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.

SEMA’s Government Affairs Office has compiled a comprehensive guide on how motor-vehicle parts are regulated by the federal government, which can be viewed at www.sema.org/fedregs. It is a must-read document for every SEMA member. 

Legislation that would give small-business owners a voice on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was approved unanimously by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

SEMA-supported 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 vehicle will not be driven more than 5,000 miles per year was passed by the Nevada Assembly.

As of April 1, 2011, it is illegal to sell or install a wheel weight in New York that contains lead. The state joined several others that have enacted laws banning the manufacture, sale and use of lead weights. California’s law went into effect on January 1, 2010. Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington also ban the product and several other states have considered a ban.  As of April 1, 2011, it is illegal to sell or install a wheel weight in New York that contains lead. The state joined several others that have enacted laws banning the manufacture, sale and use of lead weights. California’s law went into effect on January 1, 2010. Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington also ban the product, and several other states have considered a ban. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has streamlined the process for approving fuel conversion systems. The conversion systems allow light- and heavy-duty vehicles to run on alternative fuels (natural gas, propane, alcohol, electricity, etc.) while complying with Clean Air Act emissions standards. The EPA has established a three-tiered compliance process based on the age of the vehicle.

Legislation to increase the age requirement for vehicles eligible for registration as “antique, rare or special-interest motor vehicles” was passed by the Connecticut Joint Committee on Planning and Development. The bill was amended in Committee 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.

SEMA-opposed legislation that would have allowed cities to remove an inoperable vehicle from private property if the vehicle was deemed a “nuisance” under a local ordinance was defeated on a 14–14 vote in the full Arkansas Senate.

In the last step of the legislative process, SEMA-model legislation to create a vehicle titling and registration classification for street rods and custom vehicles has been sent to Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire for her signature and enactment into law.

Having passed the House Environment and Rules Committees, legislation to exempt all vehicles more than 25 years old from the state’s mandatory biennial emissions-inspection program will now be considered by the full Arizona House of Representatives.