California Seeks to Expand Vehicle Retirement Program

A bill (S.B. 459) has been amended in the California Senate that would authorize the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) to provide other forms of financial assistance to an owner to retire a motor vehicle. This assistance would be in addition to the $1,500 the Bureau currently pays to a low-income motor vehicle owner and the $1,000 to all other motor vehicle owners. In addition, this billwould require BAR to establish a specified one-year pilot program to provide financial assistance to low-income motor vehicle owners for the retirement of gross-polluting vehicles, but would prohibit BAR from requiring proof that these vehicles were registered for the last 2 years prior to acceptance into the program. If this effort is successful, hobbyists could be denied the availability of vintage cars and parts for restoration projects. A hearing on S.B. 459 is scheduled for the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on Tuesday, April 23, 2013.

We Urge You to Contact Members of the California Senate Transportation and Housing Committee (List Below) Immediately to Request Their Opposition to S.B. 459

S.B. 459 represents an attempt by California lawmakers to dust off a tired, flawed and ineffective scrappage program using your tax dollars.
S.B. 459 ignores the fact that all scrappage programs hold the potential for enthusiasts to lose a valuable source of rare parts for vehicle restoration projects.
S.B. 459 is unfair to many of the low-income vehicle owners the bill seeks to target by potentially denying them available parts from older cars in order to maintain their own vehicles.
S.B. 459 embraces the fact that most scrapped cars are infrequently or never used second or third vehicles by not requiring proof of registration.
S.B. 459 will do little to improve air quality which is directly connected to overall basic vehicle maintenance.

Please contact members of the California Senate Transportation and HousingCommittee immediately to urge their opposition to S.B. 459. Please e-mail a copy of your letter to Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org. Also, please forward this Alert to your fellow car enthusiasts. Urge them to join the SAN and help defend the hobby! Thank you for your assistance.