[tmctguer]

i have been thinking about your SB100 situation and wanted to offer a few words of encouragement. I also got one of the 500 smog exemption permits, and like you, have not received a letter from BAR. Needless to say, I would get a little dissapointed each time I read of others on this site who received their BAR letter.

My application actually was processed by the DMV clerk in such a way that the DMV owes me a $17 refund on the fees I paid on 1/2/08. My concern was that because of the refund issue, my registration application was going to be messed up and I, too might lose my exemption due to some kind of paperwork SNAFU. Fortunately, I live near a DMV office so on two occasions, I visited them with all of my paperwork just to make sure something was not overlooked that would cause my special exemption to fall through the cracks.

both times, I was assured by the local DMV office that everything was OK. Once, I asked to speak to the supervisor who personally supervised the applications on 1/2/08. She looked at all my documents and assured me that I was OK. They told me that some of the letters get mailed later than others. They gave me the number of the DMV in Sacremento (916 657 8035) so I also called Sacramento just to see if THEY could see any problems. Sacramento assured me that the registration is proceeding and they are still processing applications. I called Sacramento today and once again I was told that they were a bit behind in processing the SB100 applications.

So the reason I am writing is to tell you that it appears that not all the letters have been mailed to the 500 exemption people, as evidenced by my situation. so either you and me BOTH got hosed, or both of us are still in the processing stage. If I were you, I would not give up hope just yet. I will let you know when/if I get my BAR letter.

Finally, should you never receive a BAR letter, and ultimately you determine that the State's error impacted your application, I would not rule out escalating this issue higher up within the DMV. Sometimes, getting a Supervisor or Manager involved (even higher) can assist in sorting things out in your favor.

I will keep my fingers crossed for BOTH OF US !!!