Images: SEMA

Whether you’re into trucks, 4x4s or other off-road vehicles, you undoubtedly wish to keep your automotive hobbies safe. Lucky for you, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) has your back as each month they keep an eye out for unfair legislation that could affect you as a hobbyist. This month, there are quite a few updates from the aftermarket organization, but it’s not all bad news for off-roading enthusiasts. Check out what this month’s Law & Order revealed below.

SEMA is known for it’s enormous presence in the industry, as well as its annual show held in Las Vegas. But beyond supporting aftermarket companies, SEMA supports the enthusiasts that dedicate time and money to hobbies like off-roading. In doing so, the organization watches out for unfair legislation being pushed through the legal system to limit or deter the use of our hobby vehicles, as well as fights against such legislation to allow our hobby to thrive.

This month, SEMA’s efforts have been rewarded by progress in many states. In Florida, the Senate recently approved a bill aiming to reduce registration fees for cars and light trucks, starting with a $2.40 decrease per year until a $12 decrease has been accomplished. If approved by the house, this bill will help save taxpayers a total of $220 million per year once the program has reached its goal of a $12 decrease in registration fees. Not bad for such a minor change to the price of registering your truck! In a related situation, Idaho recently aimed to up the registration fees on all vehicles weighing 8,000 pounds or less. Luckily, this bill died when the state’s legislature adjourned for the year.

A bill has been introduced in South Carolina also aiming to increase vehicle registration fees.

For private passenger vehicles, the increase would be determined by the vehicle owner’s age, while truck owners would be subject to increases based on the weight of their vehicle. SEMA is fighting against this bill to the fullest extent.

In Maryland, a hobbyist-supported bill also died when legislature adjourned for the year.

This bill would have required the state to issue just one license plate for all vehicles, rather than the standard two. Such plates would be required to be displayed on the front of tractors and the rear of other vehicles.

A second bill proposing that a front license plate be allowed to be displayed in the front window of a vehicle without the means to secure it on the front end also died when legislature adjourned. SEMA-supported legislation in Ohio aims to give vehicle owners the same advantages of using a single license plate and is currently in consideration.

SEMA is also working hard with lawmakers in Nevada to amend legislation that would have added unregistered, inoperable, junk or abandoned vehicles to the list of public nuisances. Under current laws, a public nuisance can be removed from private property at the owner’s expense after a warning has been issued and ignored. With the new SEMA amendment, unregistered, junk, inoperable or abandon vehicles would only have to be screened from the public. Further more, unregistered vehicles could not be designated as public nuisances.

When it comes to trucks and off-road vehicles especially, nothing beats a good set of high-performance wheels. Unfortunately, SEMA is having to fight against a bill in New York that would require vehicle identification numbers to appear on the wheels of vehicles sold in the state. Wheels are already marked via industry standards, which the bill fails to acknowledge.

Not only that, but aftermarket wheel manufacturers especially would have a tough time with this bill if passed, since wheels are sold for any number of different vehicles. The U.S. congress acknowledges this as SEMA continues to fight for the denial of the bill being accepted into law.

Two updates come out of North Carolina this month where SEMA-approved legislation was approved by the Senate to require the prompt issuance of titles to out-of-state vehicle owners with vehicles 35 years old or older. If approved by the house, this bill will allow the state just 15 days to inspect the vehicle and another 15 days to issue an official title.

In disappointing news, another bill is moving forward in North Carolina that could present problems to hobbyists. The bill, which was approved by the Senate, aims to impose a fine on any vehicle owner who has changed the design of their vehicle’s headlights from original factory equipment. This bill goes against federal law, which delegates that standards issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration be used to determine which lights can and can’t be used on vehicles based on performance, not design. SEMA is working with the North Carolina House to amend the bill to reflect compliance with federal standards.

In West Virginia, off-road enthusiasts are getting good news as a bill to allow all off-road vehicles traveling rights on trails inside the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area has been signed into law by Governor Tomblin. Previously, only all-terrain vehicles, utility terrain vehicles and motorcycles were allowed on the trails, but now all off-road vehicles are allowed to operate within the area.

In a final Law & Order Update, SEMA has endorsed a proposal by Representative Paul Cook that would allow the Johnson Valley Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Area in Twentynine Palms, California, to remain a national recreation area under the management of the Bureau of Land Management while giving the U.S. Marine Corps base at the location private access to the recreation area for 42 days a year for training purposes.

The Johnson Valley OHV Recreation Area measures 189,000 acres, which are used year-round by off-road enthusiasts, as well as hunters, mountain bikers and equestrians. It is also the home of many off-road events including the famous King of the Hammers off-road/rock racing competition.

For the last five years, the Johnson Valley OHV Recreation Area has been in jeopardy of becoming a private part of the Marine Corps base, which would ultimately take away the prized piece of national land from all kinds of off-road enthusiasts. SEMA, Representative Paul Cook and the SEMA Action Network are encouraging law makers to accept the proposed solution to give both the public and Marine Corps shared access of the land.

The off-road hobby is ever expanding as SEMA represents thousands of companies that produce and market products for off-road vehicles, as well as thousands that buy these products and operate such vehicles. Luckily, SEMA has our back, from endorsing killer products to ensuring us the ability to use them freely in our own hobby. Check back next month for another Law & Order update.