This week, the California Capitol in Sacramento welcomed a surprise visitor in the form of comedian Jay Leno on Tuesday. Leno, the former host of the “Tonight Show,” made an appearance to show his support for Senate Bill 712, which aims to expand the state’s current smog check exemption to encompass a larger number of classic cars.
Leno is widely recognized for his passion for collecting automobiles, and during his speech, he was clear about his concerns regarding the state’s (predominantly Democrat) government allowing high costs to drive the film industry away from California. He expressed his desire to prevent the same fate from befalling the businesses that cater to these beloved vintage vehicles.
Leno’s presence was in support of State Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), the author of SB 712. Grove elaborated on the bill, stating, “Our goal is to reintroduce the previous rolling exemption, extending it to 35 years to provide classic cars with an exemption.”
“Obviously there’s people out there from the environmental groups that think that we’re trying to contaminate the air or not require smog checks,” Grove said, “but that is just not true.”
After the legislator and Leno struck up a conversation about their love of the cars at a charity event, Grove even dubbed her bill “Leno’s Law.” Earlier in April, the bill was brought up in the Senate Transportation Committee.
The current regulations exempt any car built in 1975 and older from being required to pass a smog check, but the bill’s supporters are hoping for two tweaks: for the exemption to cover cars made 35 years ago or older, and covering only classic collector cars, not vehicles that people drive every day.
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The comedian began by admitting that he’s well aware of “annoying celebrities coming to Sacramento,” since he watches them do it on television, and “they have no idea what they’re talking about most of the time.”
“This is a subject I’m interested in,” Leno said. “I watched the movie industry get decimated, everybody moved out of California [because] they charged so much for film. Everybody went to Texas, Georgia, Atlanta.”
He explained that the Golden State has the “hot rod culture,” which draws all of the creatives in design studios from around the world. “Toyota, Nissan…Hyundai, they have design studios in California because this is where the new ideas come from.”
Leno said that saddened him “to see all of these ideas leave, and go to Texas and all of these other places because it’s easier to do business,” adding that he “doesn’t want to see the hot rod or the mechanical interests leave California the way the film business did.”
Happily, on Thursday, the bill passed out of committee on a 12-2 bipartisan vote (with one vote not recorded). It now heads to the Committee on Appropriations for consideration.
Leno celebrated the victory in a statement: “California helped invent car culture—from lowriders in East L.A. to muscle cars in the Central Valley. These cars tell the story,” he said. “SB 712 is about keeping that story alive. These vehicles are driven occasionally, not daily, and it just makes sense to treat them differently. I’m proud to be working with Senator Grove, and I thank the committee for recognizing the importance of preserving our automotive legacy.”
Good for him. With so many celebrities using their names and platforms to push crazy/bad ideas and bolster their cred with leftists, it’s great to see a sane famous person–one who is willing to stand up for something that will truly help others.
