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I had a 1994 Chevy Silverado that the Check Engine light was perpetually on. Fortunately for me guidelines said that in Texas 1995 and earlier would still be allowed to pass with the light on.
However....
My wife's 1999 Grand Am had the light come on about a week before I had to get it inspected. The culprit was the downstream O2 sensor. It was about an $85 fix...but found out it could be done for significantly less if I would have shopped around (eg Pep Boys). Several months later this car was stolen.
FWIW you can buy code readers that will reset codes for these OBD-II cars, they are not terribly expensive.
Possible that a chain auto parts store can read and reset.
Even though the car passed smog, pay some attention to the codes, if you have an o2 sensor for example that's on it's way out, better to change it now than change it and maybe the cat as well later.
A bad connector or a bad spot in the wiring can also cause the "check engine" light to come on. Mine always comes on in my '87 Trans Am, the codes said it was the MAT sensor, I replaced the sensor and the light still comes on.
FYI, for OBD2 vehicles, when you go to have your smog check done, they plug in a scan tool, and they can tell if you've just recently cleared the codes, as all the "monitors" will not be running.
1975 and older cars are smog exempt here. It is nice not to have to bother bringing my '69 Cadillac Fleetwood in for a smog check, especially since it's only driven about 1,500 miles per year.
Unfortunately, my '76 Fleetwood Limo is required to have a smog check every 2 years which sometimes is a real pain when it needs a lot of adjustments to make it pass. When I bought it, there was a 25-year-old and older smog exempt rule then it was changed to 1976 and newer.
Someday I just may buy a '69 limo to exchange for my '76 so I won't have to bother with smog checks. I keep my cars in tune anyway.
I'm afraid it is only a matter of time
It is a real pain in the you know what... I have a car that I have to drive just to pass smog... it is used 98% on the ranch, but smog is required for tags... so I drive it out on the highway when I otherwise wouldn't.
I too got caught up on the exemption rules. At first it was vehicles 25 years or older, then it was 30 years and now it is only for model year 1975 and older.
Every year some legislator wants to repeal the exemption and every year I write dozens of letters why it shouldn't be repealed.
Seriously, how many daily drivers are model year 1975 or older anyway??? Next they will be telling us we can't use our fireplaces on cold winter nights... wait a minute, they already doing this in the San Francisco Bay Area
My car (95 Mazda Protege) failed the biennial smog check last year because the stupid Check Engine Light came on when the technician did the testing. I took the car to the Mazda dealer later in the week and the service technician there couldn't figure out what was causing the light to come on. He ended up just resetting the light and releasing the car back to me. I took it back to the smog check station and--thankfully--it passed. My car is due for a smog check this year next when the registration renews in June. Right now, the Check Engine light doesn't come on, but I'm afraid it might when I get it smogged later.
It is a real pain in the you know what... I have a car that I have to drive just to pass smog... it is used 98% on the ranch, but smog is required for tags... so I drive it out on the highway when I otherwise wouldn't.
I too got caught up on the exemption rules. At first it was vehicles 25 years or older, then it was 30 years and now it is only for model year 1975 and older.
Every year some legislator wants to repeal the exemption and every year I write dozens of letters why it shouldn't be repealed.
Seriously, how many daily drivers are model year 1975 or older anyway??? Next they will be telling us we can't use our fireplaces on cold winter nights... wait a minute, they already doing this in the San Francisco Bay Area
I hope it's not a matter of time.
The government should realize (I hope) that, like you said, there are so few 1975 and older daily drivers out there that it wouldn't be worth smog checking them.
I think your problem proves that the smog check test is not about what comes out the exhaust, but rather " all about the money' they can clean out of your wallet. 96 model OBD II systems have a terrible record for codes being thrown. You can replace every part involved in these vehicles (regardless of brand!) and still be flunked because too many codes are showing. I just bought my parents a 96 T-Bird cheap because the previous owner could not get the codes off when testing. It's a very good car, but wouldn't pass the fraud test er, exhaust emissions test because of the codes. BTW, The car blows cleaner than even Ford says it would !!! I just took careful attention to a few parts selected to help it on power.
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I took the car to the Mazda dealer later in the week and the service technician there couldn't figure out what was causing the light to come on. 
My car is due for a smog check this year next when the registration renews in June. Right now, the Check Engine light doesn't come on, but I'm afraid it might when I get it smogged later. 
