I just looked over the bill and feel that if it passes the way it is written, the State Bureau of Automotive Repair is going to make it harder and harder for older-vehicle owners to continue to get their vehicles registered every year, in spite of being meticulously maintained. I could see the BAR increasing the “smog check” to every year on vehicles older than ~20 years and putting those vehicles through other “tests” which have nothing to do with emissions. This will cause low-wage workers who typically drive older vehicles they purchased for cash to go into debt to buy a newer vehicle and will cause retired people on limited incomes who drive older vehicles (there are a LOT of these people) to donate them or junk them when they can no longer register them and begin using public transportation. The BAR is already very intrusive as to the condition of older vehicles with its use of a biennial “directed vehicle program” (into STAR stations). I can only imagine what will come next if this bill is passed as written.
