SEMA News—June 2011

Legislation that originally sought to exempt all vehicles more than 25 years old from the state’s mandatory biennial emissions inspection program was amended and passed in the Arizona House and Senate. Under the amendment, vehicles manufactured in the ’74 model year and earlier would be exempted. Currently, only vehicles manufactured in 1966 and earlier and “collectibles” are exempt. The bill has now been sent to the governor for her signature and enactment into law. While the bill is now not as inclusive as the previous version, SEMA continues to support the measure for creating additional model-year exemptions.

SEMA is working with the bill sponsor in support of legislation that would give small-business owners a voice on the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The bill was approved unanimously by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and now moves to the Appropriations Committee. Recognizing that regulations issued by the board directly affect small businesses, the measure would create a requirement for one member of CARB to be a current owner of a small business and have experience with a small business for at least 10 years.

SEMA is opposing legislation to increase the age requirement for vehicles eligible for registration as “antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles.” The bill was amended in the Joint Committee on Planning and Development to increase the age requirement for registration as an antique to 30 years old and increase the tax assessment amount on vehicles registered as antiques to $2,500. Currently, vehicles 20 years old or older are eligible for antique status; antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles are assessed at a rate of $500; and owners pay personal property taxes on that amount. The bill will next be considered by the full House of Representatives.

SEMA is supporting Florida legislation to correct existing titling laws to include street rods and custom vehicles. Due to the enactment of SEMA-model legislation in 2007, Florida already provides for the registration of these specialty vehicles. The bill will require titles to be issued under the provisions that provide for rebuilt vehicles and be labeled with “street rod” or “custom vehicle” designations. The bill also offers a means for enthusiasts who are unable to provide the DMV with sufficient proof of ownership for a vehicle, or its major component parts, to obtain a bonded title for the vehicle.

SEMA is supporting legislation to provide for an expanded-use antique vehicle registration class that would allow antique vehicles and replicas to be driven without limitation during the warmer part of the year, from April 1 through October 31. The bill has been approved by the Illinois House. Under the bill, expanded-use antiques are limited to traveling to and from car shows, exhibitions, servicing or demonstration during the colder months, from November 1 through March 31. Regular antique vehicle registration would still be available for a lower fee to hobbyists who prefer operating their vehicles on a limited-use-only basis year-round. The bill will next be considered by the Illinois Senate.

SEMA is opposing Iowa legislation to change labeling requirements on gas pumps across the state to only require labeling for unblended gasoline and E85. Current law in Iowa requires labeling when gasoline is blended with ethanol in any amount. If enacted, the bill would remove labeling requirements for ethanol-blended gasoline containing 15% or less ethanol, thereby increasing the risk of misfueling and potential engine damage. Unblended gas is required to be labeled, but there is no guarantee that unblended gas will be available. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been urged to create national labeling requirements for ethanol-blended gasoline that are placed as close as possible to the pump’s product selection mechanism, but since such requirements are not currently in place, vehicle owners must rely on state labeling requirements for information about the gasoline they use in their vehicles. The bill has been approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Working with a coalition of business associations, SEMA successfully opposed Nebraska legislation to change labeling requirements on gas pumps across the state so that labeling is only required when gasoline contains 11% or more alcohol. A previous version of the bill eliminated labeling requirements altogether. Current law in Nebraska requires labeling when gasoline contains 1% or more alcohol, including labels for pumps dispensing E10. The bill would have made it impossible for enthusiasts to know whether the gasoline they put into their vehicles contains any ethanol, making it possible to misfuel the vehicle and cause engine damage. While the measure will receive no further consideration this year, it will remain alive through the 2012 legislative session.

SEMA is supporting Nevada legislation to repeal a 2009 increase in the valuation of older vehicles for the purpose of assessing the yearly government services tax. The 2009 increase raised the tax assessment from 5% to 15% of the initial value of vehicles nine years old and older. The measure changes the yearly assessment rate back to 5% of the initial value. The bill has been referred to the Assembly Taxation Committee for consideration.

SEMA is supporting legislation to provide that classic vehicles and classic rods would be exempted from emissions inspections if owners pay a one-time $6 fee and submit a certification that their vehicles will not be driven more than 5,000 miles per year. The bill was passed by the Nevada Assembly. Currently, classic rods and classic vehicles are subject to a 2,500-mile-per-year limit to qualify for an emissions exemption. Also, these cars must pass an initial two-speed idle emissions inspection to qualify. To maintain the exemption each year, the owners of classic rods and classic vehicles must fill out a certification that their vehicles have not been driven more than 2,500 miles during the previous year, and the certification must be verified by a DMV emissions lab technician. Under the bill, the initial emissions inspection would no longer be required. The bill will now be considered by the Senate.

SEMA-supported legislation requiring ethanol content labels on all pumps that dispense ethanol-blended gasoline has been signed into law by North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue. The new law requires these labels to indicate that the gasoline contains 10% or less ethanol or greater than 10% ethanol. Previously, retailers operating pumps dispensing ethanol-blended gasoline were not required to post labels regarding ethanol content. Many products on the market, including older cars, special-interest collector vehicles and historic vehicles, use materials that are incompatible with ethanol.

