California Smog Check Program
If the vehicle is registered in California and was acquired from a spouse, domestic partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, or grandchild it is exempt.
[6] Between 2005 and 2007 air pollution led to almost 30,000 hospital and emergency room visits in California for asthma, pneumonia, and other respiratory and cardiovascular ailments.
[8] A study by RAND Corporation showed the cost to the state, federal and private health insurers was over $193 million in hospital-based medical care.
"[9] According to the American Lung Association, California's dirty air causes 19,000 premature deaths, 9,400 hospitalizations and more than 300,000 respiratory illnesses including asthma and acute bronchitis.
[13] According to an advocacy group Environmental Defense, in 2004, automobiles from the three largest automakers in the US – Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler – contributed CO2 emissions that were comparable to those from the top 11 electric companies.
Some climate change simulations indicate the global warming impact on California will be an increase in the frequency of hot daytime and nighttime temperatures.
[15] Californian greenhouse gas emissions come mostly from transportation, utilities, and industries including refineries, cement, manufacturing, forestry, and agriculture.
California's large population significantly contributes to the high amount of smog and air pollution in the state.
In the winter, temperature inversions can trap tiny particles of smoke and exhaust from vehicles and anything else that burns fuel.
After the 1973 model year, automobile manufacturers were required to factory install NOx devices (usually in the form of EGR valves) on all cars sold in California.
HC and CO (hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide) limits at idle were also checked by an infrared exhaust analyzer and manually recorded by the technician.
Engine swaps which are the same year or newer where the vehicle class did not have it as a manufacturer option (from a Chevrolet S-10 with a late model LSx powertrain transplant with the associated smog gear intact salvaged from the donor vehicle which includes the OBDII diagnostic connections and associated exhaust system with the catalytic converter attached including the secondary downstream oxygen sensor (catalytic converter must be California legal which has a serial number and build date mandated under California state law) must be approved by a 'referee' smog test station where the engine/transmission package is certified where a silver tag is stickered to the door jamb.
[18] In 2010 the Air Resource Board and the Bureau of Automotive Repair jointly sponsored legislation, "AB 2289", that is designed to improve the program to reduce air pollution through “the use of new technologies that provide considerable time and cost savings to consumers while at the same time improving consumer protections by adopting more stringent fine structures to respond to stations and technicians that perform improper and incomplete inspections”.
[19] One way the program would reduce costs is by taking advantage of on-board diagnostic (OBDII) technology that has been installed on new vehicles since 1996.
[22][23] The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) sends a registration renewal notice which indicates if a smog check is required.
[4] A smog check inspection is performed by a station that has been licensed by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR).
[26] For years, California has been asking the US EPA to approve a waiver allowing it to enforce its own greenhouse gas emission standards for new motor vehicles.
A request was made in December 2005, but denied in March 2008 under the Bush administration, when interpretations of the Clean Air Act found California did not have the need for special emission standards.
US EPA's interpretation of the Clean Air Act allows California to have its own vehicle emissions program and set greenhouse gas standards due to the state's unique need.
[27] Car manufacturers have been strongly opposed to the emission standards set by California, arguing that regulation imposes further costs on consumers.
[28] The auto industry argued that California's Air Resource Board did not have the authority to adopt such regulation and that the new standards could not be met with the current technology.
[28] The Obama administration has proposed setting a national standard for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, which could potentially increase fuel efficiency by an average of 5% per year from 2012 to 2016.
Finally, the report recommended continued use of the Roadside test to evaluate the effectiveness of the Smog Check program.
