We are less than a week from the August 31, 2026, deadline before California Senate Bill 1392 (or “Leno’s Law,” named after comedian Jay Leno) is effectively dead. If there is no floor vote or if it’s voted down, California collector car owners will have to rely on their local elected officials reintroducing it during the 2027-2028 legislative session starting in January. If it passes, it will go back to the Senate (assuming any amendments are added) and then to Governor Newsom’s desk to be either signed into law or vetoed.

This is the fourth time in the past 10 years that someone in the California legislature has introduced a measure that aims to reduce strict smog-check requirements for older vehicles. The current iteration has advanced the furthest out of any since last year’s S.B. 712. That bill died, while this year’s S.B. 1392 passed on August 19.

S.B. 712 and S.B. 1392 have the same general goal, but there are several differences between the two. S.B. 712 required each vehicle to display a historical vehicle license plate, while S.B. 1392 removed this requirement. Additionally, S.B. 712 relied solely on model year to define a “qualifying collector motor vehicle,” while S.B. 1392 is more specific.

A “qualifying collector motor vehicle,” as defined under the S.B. 1392, is a vehicle that must fit the following requirements:

• At least 35 model years old.
• Insured as a collector motor vehicle with proof of insurance submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
• Determined by a to-be-implemented DMV process to be driven fewer than 1,000 miles per calendar year.

Currently, if a gas-powered vehicle is model year 1975 or older, or if it’s a diesel-powered vehicle of model year 1997 or older, it is exempt from a smog check in California. Diesel-powered vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 14,000 pounds are also exempt.

Leno’s Law looks to change this by removing the required smog check for collector cars built before 1981 and expanding the cutoff by an additional model year starting on January 1, 2028, and ending January 1, 2032. After 2032, the exemption would apply to “qualifying collector motor vehicles” manufactured before the 1986 model year.

It is important to note this exemption existed in California prior to 2004. However, it no longer exists thanks to the star of “Kindergarten Cop” and former governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He repealed the 30-model-year rolling exemption and replaced it with a law that gave the exemption “strictly to vehicles manufactured prior to model year 1976.”

If this bill passes, it will make California-based owners of DeLorean DMC-12s, C4 Corvettes, and Fox-body Mustangs quite happy (among others). However, there are still one or two more steps before this bill reaches Governor Newsom’s desk.