Collective Industry Statement in Response to
Comments by Air Resources Board Relative to
California’s Smog Check Program
The California Automotive Service and Repair Industry Call on CARB to Retract Erroneous and
Misleading Statements Alleging “Widespread Fraud” in the State’s Smog Check Program
February 25, 2010 08:42 PM Eastern Time
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Six statewide trade organizations representing
California’s automotive service and repair industry have called on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to
issue a retraction over misleading statements made to the media relative to “widespread fraud” in the state’s smog
check program and have issued the following joint statement.
“The automotive service and repair industry representing 33,000 registered automotive repair businesses in
California, including those that perform smog-related repairs, are highly trained and ethical in their care and service of
our state’s 26 million registered vehicles.
These businesses and their employees are the solution - not the problem – to proper maintenance and reduced
emissions from our state’s fleet of vehicles by keeping California’s cars well serviced and maintained which leads to
lower tailpipe emissions and contributes to the state’s overall climate change goals.
The unfortunate comments made by CARB officials alleging ‘widespread fraud’ in California’s Smog Check
Program callously disregard the character and contributions of these employers and their employees to the health and
well-being of California including their efforts to reduce pollution and improve the state’s air quality.
The undersigned trade organizations find it extremely frustrating that they must defend the automotive industry from
baseless accusations and attempts to create sensational headlines about fraudulent activities. We want to be very
clear – the industry does not condone or defend fraud.
However, for CARB to conclude that these smog check failures were due to fraud without specific