He is correct. I had the same problem. When I got to the smog place I meantioned that the battery was disco'd, so he ran a computer scan. I guess it shows that the battery was disconnected and he suggested I drive it a little. So after driving 60 miles (3 seperate 20 mile trips, he kept telling me to drive more), I said screw it and went to the rubicon.
I still paid the reg. to avoid late fees. They just sent me a letter calling me an idiot and told me to get it smogged.
My suggestion to anyone would be to have the computer scanned before the test. The Tech guy might be cool enough to do it free of charge. Even if the Check engine light isnt on, there still could be a hidden problem that would cause it to fail the test.
Stupid computers!