As a result of opposition mounted by SEMA and North Dakota vehicle hobbyists and businesses, legislation that threatened to prohibit the modification of any motor vehicle that altered the manufacturer’s original suspension, steering or brake system unless the state highway patrol issued an inspection certificate has been amended to remove those restrictions. The amended bill now only provides for a study of the state’s transportation laws to be conducted between the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions.

At the insistence of SEMA, the sponsor of legislation that would have banned the sale of certain new motor-vehicle exhaust systems has decided to withdraw the measure from further consideration. The bill would have prohibited the sale of exhaust systems and exhaust system components that cause motor vehicles to produce noise exceeding certain noise limits. Under the bill, noise limits specified in rules adopted by the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) would have been used to determine which systems would be permitted or banned. However, the EQC terminated its noise-control program in 1991, and no noise-testing procedure is currently in place. The bill would have led to significant confusion regarding compliance and enforcement.

A SEMA-opposed bill that would have severely limited vehicle suspension, body lift and wheel/tire alterations died without committee consideration. Specifically, the measure sought to ban vehicles whose bumpers were elevated more than 3 in. over the original manufactured bumper clearance. Among other things, the bill discriminated against hobbyists and aftermarket parts makers by leaving it solely to the vehicle manufacturers to choose bumper heights, would have forced owners of modified vehicles to spend large sums of money to reinstall original components and would have banned useful alterations that provide adequate clearance for on-/off-road capability and accommodate heavy loads, larger tires, improved suspension and water-fording capability. The bill also would have imposed a fine of up to $360 per offense for vehicles that exceed the 3-in. clearance requirements.

Legislation to exempt vehicles more than 25 years old from the state’s annual emissions inspection and maintenance program was passed by the Tennessee House and Senate. To qualify for the SEMA-supported exemption, these vehicles must be registered as “antique motor vehicles.” Existing law exempts only vehicles manufactured before the ’75 model year from emissions inspection. The bill now moves to the governor for his signature and enactment into law.

SEMA-supported legislation to allow vehicles 30 years old and older to be classified as “vintage vehicles” was signed into law by Utah Governor Gary Herbert. Under previous law, Utah reserved the “vintage vehicle” class only to vehicles 40 years old and older. Under the new law, vintage vehicles 30 to 40 years old would be charged a $45 annual registration fee. When the vehicle reaches 40 years old, the registrant would pay a one-time $40 fee. Vintage vehicles are exempted from annual emissions and safety inspections. Utah exempts vehicles manufactured prior to 1968 from emissions inspections. Vehicles manufactured after that date must be registered as “vintage vehicles” or “customs” to qualify for this exemption.

SEMA-model legislation to create a vehicle titling and registration classification for street rods and custom vehicles was signed into law by Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire. The bill defines a street rod as an altered vehicle manufactured before 1949 and a custom as an altered vehicle at least 30 years old and manufactured after 1948. Kit cars and replica vehicles will be assigned certificates of title bearing the same model-year designations as the production vehicles they most closely resemble.

Under pressure from SEMA, legislation that originally sought to increase the age requirement for vehicles eligible for registration as collector vehicles was amended. Under the amended bill, vehicles seeking registration as collector vehicles for a one-time registration fee would still only be required to be at least 30 years old rather than 40 years old as the original bill required. The bill was also amended to delete provisions that would have created penalties for violating the limited-use provisions.

SEMA-opposed legislation to require annual renewal fees for collector-vehicle and horseless-carriage license plates did not receive committee consideration this year. Under the bill, the initial $35 license plate fee for these vehicles would have remained, and a new annual $30 renewal fee would have been added.

A bill to provide that the noise from a motor-vehicle exhaust system that has been deemed “disturbing or unreasonably loud” constitutes the crime of disturbing the peace did not receive committee consideration before adjournment of the legislature. SEMA opposed the bill because it did not supply law enforcement with an enforcement standard, allowing for subjective judgments on whether an exhaust system was “disturbing or unreasonably loud.” The bill also would have made it difficult for hobbyists to replace factory exhaust systems with more durable, better-performing options. Under the bill, violators could have been fined up to $1,000 per occurrence, jailed for six months or both. Meanwhile, SEMA-model legislation that would have allowed West Virginia’s vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket modified exhaust systems that meet a 95-decibel limit under a fair and predictable test was also not given consideration.

SEMA submitted comments regarding a Nova Scotia proposal to regulate altered-height vehicles. The proposal is the policy adopted by the Canadian Council for Motor Transport Administrators, which is identical to the revised model regulation adopted by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators in 2007. Two years ago at SEMA’s request, a Nova Scotia regulation that would have required retailers and installers to provide proof that all suspension-lift products had been approved by a certified engineer was put on hold to allow regulatory agencies to conduct an impact study. At the time, the province had only one certified engineer available to conduct these inspections. In its comments, SEMA reiterated its support for the 1988 American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators policy as the only model regulation of its kind that gained the support of the car companies, the affected industry and the regulators and is still as valid and effective today as when first adopted.