Governor Jerry Brown signed into law legislation to establish the California Legacy License Plate Program. Under the new law, the DMV will create and issue a series of specialized license plates that replicate plates from the state's past.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established new emissions standards for chromium electroplating and anodizing operations. For decorative chrome plating, the EPA has lowered the emissions levels for existing sources from 0.01 milligrams per dry standard cubic meter (mg/dscm) to 0.007 mg/dscm.

The Tire Industry Association (TIA) stated that the U.S. trade tariffs on car and light-truck tires expired September 26, 2012, after three years, eliminating the current duties on these imports from China. The duties or “safeguards” were established by the Obama administration to combat what the Department of Commerce found were Chinese tire manufacturers receiving subsidies ranging from 10.90% to 30.69%. 

The Obama Administration has requested that the World Trade Organization (WTO) resolve a trade dispute with China over at least $1 billion in alleged subsidies made available to Chinese auto and auto-parts exporters between 2009 and 2011. The U.S. Government contends that the subsidies are unfair under WTO rules and threaten jobs in America’s $350 billion auto sector.

The following are several important legislative trends affecting the automotive specialty-equipment industry that continue to feature prominently in state and federal government agendas.

The party conventions are in the books and the much-anticipated presidential debates are around the corner as we begin the home stretch of the 2012 election. On November 6, voters will head to the polls to elect the president of the United States, 435 members of the U.S. House, 33 U.S. senators, 12 governors and thousands of state and local leaders.

In 2007, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 126 requiring all motor vehicles weighing 10,000 lbs. or less to have an electronic stability control (ESC) system.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has updated the performance test standards for motorcycle brakes, first adopted in 1972. The requirements are part of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 122, Motorcycle Brake Systems, which applies to both two-wheeled and three-wheeled motorcycles.

SEMA recommended that the U.S. Marines Corps secure special-use permits from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) when conducting troop maneuvers within Johnson Valley, California, rather than take ownership of the land as part of an expanded Twentynine Palms base.

The federal government issued final regulations implementing an agreement reached with auto industry representatives and California regulators on fuel economy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions limits for model-year ’17–’25 vehicles.