STATE UPDATE

 

California—Proposition 65: The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed new SEMA-opposed Proposition 65 short-form warning rules. The proposed rules would require all short-form warnings to include at least one chemical on the label. This is a significant change from the current regulations, which allow businesses to use a generic short-form warning that does not identify any specific chemicals.

The business community worked with OEHHA for several years to develop the current regulations that took effect in 2018. Companies subsequently invested significant resources in updating product labels, websites, and catalogs, and instructing others in the product chain about their obligations. Changes to the short-form warning would negate those efforts for many companies.

Massachusetts—Antique Vehicles: Lawmakers in
Massachusetts introduced SEMA-supported legislation that would remove driving restrictions from cars with antique tags. This bill applies to vehicles 25 years or older not used for general transportation purposes.

If passed, the bill would remove the requirement that vehicles be maintained solely for use in exhibitions, club activities, parades and other functions of public interest.

Ohio—ZEV Mandates: The Ohio House of Representatives passed SEMA-supported legislation prohibiting any state or local government unit from restricting the use or sale of motor vehicles based on the energy source used to power the motor vehicle, including internal combustion engines (ICEs). The bill awaits consideration by the Ohio Senate. SEMA believes Ohioans, not the government, should decide what vehicles are best for them and their families.

 

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FEDERAL UPDATE

REPAIR Act: The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce passed HR 906, the “Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act.” The subcommittee held off on voting on amendments, as Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) agreed to work with committee members to amend the bill prior to an Energy & Commerce full-committee vote. The SEMA-supported REPAIR Act, if enacted into law, would ensure automotive enthusiasts, aftermarket parts manufacturers and repair shops have access to the information and tools needed to maintain and personalize vehicles as automotive technology evolves. The bill can now be considered by the Energy & Commerce Committee.

The REPAIR Act has 48 bipartisan co-sponsors (24 Republicans and 24 Democrats) at the time of publication. SEMA is advocating for the REPAIR Act to be expanded to protect businesses that produce and install parts that modify or customize vehicles. It is important that bill be amended to protect the right to modify vehicles by prohibiting automakers from locking down ECUs and ensuring aftermarket companies have access to the information needed to recalibrate vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) after they have been modified.

 

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Moab Closures: The SEMA-supported “Historic Roadways Protection Act” (S 3148/HR 6396) was introduced by U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and U.S. Representative John Curtis (R-UT) in response to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) updated travel management plan (TMP) for the Labyrinth Rims Gemini Bridges Travel Management Area in Utah that will close 317 mi. of roads to motorized recreation. The legislation would prevent the BLM from (1) using federal funds to close any of the 114 miles of RS 2477 rights-of-way (ROWs) roads covered in the TMP or to finalize and (2) implementing the specified TMPs until all legal actions have been resolved. (RS 2477 roads are protected by Section 701 of the Federal Lands Policy Management Act.)

“Protecting motorized access in the Labyrinth Rims Gemini Bridges Travel Management Area is important to thousands of motorized recreationists who visit Moab every year, the local economy, and businesses that manufacture, sell and install parts needed to upgrade vehicles for OHV use,” said SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola. “Off-roading is not only a passion for millions of Americans, but it is one of the largest drivers of the $6.1 billion (annual) outdoor recreation industry in Utah, which employs over 67,000 people in the state. The Historic Roadways Protection Act is critical to ensuring that OHV enthusiasts can continue to enjoy one of the most iconic landscapes in the world.”

In addition to advocating for the Historic Roadways Protection Act, SEMA worked with the Off-Road Businesses Association (ORBA) and Ecologic Partners to file an administrative appeal of the BLM’s efforts to reduce motorized access to the Labyrinth Rims Gemini Bridges Travel Management Area.

Zero Emissions Truck Mandate: SEMA has joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Transport American Trucking Associations, Truckload Carriers Association and National Tank Truck Carriers in filing an amicus brief (friend of the court) supporting the “Western States Trucking Association and Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition, Inc. vs. United States Environmental Protection Agency” petition, which is currently pending before the D.C. Circuit Court. The brief re-emphasizes SEMA’s position that government policy, in its quest to achieve lower
or zero automotive emissions goals, should remain
technology-neutral.

The “Western States Trucking” petition to the court challenges the EPA’s waiver granted to California, permitting the state to implement its Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Regulation, California’s zero-emissions mandate for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. SEMA’s brief supports the petitioners’ challenge to the EPA.

The arguments laid out in the petitioners’ case include the following challenges to EPA’s waiver for the ACT
Regulation:

  •  EPA’s waiver exceeded legal bounds. The EPA failed to consider commenters’ concerns over multiple fatal flaws in the ACT Regulation. As a result, California’s decision to accelerate its in-state mandates for on-road, zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty trucks will force upheaval on the national trucking sector, with serious repercussions for the consumers, communities, and industries that rely upon it nationwide.
  •  California failed to adequately address the development of the infrastructure, or the procurement of raw

materials needed to support battery-powered trucks on the road, as well as the upstream and downstream emissions produced by switching to battery power.

The organizations and their members in this friend of the court briefing represent a wide range of businesses in the supply chain that are affected by California’s imposition of new zero-emissions requirements on the trucking industry. While some SEMA members supply parts and services to the medium- and heavy-duty trucking industry, the broader membership will be significantly impacted if ACT is implemented in its current form as a result of increased shipping costs and further disruptions to supply chains, including import and export of parts and raw materials.