“Thank you for contacting my office to convey your views regarding Senate Bill 435 (Pavley), a bill that originally would have incorporated some motorcycles into California’s smog check program. I appreciate hearing from you and having the opportunity to update you on the status of this legislation.

SB 435 passed the full Senate on June 1 by a vote of 22-17. The bill subsequently passed the Assembly Transportation Committee on June 28 by a vote of 8-4 and is now awaiting a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. I voted in opposition to this bill when it came before me.

As amended by the author on June 30, the bill would now make it a crime for a person to park, use, or operate a motorcycle registered in the state that is manufactured on and after January 1, 2011 or a motorcycle, registered in the state, with aftermarket exhaust system equipment that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2011, that does not have a U.S. EPA emission label confirming that the exhaust emission systems for those motorcycles meet specified noise emissions standards.

A peace officer would be prohibited from stopping a motorcycle solely on a suspicion of a violation of this labeling requirement. A violation would be deemed a secondary, mechanical violation and a citation may be dismissed by a court with proof of correction. Nevertheless, I am still inclined to oppose the bill as amended. Current law already identifies legal noise limits and provides for enforcement and penalties for violations relating to excessive noise from motorcycles and other sources.

If you are interested in tracking the progress of this legislation, you may access the status, votes, bill text and analyses of this and other legislation from my Senate home page at www.senate.ca.gov/cox.

Ken again, thank you for taking the time to relay your views. Please feel free to communicate with me on other issues of interest.

Sincerely,

DAVE COX
Senator, First District”