On the heels of the defeat of a U.S. Congressional proposal to create a national cash for clunkers program, the SEMA Action Network (SAN) helped turn back legislation (H.B. 2059) in the Washington State Legislature that would have implemented a vehicle scrappage program for passenger vehicles more than 15-years old. Given the outcry of SAN members, the House Finance Committee chose not to consider the bill. Under the bill, qualifying vehicles would have had to be registered for a 24-month period and in satisfactory operating condition. Replacement vehicles purchased under the plan would have been required to have an EPA highway gasoline mileage rating of at least 30 mpg. Participants in the program were to be granted a sales tax exemption for the first $2,000 of tax paid on the purchase price. All trade-in vehicles would have been destroyed, regardless of their historical value or collector interest.
Thank you and congratulations to all who participated in this effort!