Virginia Bill to Exempt Antique Vehicles from Exhaust System Restrictions to be Considered by Senate Committee on Feb. 19, 2014

URGENT LEGISLATIVE ALERT (UPDATE)
 

Virginia Bill to Exempt Antique Vehicles from Exhaust System Restrictions to be Considered by Senate Committee on Feb. 19, 2014

Legislation (H.B. 741) that originally sought to allow Virginia’s antique vehicle hobbyists to install and use aftermarket exhaust systems will be considered by the Senate Transportation Committee on February 19, 2014.  The bill was amended and approved by the Virginia House of Delegates.    Under the amended bill, antique vehicles would remain exempt from the requirement that they have exhaust systems of a type installed as standard factory equipment, or comparable to that designed for use on the particular vehicle as standard factory equipment.  However, they would continue to be required to be “in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual levels of noise.”   While we find that this is only a marginal improvement over the current law and still provides no real objective noise standard, we still think it’s worth supporting. 

If You Haven’t Done So Already, Please Consider Contacting Members of the Virginia Senate Transportation Committee (List Below) to Request Their Support for H.B. 741

  • Under Virginia law, an antique motor vehicle is every motor vehicle which was actually manufactured or designated by the manufacturer as a model manufactured in a calendar year not less than 25 years prior to January 1 of each calendar year and is owned solely as a collector's item.
     
  • H.B. 741 still remedies the enforcement policy currently used by police officers in which nearly all exhaust systems not of a type installed as standard factory equipment are considered illegal.
     
  • H.B. 741 still recognizes that factory replacement parts or comparables are not always readily available for antique motor vehicles.
     
  • H.B. 741 still does not provide for an objective noise testing program or decibel limit and leaves enforcement largely in the hands of individual law enforcement officers

Please contact members of Virginia Senate Transportation Committee by phone or e-mail to request their support for H.B. 741.   

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. 

Virginia Senate Transportation Committee

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

district25@senate.virginia.gov; district16@senate.virginia.gov; district23@senate.virginia.gov; district10@senate.virginia.gov; district38@senate.virginia.gov; district07@senate.virginia.gov; district04@senate.virginia.gov; district19@senate.virginia.gov; district01@senate.virginia.gov; district37@senate.virginia.gov; district08@senate.virginia.gov; district29@senate.virginia.gov; district40@senate.virginia.gov; district31@senate.virginia.gov; district05@senate.virginia.gov

Senator Creigh Deeds (Chair)
Phone: (804) 698-7525
 
Senator Henry Marsh
Phone: (804) 698-7516
 
Senator Stephen Newman
Phone: (804) 698-7523
 
Senator John Watkins
Phone: (804) 698-7510
 
Senator Phillip Puckett
Phone: (804) 698-7538
 
Senator Frank Wagner
Phone: (804) 698-7507
 
Senator Ryan McDougle
Phone: (804) 698-7504
 
Senator Ralph Smith
Phone: (804) 698-7519
 
Senator John Miller
Phone: (804) 698-7501
 
Senator David Marsden
Phone: (804) 698-7537
 
Senator Jeffrey McWaters
Phone: (804) 698-7508
 
Senator Charles Colgan
Phone: (804) 698-7529
 
Senator Charles Carrico
Phone: (804) 698-7540
 
Senator Barbara Favola
Phone: (804) 698-7531
 
Senator Kenneth Alexander
Phone: (804) 698-7505