As of April 1, 2011, it will be illegal to sell or install a wheel weight in New York that contains lead. The state joins 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, Vermont and Washington also ban the products while Iowa, Maryland, Rhode Island and Wisconsin have considered a ban.

SEMA praised the United States Senate for passing the “Small Business Jobs and Credit Act” (HR 5297). The bill will be signed into law by President Obama pending imminent ratification by the House of Representatives.

The legislation creates a $30 billion fund to provide banks with less than $10 billion in assets access to capital to lend specifically to small businesses while providing tax incentives to encourage business development. In addition, the bill includes $12 billion in tax cuts and stronger government loan guarantees.

A new California regulation requiring auto service facilities to check tire pressure seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from under-inflated tires.

The U.S. Department of Commerce unveiled 14 proposals to strengthen the enforcement of U.S. trade laws. The measures would focus on illegal import practices from non-market economies by tightening U.S. rules governing antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD). “Dumping” is when a manufacturer(s) in one country exports a product to another country at a price that is below its production costs or the price charged in its home market.  “Countervailing duties” are imposed when an investigation finds that a foreign country is subsidizing its exports and injuring the importing country’s domestic producers. The Commerce Department initiated 34 AD/CVD investigations in 2009 compared to 19 the previous year.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has proposed a new regulation (Chapter Trans 123) to prohibit the registration of imported vehicles manufactured after 1967 that do not meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). U.S. law specifically exempts imported vehicles that are 25 years old and older from these safety standards. Trans 123 offers no such reasonable exemption.

Registering your intellectual property is key to establishing legal rights. Visit SEMA's "Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights" webpage for resources to help protect your valuable IP work.

Legislators set classification standards and exempt street rods and custom vehicles from emissions inspection requirements.

Under a SEMA-supported “jobs bill” enacted into law last March, private employers can claim tax credits if they hire someone in 2010 who has been out of work for at least 60 days. The federal government estimates the credit already applies to 4.5 million new workers hired between last February and May.

As the political climate continues to evolve in advance of the 2010 elections, SEMA members arrived in Washington, D.C., for the biennial SEMA Washington Rally. On May 12, Rally participants met with the senators and representatives to discuss critical issues facing their businesses and the industry.

Read more about how the SEMA Washington Rally helps members of Congress better understand the specialty-equipment industry and provides SEMA members the opportunity to provide recommendations on how to address touch issues facing businesses and employees.

A version of SEMA-model legislation (H.B. 4871) to create a vehicle registration classification for street rods, custom vehicles, replicas and specially constructed vehicles was passed by the Massachusetts State Legislature. The bill has been sent to the governor for his signature and enactment into law.