Newsom signs phased smog exemption for classic cars

What the new law does

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1392, known as “Jay Leno’s Law,” at Jay Leno’s garage in Burbank. The measure, authored by Democratic Sen. Dave Cortese of San José, creates a narrower, phased smog-check exemption for qualifying collector vehicles made from 1976 through 1985.

California already exempts vehicles made before 1976. The new law expands that treatment beginning Jan. 1, 2028, when qualifying collector cars made before the 1981 model year will no longer need the state’s biennial smog check. One additional model year will be added each January. By 2033, qualifying vehicles made before the 1986 model year will be included.

Which vehicles qualify

The exemption does not apply automatically to every vehicle from the covered years. A vehicle generally must have collector-vehicle insurance or be driven fewer than 1,000 miles per year through a Department of Motor Vehicles process.

The eligibility rules are intended to cover vehicles used on a limited basis, including for shows and parades, rather than daily transportation. SB 1392 passed both chambers of the Legislature with bipartisan support before reaching Newsom.

How the proposal changed

Republican Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield introduced an earlier version, SB 712, in 2025. That proposal would have created an ongoing exemption for collector vehicles once they became at least 35 model years old.

SB 712 passed the Senate but was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and did not become law. Grove continued advocating for the policy, while Cortese introduced the narrower version that Newsom signed. Leno appeared at the Capitol in 2025 to support the earlier bill and joined classic-car owners at a Senate Transportation Committee hearing.