SEMA again helped turn back legislation in the Washington Legislature that would have implemented a vehicle scrappage program for passenger vehicles more than 15 years old. Given the outcry of SEMA and members of the Washington vehicle hobbyist community, the House Finance Committee chose not to consider the bill before the cut-off deadline.
Under the bill, qualifying vehicles would have had to be registered for a 24-month period and in satisfactory operating condition. Replacement vehicles purchased under the plan would have been required to have an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highway gasoline mileage rating of at least 30 mpg. Participants in the program were to be granted a sales-tax exemption for the first $2,000 of tax paid on the purchase price. All trade-in vehicles would have been destroyed, regardless of their historical value or collector interest.
For details, contact Steve McDonald.