this CA crap is just lame, does it vent the gases to the right place? yes
will it hold up over time, no, but it will take quite a while
it's like, some knee jerk fail by some idiot that doesn't know what they're looking at - no common sense in a bureaucracy
what actually came out of the tail pipe? was everything other than that functioning?
my first impression of CA was formed on an Army bus, I was looking at the pretty beaches - but my view was constantly blocked by signs that said
'no parking' 'no fires on beach' 'no pets without leash' 'park closed after dusk' 'gate closed at dusk' 'no alcohol' 'no overnight camping' etc etc
on and on they went, every 100 yards there was some damn sign
later, when I'd get off post for a weekend I'd try to go camping - it was the same thing in the hills and mountains - for just a second you'd think you were someplace untread - but then you'd find some damn sign telling you what to do, or not do, or no trespassing, or no camping etc etc
move to a free country, let CA go, it's already going to collapse under it's own weight if the fault doesn't get it first
sorry for the rant, but this CA emissions stuff keeps popping up, and people are being failed for stupid crap that doesn't seem to actually affect the quality or composition of the exhaust -
maybe if you had painted the heater hose with krylon plastic paint - flat black - the labeling would have been gone and it wouldn't have attracted their attention, but that's a painful lesson and hindsight
sorry you got burned