Legislation (S.B. 493) that would impose a fine on any person that equips a car with headlamps that “change the original design” will be considered by the North Carolina House Transportation Committee on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The bill directly conflicts with the Federal “National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act” which makes clear that the standards adopted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for required motor vehicle equipment (including headlamps) are to be performance standards, not design standards.
We Urge You to Contact Members of the House Transportation Committee (Contact Info Below) Immediately to Oppose S.B. 493
- Federal law and regulations preempt state law with regard to required motor vehicle equipment.
- S.B. 493 would impose a $100.00 fine on owners operating vehicles that have aftermarket headlamps that are otherwise legal for use under Federal law.
- S.B. 493 appears to target illegal high-intensity discharge (HID) conversion kits, which are already illegal under Federal law. NHTSA has determined that it is impossible to produce HID conversion kits (converting a halogen system to HID) that are compliant with Federal standards.
DON’T DELAY! Please contact members of the North Carolina House Transportation Committee immediately by phone or e-mail to request their opposition to S.B. 493
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.
North Carolina House Transportation Committee
To e-mail all Committee members, copy and paste the email address block below:
Bill.Brawley@ncleg.net; Frank.Iler@ncleg.net; Dana.Bumgardner@ncleg.net; Becky.Carney@ncleg.net; George.Cleveland@ncleg.net; Carl.Ford@ncleg.net; Phil.Shepard@ncleg.net; Dean.Arp@ncleg.net; Hugh.Blackwell@ncleg.net; Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net; William.Brisson@ncleg.net; Brian.Brown@ncleg.net; Rayne.Brown@ncleg.net; Rick.Catlin@ncleg.net; Tricia.Cotham@ncleg.net; Josh.Dobson@ncleg.net; Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net; John.Faircloth@ncleg.net; Valerie.Foushee@ncleg.net; Rosa.Gill@ncleg.net; Ken.Goodman@ncleg.net; Charles.Graham@ncleg.net; Larry.Hall@ncleg.net; Susi.Hamilton@ncleg.net; Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.net; Yvonne.Holley@ncleg.net; Charles.Jeter@ncleg.net; Pat.McElraft@ncleg.net; Chuck.McGrady@ncleg.net; Deb.McManus@ncleg.net; Tim.Moffitt@ncleg.net; Rodney.Moore@ncleg.net; Tim.Moore@ncleg.net; Larry.Pittman@ncleg.net; Stephen.Ross@ncleg.net; Jason.Saine@ncleg.net; Jacqueline.Schaffer@ncleg.net; Edgar.Starnes@ncleg.net; Michael.Stone@ncleg.net; Evelyn.Terry@ncleg.net; Paul.Tine@ncleg.net; Joe.Tolson@ncleg.net; John.Torbett@ncleg.net; Winkie.Wilkins@ncleg.net