SEMA’s Legislative Action: A Year In Review In The Hot Rod Community

Images: SEMA

The hot rod community has seen an influx of legislative actions, whether in favor or against the hobby, being discussed this year. Luckily, the Specialty Equipment Market Association has stayed on top of all of them, suggesting fair solutions, partnering for impartial laws and ultimately fighting to maintain and improve the automotive hobby across the country. For the last several months, we’ve brought you updates on SEMA’s actions and as the year comes to an end, we now take a look back at all that has taken place under SEMA’s watchful eye thanks to the SEMA Action Network (SAN).

West Coast

The update we received from SAN starts out with state reviews, kicking off with the sunshine state. In 2012, California saw the end of the California Hot Rod Emissions Project.

This project worked successfully to give specialty constructed vehicle owners amnesty if they had improperly or illegally titled/registered their cars and allow them to properly title/register their vehicles with no penalties. Unfortunately, the amnesty program ended on June 30th.

California has also seen some good things come from 2012, however, with the Legacy License Plate Program going into action to provide classic car owners the option to purchase new, period-correct license plates for their vehicles. Collector Car Appreciation Day was also officially recognized by California Senator Tony Strickland. Similar recognitions for July 13th as the official Collector Car Appreciation Day were made in Hawaii, Idaho, Las Vegas, New Mexico, New York State, and West Virginia. The day was also federally recognized. Pennsylvania had a separate Motorsports Day designated for June 5th, 2012.

East Coast

On the East Coast, legislation was defeated in Connecticut with the help of SAN that would have increased the age requirement for cars registered as antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles. SAN also helped defeat legislation in Virginia that would have provided localities with the authority to raise the amount charged for annual license tax on vehicles that don’t display current tags from $100 to $500.

The East Coast also saw SAN-supported legislation signed into law in 2012 that allows classic vehicle owners in Pennsylvania to use original model-year license plates on their cars. Other bills affecting the hot rod scene signed into law this year include one in Michigan that allows unlimited used of historic vehicles in the month of August (which was also declared Automotive Heritage Month), as well as one that gives Nebraska special-interest motor vehicle owners a special vehicle registration class and license plates.

A proposed bill aiming to put a cap on property taxes paid on classic and antique vehicles in West Virginia wasn’t as lucky, however, and was vetoed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin because of technical issues. While this may seem bad on the surface, amendments to the bill would have actually penalized owners of classic vehicles worth less than $5,000 while benefiting owners of cars worth more than the $5,000 mark.

Proposed bills that died due to legislative recess that could have affected the hot rod community include a proposed ban on aftermarket exhaust systems that increased the noise level of the car above the level of factory equipment in both Massachusetts and Vermont, as well as legislation in Maryland that threatened the current unlimited use of historic vehicles in the state. Some of these bills will be reevaluated in 2013. SAN is still working with the Texas DMV to correct a flaw in its policies and procedures that requires all vehicle owners looking to register their street rods or hot rods to carry a “replica” brand title.

The hot rod community also saw a few changes on the federal level. This year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved an Environmental Assessment to replenish the salt at the Bonneville Salt flats being taken away during the potash mining process. SAN and other organizations that are part of the Save the Salt Coalition are now working on ways to raise money to restore all the salt that has been lost at this historic destination.

Moving into 2013, the Federal Government will be considering a bipartisan bill proposed by Representative John Campbell this year that would allow low-volume manufacturers to produce limited amounts of specialty vehicles, including replica street rods and custom cars, for customers across the nation.

SEMA and SAN have had their work cut out for them this year, staying on top of all the proposed legislation and regulations that could affect our beloved hobby. We thank these two wonderful organizations for their hard work and dedication to the industry, and look forward to seeing what their efforts bring to the hot rod community next year.

About the author

Lindsey Fisher

Lindsey is a freelance writer and lover of anything with a rumble. Hot rods, muscle cars, motorcycles - she's owned and driven it all. When she's not busy writing about them, she's out in her garage wrenching away. Who doesn't love a tech-savy gal that knows her way around a garage?
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