Vermont area hobbyists and SEMA defeated a bill reintroduced in the Vermont legislature to expand the definition of "junkyard" to include any place of outdoor storage of four or more "junk" motor vehicles that are visible from a public highway.
Had this legislation passed, hobbyists working on multiple collector vehicles on private property would have been regulated as businesses. "This legislation showed a tremendous lack of understanding of the vehicle hobby on at least two levels," claimed Brian Caudill, Director of the SEMA Action Network. "First, inoperable vehicles are not always ‘junk.’ A ’40 Ford Panel truck parts-car is not ‘junk’ to a street rodder. A late ‘60’s beater with a bashed rear-end is a goldmine for someone building a muscle car. Secondly, pursuing the old car hobby is expensive enough without the government intervening to regulate and tax what you do as a hobby the same way they would a business."
SEMA is thankful to the many Vermont hobbyists who helped kill this bill. We would particularly like to highlight the efforts of SEMA Action Network Member American Truck Historical Society, Green Mountain Chapter.