California lawmakers narrow Jay Leno bill to end smog checks for vehicles 35 years and older

They said it: Putting the brakes on classic car smog-check breaks

“Clean air is a necessity. Collecting cars is a hobby.” — State Senator Aisha Wahab, an East Bay Democrat, on supporting amendments to a bill to exempt more older cars from the state’s smog check requirements that collectors say are too burdensome for vintage vehicles, which environmentalists say can emit more than 100 times the tailpipe pollution of today’s models.

California lawmakers narrow Jay Leno bill to end smog checks for vehicles 35 years and older

State lawmakers in Sacramento have pumped the brakes on a bill pushed by comedian and famed car collector Jay Leno to make older cars exempt from smog checks in California. 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 has been embraced by classic car owners, hot rodders and…