As a public servant, California Senator Josh Newman’s mantra has been to put his constituents over politics. Since his first election to the California Senate in 2016, Senator Newman has routinely gone above and beyond to promote the specialty automotive aftermarket industry in his home state. Why? His Southern California district, which is home to SEMA’s Diamond Bar headquarters, boasts 83 SEMA-member companies. Put into perspective, that number is more SEMA members than most states in the union have in total. When it came time to select the 2022 winner of the Stephen B. McDonald Lawmaker of the Year award, Senator Newman had homefield advantage.
At the time of publication, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee are negotiating on the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act (RPM Act) for potential consideration at the end of the 2021–2022 session of Congress.
More than 100 SEMA members descended on the nation’s capital to participate in SEMA’s 2022 Washington Rally in September. Industry leaders took to the halls of Congress to remind lawmakers of the cultural and economic importance of the automotive specialty-equipment industry and motorsports.
The laws and regulations that govern SEMA members affect the way automotive specialty-equipment products are made, distributed, and marketed. The responsibility of the SEMA government affairs office is to stay on top of all relevant state and federal legislation and regulations and advocate for industry positions to ensure the best possible outcome for SEMA’s membership. The following are a few examples of critical legislative/regulatory issues addressed by the SEMA government affairs team over the past year.
In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Congress did not grant the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to devise carbon emissions caps for power plants that would shift the way they generate energy away from coal.
Ocean Shipping Reform Act Signed Into Law: President Biden signed into law SEMA-supported legislation to improve ongoing supply-chain issues and backlogs at ports. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act was passed unanimously by the Senate and overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives.
SEMA’s Political Action Committee (PAC) plays an important role in SEMA’s overall government affairs strategy. Every dollar that goes into the PAC is strategically placed to meet one goal: increasing congressional support for the specialty aftermarket. In Washington, D.C., the size of the PAC matters, and SEMA’s new PAC Manager, Samantha Large, wants to take the SEMA PAC to the next level. Samantha’s goal is to grow SEMA PAC funds to protect the industry and ensure that your dollars are being used with your best interest in mind.
No one likes to be told what to do—especially by a government agency that doesn’t know anything about you or your business. It is, however, a legal requirement to follow the regulations set forth by these agencies. We all know how heavily regulated emissions-related aftermarket parts are, but other auto parts are regulated as well.
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