law repeals the 30-year rolling exemption.

Please be aware that the 1976 and older vehicles are not exempt from smog control, just exempt from testing. That exemption could be removed at any time at the whim of the legislature and governor.

how sure is that? i mean old cars didnt have cats? or egr's
all these old cars dont even have the original motor nowadays!
i dont think that will ever happen.....76 n newer itl probaly stay for a while longer but it will eventually excempt more cars in the future but not soon enough!
i herd the next excempt would go till 83.....but i dont think thats soon
there are TONS of those cars driven today.... im guessing when those become a rarety then it will happen...

No, this bill was going to make all cars that are 15 years old or older have to do an emissions test every year, instead of the current timeframe of every two years. Thankfully the bill was defeated and we will continue to have to do an emissions test every two years.

Only cars that are model year 1975 or older do not have to do emissions testing, as said above.
Since Arnold signed the bill that stopped the rolling 30 year exemption, our cars will never be smog check exempt. I dont know where you heard about cars made in '83 being exempt, but its wrong. The only way it would change is if the governor signs a new law that reinstates the rolling 30 year exemption.

ok , so i have an 88 t/a , when can i stop smogging my car evry year ?

You have to do it every other year here in cali. Forever.

wut the FAAAAAAACK! SO THIRD GENS WILL NEVER BE EXTEMPT FROM SMOG CHECKS?

Never, unless they change the law, which they wont because of the $$ they get from smog checks.

Irrational laws and wasted time to the people is of no concern to those elected whose sole purpose is to spend our money faster than we can.

So was there ever a time when the year of car that was exempt moved back one year, and the next, and the next.?

Yes, but they changed the law about 5 years ago.

dude ! , that frickin blows major shlong !

It's all about the money that the state collects.

Did you miss the post I made right above yours that said the governor signed a new law that stopped the rolling 30 year exemption at 1975 vehicles?

Alright, I've found a solution, one of you knuckle heads run for governor as a write in, then promote your run at racing events and other car club gatherings... we'll have the "Exempt American Hot Rods Indefinitely" act in place in no time...

My car is not on the road because of this freakin law... which I have to smog it...

Yeah, so my 1971 2nd gen that's running 1990's EFI with cats mind you, would fail smog. The rocket scientists at CARB would rather me put my 2-barrel carburetor back on and run dirtier than give me credit for upgrading to cleaner technology and allow me to run my Miniram intake EFI system.

I have a formerly CARB-certified 4-gas analyzer that I've run my Camaro on and it's every bit as clean as the requirements of a lot of new cars. Yet, I'd fail smog because the engine doesn't "look right".

I thought that was another law in California that the only "upgrade" you could do was a more efficient fuel system, such as Fuel injection for a carbed car?? Or was it if that option was available for the model year? Man all my thoughts of moving to california for the nice weather and beautiful classic cars just keeps getting mowed over by the terminator...such an appropriate name at this time lol

1975 and earlier, you can put whatever you want since you don't have to do a bi-annual sniffer test, however, if you are polluting the city with a smog cloud then you most likely will be cited and required to get that fixed, just my bucket of pennies...

now if you were to put in a better delivery system on a 1975 and earlier model, then by all means you can... on a 1976 - pre, the only time you can upgrade your engine or fuel system is if another newer model than what you have exist... so as many here have done a conversion from Carb to FI, it's legal, if and when all the emission crap is installed and functional in the exact same location as it was in the donor car...

anyone have different facts, by all means chime in...

A CAT is a great single way to REALLY clean your exhaust, exc its illegal to install one on any vehicle that didnt originally have one, unless you are upgrading the whole engine to a cat required motor.
It's not like we can buy leaded gas anymore anywhere.

GM is certifying some LS crate engines for CA. One is already approved. See April Hot Rod

You can upgrade any 1976 or newer car to a newer system, but you can't mix and match. If you upgrade a 1978 second gen f-body to a 1991 tpi system for instance, you must use all of the 1991 emission controls in the exact same location relative to the engine as a 1991 model. I think the exception is that the cat(s) can be left in the original position since they are considered part of the car rather than part of the engine. Since cars 1974 and newer used cats in Cali and only cars newer than 1975 are tested right now, the use of a cat on an engine that didn't come with a cat is a non-issue.