By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

A bill to ban motor-vehicle exhaust systems that increase the noise level died when the legislature adjourned for the year.

A bill to ban motor-vehicle exhaust systems that increase the noise level died when the legislature adjourned for the year. Under the bill, violators would not have passed the state’s required inspection and would have been subject to fines of up to $350. The bill did not provide an opportunity for vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket modified exhaust systems that meet an objective decibel limit under a fair and predictable test. Instead, the bill would have allowed inspectors to make subjective judgments on whether an exhaust system amplified the noise emitted by the motor vehicle.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

A bill to ban motor-vehicle exhaust systems that increase the noise level died when the legislature adjourned for the year.

A bill to ban motor-vehicle exhaust systems that increase the noise level died when the legislature adjourned for the year. Under the bill, violators would not have passed the state’s required inspection and would have been subject to fines of up to $350. The bill did not provide an opportunity for vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket modified exhaust systems that meet an objective decibel limit under a fair and predictable test. Instead, the bill would have allowed inspectors to make subjective judgments on whether an exhaust system amplified the noise emitted by the motor vehicle.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

A bill to ban motor-vehicle exhaust systems that increase the noise level died when the legislature adjourned for the year.

A bill to ban motor-vehicle exhaust systems that increase the noise level died when the legislature adjourned for the year. Under the bill, violators would not have passed the state’s required inspection and would have been subject to fines of up to $350. The bill did not provide an opportunity for vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket modified exhaust systems that meet an objective decibel limit under a fair and predictable test. Instead, the bill would have allowed inspectors to make subjective judgments on whether an exhaust system amplified the noise emitted by the motor vehicle.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Legislation that would have established a pilot program administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to impose a vehicle mileage user fee died when the legislature adjourned for the year.

Legislation that would have established a pilot program administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to impose a vehicle mileage user fee died when the legislature adjourned for the year. The bill sought to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on vehicle mileage. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Legislation that would have established a pilot program administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to impose a vehicle mileage user fee died when the legislature adjourned for the year.

Legislation that would have established a pilot program administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to impose a vehicle mileage user fee died when the legislature adjourned for the year. The bill sought to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on vehicle mileage. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Legislation that would have established a pilot program administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to impose a vehicle mileage user fee died when the legislature adjourned for the year.

Legislation that would have established a pilot program administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to impose a vehicle mileage user fee died when the legislature adjourned for the year. The bill sought to penalize national efforts to create a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet by taxing drivers based on vehicle mileage. As gas tax revenues decrease due to hybrid and electric vehicle ownership, states are looking for new sources of funding for pet projects.

For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law legislation to provide for a program that will allow classic car status to be determined from nationally recognized standards and guides.

Legislation to provide for a program that will allow classic car status to be determined from nationally recognized standards and guides was signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton. Under the current system, this status must be designated by the state through a time-consuming amendment to the law. The classic car plate is available to “any motor vehicle manufactured between and including the years 1925 and 1948, and designated as a full classic car because of its fine design, high engineering standards, and superior workmanship, and owned and operated solely as a collector's item.”

The new law will speed up the process by which Minnesota vehicles can attain classic car status. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law legislation to provide for a program that will allow classic car status to be determined from nationally recognized standards and guides.

Legislation to provide for a program that will allow classic car status to be determined from nationally recognized standards and guides was signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton. Under the current system, this status must be designated by the state through a time-consuming amendment to the law. The classic car plate is available to “any motor vehicle manufactured between and including the years 1925 and 1948, and designated as a full classic car because of its fine design, high engineering standards, and superior workmanship, and owned and operated solely as a collector's item.”

The new law will speed up the process by which Minnesota vehicles can attain classic car status. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law legislation to provide for a program that will allow classic car status to be determined from nationally recognized standards and guides.

Legislation to provide for a program that will allow classic car status to be determined from nationally recognized standards and guides was signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton. Under the current system, this status must be designated by the state through a time-consuming amendment to the law. The classic car plate is available to “any motor vehicle manufactured between and including the years 1925 and 1948, and designated as a full classic car because of its fine design, high engineering standards, and superior workmanship, and owned and operated solely as a collector's item.”

The new law will speed up the process by which Minnesota vehicles can attain classic car status. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for managing off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity at Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina. The DEIS Plan considers four alternatives for OHV management, along with a fifth alternative that would prohibit OHV activity altogether. The OHV management plans would range from continuing the current activities to designating specific routes and establishing permitting requirements. The NPS supports an alternative to designate specific OHV routes and areas, establish a permit program that would maintain OHV use at historical levels, phase-out high-performance sport model and two stroke ATVs and UTVs with seasonal use restrictions and establish seasonal night-driving restrictions.

Cape Lookout National Seashore is 56 miles long and forms the southern section of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The NPS OHV management plan for Cape Hatteras, to the north, has already been the subject of legal challenges as being overly restrictive. SEMA has supported efforts in Congress to enact legislation reversing a 2012 management plan banning access to about 39% of the Cape Hatteras seashore and restricting access to another 19% of the area. SEMA contends the legislation provides balanced safeguards for wildlife and responsible OHV activities. The legislation (HR 819; S. 486) is pending floor action by the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.