Rejoice California Car Lovers! Gavin Newsom Just Went To Jay Leno’s Garage And Signed ‘Leno’s Law’

Yeeehawww! What an amazing day it is for California car enthusiasts. After years and years of fighting against draconian emissions rules that make owning 1970s and 1980s an absolute nightmare, a battle has finally been won. Gavin Newsom just signed Leno’s Law, which provides smog exemptions for 1975 to 1985 automobiles. I didn’t think this was actually going to pass, but it just did, and I’m thrilled.

This is breaking news, so here’s what we have from the state of California:

BURBANK – From lowriders, drive-ins, car clubs, and American Graffiti, cars have long been an important part of California’s culture. The Golden State has always kept a piece of its history parked in the driveway, and today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed two new chapters into that history, signing new bills to support vintage and low-rider car enthusiasts in California, including a bill supported by Jay Leno to relax standards for vintage vehicles, and a new license plate celebrating lowrider heritage.

“These bills protect a treasured part of California culture, giving car owners a way to preserve these pieces of history for generations to come. The Golden State is made for classic-car lovers, and our lowriders are timeless masterpieces that connect art, activism, and cultural identity throughout our state,” [said Governor Gavin Newsom]

Senate Bill 1392, Jay Leno’s Law, jointly authored by Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) and Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), phases in a narrow smog-check exemption for qualifying collectors cars from the 1976 through 1985 model years that are insured as collector vehicles or driven less than 1,000 miles per year. Assembly Bill 2541 by Assemblymember Mark González (D-Los Angeles), creates a specialty license plate honoring California’s lowrider heritage.

I called up Mike Frankovich, who runs the California for Classic Car Smog Exemptions Facebook group, which currently has 11,300 members (he also used to have a smog-related YouTube channel, which is now a big California car show channel). He was a big part of getting Leno’s Law through, and was even there at the signing.

“It was a long process,” he told me. “I’ve been working on this for almost eight years. For years I’ve been told ‘You’re never going to get any progress, you’re never going to get a bill through.” He said he was involved with five bills, and that last year’s “Leno’s Law” started when Senator Shannon Grove toured Leno’s garage and Jay asked why the smog year hasn’t moved past 1976. Grove introduced Leno’s Law, SB1392, last year, Frankovich told me, though “that got killed in Assembly Appropriations.” This new one was introduced by Dave Cortese.

“I believe he owns collector cars,” Frankovich told me about Cortese’s impetus for pushing this through.

“I’ve been told for years ‘no you’ll never get anything through,’ so it’s definitely a foot in the door,” he told me, but he isn’t 100% content. “Man, I really wish we could get this to at least pre-OBDI,” specifically because the rollers and other smog equipment needed to test pre-OBDII cars is rare, and emissions tests tend to cost more.

“The shops don’t even want to do it anymore because it takes their technician off the more profitable OBD2 test [which just requiring plugging in],” he told me.

Frankovich, owner of a 1977 AMC Pacer with the carbureted 258 straight-six knows all about the process. He bought the car in 2017 and managed to get the car running after 27 years dormant. “I Hail Mary’d it and it passed,” he said. But he still thought it was odd he had to deal with it. “They really should have exempted more of these cars,” he said. “I owned a lot of classic cars and my dad owned classic cars, and I was involved with Radwood and Malaise Motors, and you always hear ‘Why are we still smogging these cars?” so I started the Facebook group.”

He’s happy that Jay Leno got involved. “That really knocked down some doors,” he told me, even if there are restrictions involved with driving the now-exempted cars. They need either classic car insurance or another way to prove that the vehicle isn’t driven more than 1000 miles a year. As The New York Times wrote earlier this month:

The exemption, which applies only to qualifying collector cars, would take effect in January 2028 and be phased in over five years, eventually exempting collector cars made before model year 1986 from smog checks. To qualify, owners must either have collector-car insurance or prove that the vehicle is driven fewer than 1,000 miles per year.

Sure, the mileage restriction isn’t ideal, getting OBDI cars through smog will still be a chore to some (I’ve never had any issue), but the big thing is that cars like my former truck, a 1985 Jeep J10, will soon be exempt from smog checks. So I can install a carburetor that actually works, and not have to worry about my smog pump working/all the vacuum lines being routed right. What a triumph.

Topshot: California