[DeTomaso] Fwd: Opposed to A.B. 3053.

[michael at michaelshortt.com]

Got this back in response.


 Dear Mr. Shortt:

Thank you for your correspondence expressing opposition to Assembly Bill
3053 (Jones), which requires vehicles 15 years or older, except for pre-1976
model cars currently exempted from smog checks, to undergo annual, instead
of biennial, smog inspections.

Last week, the bill was amended into this version.  I oppose it because it
seeks to justify doubling the cost of complying with Smog Check on a vast
segment of the vehicle fleet under the supposition that statistically these
vehicles are more likely to fail, or once repaired, more likely fail again
at a later date.  This argument seems to be predicated, at least
statistically, on the philosophy that these vehicles are guilty until proven
innocent.

AB 3053 is scheduled to be heard in Senate Appropriations Committee sometime
this week.  You may monitor the progress of this bill at *
www.sen.ca.gov/runner*.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with me.  Please
do not hesitate to contact me in the future regarding legislative issues of
concern to you.  It is an honor to serve you in the California State Senate.

Sincerely,

GEORGE C. RUNNER, JR.
Senator, 17th District


*P.S. For information about the current status of the budget, please visit
www.senaterepublicanbudget.com**.*





-----Original Message-----
*From:* michaelsavga at gmail.com [mailto:michaelsavga at gmail.com] *On Behalf Of
*michael at michaelshortt.com
*Sent:* Thursday, August 28, 2008 10:57 AM
*To:* michael at michaelshortt.com
*Subject:* Opposed to A.B. 3053.



Dear Senator,


Dave Jones is trying to push through annual inspections for cars over 15
years old.  It is the same invalid arguments as before.

*In an effort to avoid public scrutiny, California Assemblyman Dave Jones* (
Assemblymember.jones at assembly.ca.gov) *has amended a* *completely unrelated
bill with language to require annual Smog check inspections for vehicles
15-years old and older.* This represents an obvious attempt to sneak through
legislation in the closing days of the legislative session that had been
previously defeated (A.B. 616). The new bill is designated as A.B. 3053.

While pre-1976 motor vehicles would remain exempt under existing California
law, this proposal ignores the fact that vehicles 15-years old and older
still constitute a small portion of the overall vehicle population and are a
poor source from which to look for emissions reduction.  Furthermore, the
bill would direct that the funds generated through annual inspection fees be
used to scrap older cars. This represents another attempt by California
legislators and regulators to scapegoat older cars.

*This is the type of activity that fuels distrust in public officials.* SEMA
caught this lawmaker's underhanded attempt to circumvent public process and
is now calling on you to help defeat A.B 3053



This call to action is going out to over 75,000 collector car owners to make
their voices heard, the same people who collect cars are usually older and
more affluent, they both vote and donate to campaigns, is this really a
battle that you want?



Vintage cars represent a multi billion dollar hobby in the United States,
over 1 billion in CA alone, to render all of these as museum pieces will not
only cause lost jobs for skilled labors, you will lose tax base on them as
personal property because nobody is going to collect an automobile that they
can not drive.  To counter by saying that many of these cars can be brought
up to current emissions standards ( esp those of CA ) is simply ignorance.
These cars represent far less than 1% of the rolling stock on your highways
yet account for an estimated 90% of avocational expenses of dedicated
hobbyists ( nobody restores a 1980's, 1990 or 2000 era vehicle except as
basic transportation.)



Michael Shortt



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-- 
Michael L. Shortt
Savannah, Georgia
www.michaelshortt.com
michael at michaelshortt.com
912-232-9390


This email is protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy
Act, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2510-2521, is confidential and may be legally
privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified
that any retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this
communication is strictly prohibited. Please reply to the sender that you
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