The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed a lawsuit which challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to grant a partial waiver for 15% ethanol (E15) content in gasoline for ’01 and newer model-year cars and light trucks.

SEMA has joined with the Association of California Car Clubs and other state enthusiast groups to support legislation that would establish the California Legacy License Plate Program.

This year’s election is the most important in recent memory. The current political landscape holds an uncertain future for members of both parties, as control of the House of Representatives, Senate and White House are in the balance. On November 6, voters will head to the polls to elect the President of the United States, 435 members of the U.S. House, 31 U.S. Senators, 12 governors and thousands of state and local leaders.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved a final Environmental Assessment (EA) for replenishing salt to the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) as potash is mined on adjoining lands.

Ernie Silvers, CEO/president of SEMA member Egge Machine Co. Inc., has joined the board of the California Small Business Association (CSBA). As a new board member, Silvers will play a vital role in representing the needs of CSBA members and the millions of small businesses throughout California.

A U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee held a hearing on a bill that would allow companies to market collision-repair parts without infringing a design patent once a vehicle has been marketed for two-and-a-half years. Under current law, a design patent covers the ornamental design for an object having practical utility for a 14-year term. 

A bill to ban the “use and sale of any exhaust pipe that increases the sound emissions of any vehicle including motorcycles” has been assigned for study.

SEMA-supported legislation to extend the emissions inspection exemption to vehicles three years old and newer was signed into law by Governor Bev Perdue.

SEMA-member Matt Agosta of Steele Rubber Products has been appointed to serve on the North Carolina DMV’s Vehicle Classification Review Committee. The committee was established to include a SEMA representative pursuant to the 2009 enactment into law of SEMA-model legislation creating vehicle registration classifications for street rods, replicas and custom vehicles. 

The U.S. Marines is seeking to expand their base at Twentynine Palms, California, to include nearly 189,000 acres of adjacent land owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The land is a designated off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation area and site of “King of the Hammers” and other OHV events throughout the year. The Marines would provide the OHV community with limited access to 40,000 acres for 10 months per year.