Jay Leno, the comedian and longtime host of “The Tonight Show,” is also one of the country’s most devoted collectors of vintage automobiles, with a fleet that spans steam-powered relics, classic muscle cars, and rare mechanical oddities.
Now, he is lending his influence to a proposed California law that would ease emissions requirements for older vehicles—cars he believes deserve protection, not punishment.
Leno, widely regarded as an expert in automotive history, argues that these meticulously maintained machines, built in an era of craftsmanship and steel, should be allowed to remain on the road under fairer rules.
In California, the law says cars made before 1976 don’t need a smog test. If yours is from 1975, you’re fine. If it’s from 1976, you’re not. One year makes all the difference. It’s a line drawn with no reason.
Leno wants to change that.
There’s a new bill — Senate Bill 712. They call it “Leno’s Law.” It says any car 35 years or older should be free from the test. Each year, the line moves. In 2025, the rule would include cars from 1990. Next year, 1991. And so on.
Leno argues these cars don’t drive much. A few hundred miles a year, maybe. They’re polished and stored. Not daily drivers. Not the reason the air is bad. He’s right. These old cars don’t do the harm. They carry stories, not smoke.
This bill wouldn’t kill clean air laws. It would make them fair. It would let people keep the past alive without punishment.
Right now, only vehicles from 1975 or earlier are exempt from California’s smog checks—a rule that hasn’t changed since 2005. The new proposal would shift to a rolling exemption for cars 35 years or older, but it’s limited to true classics—not daily drivers.
Leno speaks for those classic cars, for the hands that built them, and for the hands that keep them running.
If the bill passes committee, it heads to the full Senate, then to the Assembly for a vote. The final decision rests with Governor Gavin Newsom.