SMOG TEST EXEMPTIONS COULD GROW.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

In a state with the nation's toughest smog laws, two movements to exempt millions of the newest and oldest vehicles from the biennial smog check are speeding along in the fast lane.

A state Assembly committee is set to discuss a bill within the next month that would drop from the required testing list as many as 500,000 of California's oldest vehicles, including classic cars.

And a governor's advisory panel on the state's Smog Check program predicts that within a year, the Assembly could vote to also exempt all cars less than five years old - as many as 7.3 million autos.

But if those laws pass, a state official warned that the bulk of California motorists could be forced to follow even tougher rules than exist under Smog Check II, the newest and strictest anti-smog program yet.

``We might have to create a more stringent set of standards to make up for the pollution,'' said Chris Reynolds, state Air Resources Board legislative director. ``That would be the gripe.''

The Smog Check II program pledges to reduce the amount of pollution released in the air over Los Angeles, Orange and part of Riverside and San Bernardino counties by an additional 57 tons a day, Reynolds said.

The program as it stands applies to vehicles built in 1966 or later and targets so-called gross polluters. These vehicles are blamed for spewing out as much as 25 times more pollution than vehicles that pass smog tests, and they account for 10 percent of the cars on the road.

Exempting all cars 25 or more years old, as the bill proposes, could result in three tons less pollution daily being removed from the area, Reynolds said.

``The last thing we need in that area is to go in the reverse direction,'' said Reynolds, who is based in Sacramento.

Among those concerned about the exemptions is an automobile industry trade group that represents shops where smog checks are given.

``It could potentially take business away,'' said Tom Riley of the Automotive Service Council of California, which represents more than 2,000 independent garages across the state. ``It is really frightening to our members.''

But supporters of these newly proposed exemptions insist that eliminating smog checks for older cars is only fair and would not jeopardize California's war on pollution.

They contend that the majority of vehicles in these categories already pass smog tests, and that allowing the exemptions could spare millions of motorists the cost and hassle of a smog check.

Owners of classic cars argue that it makes little sense for them to cough up $40 every two years for a smog check when they drive their cars so rarely.

They say they have poured tens of thousands of dollars into rebuilding their cars to as-new conditions, which means they would pass smog testing anyway.

Julius Steuer puts no more than an average of 150 miles a year on his 1970 Plymouth Superbird, which he has restored to shiny perfection.

``There are years that I only take it out to smog it,'' said Steuer, owner of an automobile restoration business in Chatsworth. ``It passes smog tests fine every time. I understand that we need measures to take the polluters off the road. But we are going to have to find a happy medium.''

But Reynolds said eliminating vehicles 25 years or older would not be the best compromise.

Such a move also would exempt vehicles that are not necessarily classic, allowing so-called dirty vehicles to stay on the road, Reynolds said.

``We are concerned that you are going to lump in all these other vehicles that are not being lovingly maintained by their owners and are in fact the worst polluters,'' Reynolds said.

As a compromise, Reynolds said the Air Resources Board is considering whether to push for a moving deadline. The proposal under discussion would exempt cars that are 30 years and older. Other state officials have proposed exempting only vehicles that can be proved a classic.

Sen. Quentin Kopp, I-South San Francisco, authored the bill that would exempt vehicles 25 years or older. Unlike Reynolds, Kopp said taking these cars out of the smog testing pool ``will have no discernible effect upon air quality,'' adding that it is hard for many owners to get necessary parts for their vehicles when it comes to smog repairs.

Kopp's bill, SB 42, has garnered much support, evidenced by nearly 10,000 petitions and a 33-0 vote in the Senate.

Somewhat less controversial at this point is a proposal by the Inspection and Maintenance Review Committee, which makes recommendations on the state's Smog Check program, to exempt vehicles that rolled off the assembly line less than five years ago.

Lynn Scarlett, chairwoman of the panel appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson and the state Legislature, said the drivers of as many as 28 percent of the state's vehicles - or about 7.3 million - could avoid the smog testing until their vehicles turned five years old.

Scarlett said more than 99 percent of vehicles built today pass the smog check during the first five years on the road, adding that cutting these vehicles out of the testing pool would result in virtually no increase in pollution.

``It is around year five that we can expect some possible deterioration,'' said Scarlett, a social scientist and environmentalist.

The Air Resources Board has not taken a position on this exemption as the Legislature has yet to draft a bill on the proposal. Scarlett said she believes the exemption could be signed into law by the year's end.

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Photo: Julius Steuer kneels in front of his 1970 Plymouth Superbird, which could be dropped from smog testing if legislative efforts succeed.

David Sprague/Daily News