Nevada Bill to Restrict Classic Vehicle Registration Approved by Committee; Moves to Full Assembly

Legislation (A.B. 326) to alter the requirements for vehicles eligible for registration as a “classic vehicle” was amended and approved by the Nevada Assembly Transportation Committee. The bill will now be sent to the floor of the Assembly for a vote by all members. Under the amendment, only vehicles manufactured prior to 1996 would be eligible for a classic vehicle registration. Currently, vehicles 25-years old and older are eligible. The bill also changes the depreciation schedule for the governmental services tax to provide that passenger vehicles and trucks will be valued at 10% less of their initial value than they are currently valued. A separate bill (A.B. 146) to repeal the emissions test exemption for all classic vehicles, classic rods, street rods and old timer vehicles was also approved. Under that bill, all vehicles manufactured before 1996 would instead be exempted. These bills contain a mixture of pro and anti-hobby provisions. However, if A.B. 326 were to be enacted into law but A.B. 146 was not, this effort could be a disaster for the hobby.

We Urge You to Call Members of the Nevada Assembly (List Attached Below) Immediately to Voice Your Opinion on the Amended A.B. 326 and A.B. 146

While we support the reduced tax obligation, the amended A.B. 326 would deny future classics (1996 and newer) from ever being able to attain special vehicle registration status and the existing benefits.
While we support exempting ALL pre-1996 vehicles from emissions tests (currently, pre-1968 model year vehicles are exempted from emissions testing, which is only conducted in two counties), the amended A.B. 146 would require that all 1996 and newer vehicles to be emissions tested for the life of the vehicle without an opportunity to ever take advantage of the emissions exemptions currently provided for classic vehicles, classic rods, street rods and old timer vehicles.
While we agree that there are instances of abuse of the classic registration plate, the population of these vehicles is still not enough to cause any significant smog issue in the state. In fact, classic vehicles currently constitute less than 1.6 % of the total vehicle population in Nevada! In seeking to punish the abusers, certain provisions in these bills will affect and inconvenience legitimate owners of classic vehicles in Nevada.

DON’T DELAY! Please contact members of the Nevada Assembly immediately by phone or e-mail to voice your opinion on the amended A.B. 326 and A.B. 146. Please e-mail a copy of your letter to Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org. Also, please forward this Alert to your fellow car enthusiasts. Urge them to join the SAN and help defend the hobby! Thank you for your assistance.

Nevada State Assembly

To e-mail all Assemblymembers, copy and paste the email address block below:

View Breaking News 2015 View Breaking News Archives