Our year has been a short one here at Off Road Xtreme, but boy has it been one heck of a journey. Helping that journey be even better are the folks at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) and the SEMA Action Network (SAN), who, while we’re covering events, feature vehicles and news, are fighting for the rights of off-road enthusiasts and their beloved hobby.
For the last few months, we’ve checked in with SEMA to see what is has been working on to support the off-road community. And now that 2013 is coming to an end, it’s time to recap just how far we’ve all come thanks to the work of SEMA and SAN.
The legislative actions we saw this year fell in several different categories in their potential affect on the off-road community. First and foremost was the finality of the debate on how to expand the Marine base in Twentynine Palms, California, threatening the Johnson Valley OHV Recreation Area.
Thanks to all of SEMA’s hard work and the countless enthusiasts that spoke up against this grab, the US House of Representatives has approved the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would allow the Marine base special permission to use the off-road area for up to 60 days of the year, while continuing to allow public access to the park the remainder of the time. SEMA is currently urging the Senate to also approve the NDAA, putting an end to the five-year debate on who should have exclusive access to the off-road area.
Another major area of interest this year was how regulations can affect national recreation areas, like the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. In 2012, the National Park Service put a management plan into effect that closed off a major part of the seashore for off-road recreation. SEMA is currently fighting to get this plan revoked while the Senate works on its year-long study to determine the affects letting up a bit on the plan would have on the environment.
In similar news, SEMA is also fighting against the president’s right to declare any area over 5,000 acres a national monument without an environmental review. SEMA-supported legislation has been introduced into the House to this affect, aiming to make sure more public involvement and a better look at economic factors are reviewed before declaring a large portion of land a national monument and closing it off to off-road enthusiasts.
On a smaller but no less important scale, we saw several issues come up in individual states across the country. One of these issues dealt with registration fees being upped for non-commercial trucks in states like Wyoming, Idaho and Texas. Thankfully the bills threatening to increase annual registration fees died in all these states when legislatures adjourned for the year.
Modifications also seemed like a hot-button topic in many different states this year as places like Arkansas and North Carolina aimed to modify current rules and regulations on vehicle lighting. In Arkansas, this came in the form of trying to ban light coverings, which would have affected even vehicles that display or drive during the day with special headlamp covers.
In North Carolina, legislation aimed to impose a fine of $100 on anyone who modified their headlamps to be anything but original on their vehicles.
Thankfully, Arkansas legislation came to an agreement and put stipulations in their bill addressing light covers only for night driving and the North Carolina bill died at the end of the legislature term.
Another bill that died as legislatures adjourned for the year is a Vermont bill aiming to ban any exhaust modifications that increased the vehicle’s sound.
In California, the California Air Resource Board has come to an agreement on an engine certification process for specially constructed vehicles, while SEMA successfully opposed legislation in Maine that would have required state police to authorize someone to modify the suspension of vehicles with the aim to lift them, rather than allowing owners of vehicles to lift them.
Both of these legislative actions could have affected the off-road community in a negative way, but with the help of SEMA, both have been resolved with the least amount of impact on the industry.
Last but not least, we also saw the West Virginia legislature step up with SEMA support to open trails included in the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area to off-road vehicles. Previously, the trails were only open to utility-terrain vehicles, all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles.
It’s been a crazy year for off-road enthusiasts with the addition of more events, racing classes and off-road recreation areas. But it wouldn’t have been the same without the help of the SEMA staff, fighting for the rights of all off-road enthusiasts. So for that, we send a huge thanks their direction and look forward to seeing what next year brings for all parties!