California’s much-discussed Leno’s Law is back for another run, and this time it feels less like a long-shot enthusiast dream and more like a serious legislative push. Reintroduced as Senate Bill 1392, the proposal revives last year’s failed effort to loosen smog-check requirements for qualifying classic vehicles. The big reason people in the hobby are paying closer attention now is simple. Lawmakers appear to have refined the bill in a way that directly addresses one of the concerns that helped stall the previous version.

At its core, the proposal still aims to create a rolling emissions exemption for older collector vehicles, beginning with 1981 model-year cars. But unlike the earlier bill, this version tightens the definition of what qualifies. In addition to being registered and insured as a collector vehicle, the car also cannot serve as the owner’s primary transportation. That sounds like a small detail, but it is probably the difference between this being dismissed as a broad carve-out and being treated as a targeted exemption for vehicles that are rarely driven, carefully maintained, and preserved more as rolling history than daily commuters.

That narrower language is exactly why the new version seems to have a better shot. Reporting from Car and Driver and Road & Track has highlighted the added usage restriction as the most important revision, while the California Legislature’s own bill text makes it clear the exemption would phase in gradually rather than swing the doors wide open overnight. Senator Dave Cortese’s office has also leaned into the argument that these vehicles make up a tiny slice of what is actually on California roads, while SEMA continues to frame the bill as a way to protect car culture, restoration shops, and small businesses tied to the enthusiast economy. In other words, supporters are no longer selling this as just a win for collectors. They are pitching it as a compromise.

That does not mean SB 1392 is a done deal, but it does mean Leno’s Law has entered this round on much firmer footing. With an April 14 Senate Transportation Committee hearing now on the calendar, the measure is moving from social media enthusiasm to the real test of committee scrutiny. For California enthusiasts, restorers, and anyone who believes the state’s automotive heritage is worth preserving, this latest version feels more disciplined, more politically aware, and far more likely to gain traction than the bill that came before it.