URGENT LEGISLATIVE ALERT
Virginia Reintroduces Bills to Exempt Antique Vehicles from Exhaust System Restrictions
Senate legislation (S.B. 702) to exempt antique motor vehicles 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 was reintroduced. The bill would also exempt antique vehicles from the requirement that exhaust systems be “in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual levels of noise.” House legislation (H.B. 1551) would only exempt antique motor vehicles from the requirement that they have exhaust systems of a type installed as standard factory equipment or comparable equipment. Both bills are worth supporting.
Please Contact Members of the Senate and House Transportation Committees (Listed Below) to Request Their Support for S.B. 702/H.B. 1551
- 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.
- S.B. 702/H.B. 1551 remedy 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.
- S.B. 702/H.B. 1551 recognize that factory replacement parts or comparables are not always readily available for antique motor vehicles.
Please contact members of Virginia Senate and House Transportation Committees by phone or e-mail to request their support for S.B. 702/H.B. 1551.
Please e-mail a copy of your letters 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
Virginia House Transportation Committee
To e-mail all Committee members, copy and paste the email address block below: