Jay Leno’s star power wasn’t enough to persuade a California legislative committee to pass a measure to allow owners of classic cars like him to be exempted from the state’s rigorous smog-check requirements.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee on Friday blocked Bakersfield Republican Sen. Shannon Grove’s Senate Bill 712 from advancing for a full vote. Leno had testified in support of the measure in Sacramento earlier this year.
US states generally (possibly all) don’t do vehicle safety inspections. There are periodic smog tests and that’s about it. Detection of unfitness to be on the road is entirely reactive, based on a system of police-issued “fix it” tickets. That can range from correcting a burned-out tail light to doing something about the rusty muffler dragging on the ground.
My old city in the US didn’t even have exhaust checks. Anyone could drive anything without oversight.
Some states do vehicle inspections, Virginia in particular.