A bill pushed by comedian and famed car collector Jay Leno to make older cars exempt from smog checks in California crashed and was a total loss in the state legislature on Friday.
The bill, SB 712, dubbed “Leno’s Law,” originally would have allowed vehicles 35 years or older to avoid the state’s requirement to pass a smog check test that most other California vehicles face every two years.
The measure was promoted by Leno, former host of the “Tonight Show,” at a high-profile appearance at the state Capitol in April. It was embraced by classic car owners, hot rodders and car clubs around the state, who say it is often difficult and expensive for pre-1990 vehicles to pass smog check tests, and there aren’t many of the vehicles left.
But on Friday, it crashed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The committee, made up of 11 Democrats and four Republicans, blocked the bill from moving to the full Assembly for a final vote, killing it for this year’s legislative session.
The author of the bill, State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, said she was “deeply disappointed.”
“Leno’s Law would have simply allowed for a few additional classic car model years to receive a full smog exemption — a much needed update on an antiquated law,” Grove said. “Sadly, today California said no to helping preserve these rolling pieces of history and let down classic car clubs across the state, from low riders to hot rods and every American classic in between. Leno’s Law was not just about the cars, it was about the enthusiasts behind the wheel.”
The bill was opposed by public health groups, air districts and environmental organizations who said it would increase smog, particularly in low-income communities where asthma rates are high among children.
“We’re pleased it’s not moving forward,” said Will Barrett, assistant vice president of the American Lung Association. “From a public health perspective this is a good outcome. It represented a step back from clean air protections.”
Some 1980s vehicles emit more than 100 times the tailpipe pollution of a new vehicle, Barrett noted. As the Trump administration has been rolling back air pollution rules and laws, he said it is important that California maintain them to protect public health.
“One of the things we really need to be on guard for” he said, “is these bills that weaken the existing tools we have.”
Under current state law, every vehicle owner must get a smog check every other year unless their vehicle is 8 years old or newer, is an alternative vehicle like an electric car, or is model year 1975 and older.
If a vehicle fails, the owner must repair it and have it tested again until it passes before they can get it registered.
After initial opposition from health groups — which had killed similar bills in years past — state lawmakers narrowed the bill to require that vehicles 35 years or older seeking the smog check exemption must have a historical vehicle license plate, which costs $25 in addition to regular registration fees, and which under state law means the car “may only be driven in historical exhibitions, parades or historic vehicle club activities.”
They also required that the owners must have collector’s car insurance. Such insurance is usually cheaper than regular auto insurance, but typically sets limits on how many miles a year the vehicle can be driven, prohibits daily driving and requires the vehicle to be kept in a locked garage.
Lawmakers also narrowed the model years affected limiting it to vehicles from 1981 to 1986.
Those measures to narrow it caused a split among supporters of the bill, some who said the compromise was better than nothing, and some who said the bill had been ruined.
“Now I guess it’s back to square one,” said Mike Frankovich, a Pasadena property manager who founded Californians for Classic Car Smog Exemptions.
Lawmakers placed the bill on “the suspense file.” The file is a list of bills, often with a cost of $150,000 or more, that are held by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The members of the committee typically decide in secret which bills move on to a final Assembly floor vote and which ones are killed.
The committee’s chairwoman, Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An analysis by the Assembly Appropriations Committee staff concluded that the bill, if passed, even in its narrowed form, would cost taxpayers $506,000 in 2026-27 and $474,000 in 2027-28 and afterward to hire four program technicians to verify collector vehicle insurance documents on an annual basis. The state Bureau of Automotive Repair said it expected to receive 17,500 requests each year for smog check exemptions under the bill.
Leno, 75, did not issue a statement Friday.
Leno, who lives in Burbank, hosted the “Tonight Show,” after the retirement of Johnny Carson from 1992 to 2009, and then again from 2010 to 2014.
He owns an extensive collection of vehicles, including at least 181 cars and 160 motorcycles. His exotic vehicles include a McLaren P1, a Lamborghini Countach, a Ford Model T, a 1928 Bugatti Type 37A, a 1981 DeLorean and a 1909 Baker Electric Car. He writes a regular column about cars for Popular Mechanics and a hosts YouTube series, Jay Leno’s Garage.
“I know there’s nothing more annoying than Hollywood people involved in politics,” Leno said at a rally at the state Capitol in April where he drove up in a 1976 Pontiac Trans Am. “But this one’s important to me. I’m an enthusiast.”
Former Tonight Show host and car enthusiast Jay Leno, left, speaks in support of measure SB712, known as Leno’s Law, would exempt classic cars 35 years and older from the state’s biennial smog check program, authored by state Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, center, and Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, right, at the state Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
