Assembly OKs Bill to Broaden Smog Checks

Under mounting pressure to reduce air pollution in California, the Assembly passed legislation Thursday to broaden the state’s smog check program and significantly increase the fees motorists can be charged to upgrade their cars.

Backers of the bill, authored by Sen. Robert Presley (D-Riverside), said it was one of the most important measures of the year approved in response to federal requirements that the state dramatically cut smog levels.

“I really feel it’s essential for us, particularly those of us in the South Coast Air Basin, to maintain and expand this program,” said Assemblyman William H. Lancaster (R-Covina), who carried the measure on the Assembly floor. “Let’s face it, air pollution is a very serious problem in our state.”

Approved by a vote of 43 to 22, the bill would allow mechanics who conduct smog checks to charge between $50 and $300 to repair faulty exhaust emission systems, depending on what year the car was made. The limit on repairs now is $50.

Although it would increase the amount motorists can be charged, the measure was watered down in the Assembly to scale back the proposed fee level for some model years.

In the bill’s final form, the maximum that could be charged for emission repairs would be $50 for 1966-1971 vehicles; $90 for 1972-1974 models; $125 for 1975-1979 automobiles; $175 for 1980-1989 autos, and $300 for vehicles made from 1990 on.

The bill now goes back to the Senate, which is expected to easily grant approval of the changes made in the Assembly.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has ordered California to cut emissions from vehicles by 25% by the year 1994, said Carla Anderson, an aide to Presley.

The agency had also threatened that if federal officials were not satisfied with the effectiveness of the bill adopted by the Legislature, they would step in and order the state to increase the frequency of inspections from every other year, as now required, to every year.

Nevertheless, some lawmakers urged their colleagues to reject the bill, saying it would place a costly burden on car owners who would be subject to unnecessary charges from unscrupulous mechanics.

“When the maximum becomes $300, you can bet the minimum will become $300,” contended Assemblyman Richard Floyd (D-Hawthorne). Allowing charges of $300 “is a license to steal.”

Lancaster, however, countered that the increases in the fees is necessary because newer cars, with increasingly complicated emissions systems, cost more to repair.

In addition to raising the fees, the bill would extend the smog check program until 1999. And instead of covering cars made in the previous 20 years, the measure would set a fixed starting date of 1966, the first year emission control systems were placed on automobiles.

In an attempt to prevent disputes between used car buyers and sellers, the bill would require that the seller provide smog check certification before title to the vehicle is transfered to the new owner.

The legislation would also require that mechanics who repair the newer, more sophisticated emissions systems receive additional training.