REMINDER: Maryland Bill to Restrict Eligibility for Historic Vehicle Registration to be Heard in Committee on Tues., Mar. 4, 2014

URGENT LEGISLATIVE ALERT (UPDATE)

Legislation (H.B. 1290) to increase the age requirement for vehicles eligible for registration as “historic motor vehicles” will be heard in the House Environmental Matters Committee on Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Under the bill, the age requirement would be raised from 20 to at least 25 years old, require that an historic vehicle be insured by an historic vehicle, show vehicle or antique insurance policy and require that the owner have a “daily driver” vehicle registered in Maryland. The SEMA Action Network (SAN) is currently attempting to reach a fair compromise by working with the bill’s sponsor, Delegate Herb McMillan. We expect to see an amended version of the bill that reflects this compromise on Monday, March 3. We will notify you of the specifics of this compromise as soon as they are finalized.

For those interested in attending, the details of the hearing follow below:

H.B. 1290
Tuesday, March, 4 at 1:00 p.m.
House Environmental Matter Committee
Room 251, House Office Building
6 Bladen Street
Annapolis, MD 21401

For Those Unable to Testify, We Urge You to Contact Members of the Maryland House Environmental Matters Committee (List Attached Below) Immediately to Request Their Opposition to H.B. 1290

H.B. 1290 makes it more difficult to register legitimate historic vehicles, which are already limited to club activities, exhibitions, tours, parades and occasional pleasure driving.
H.B. 1290 would deny vehicles 20-25 years old from certain benefits, including the special historic license plate and exemptions from equipment and emissions inspection requirements.
H.B. 1290 mandates specified insurance policies without legitimate cause.
H.B. 1290 ignores the fact that historic vehicles in Maryland constitute a small portion of the vehicle fleet and are already well-maintained and infrequently operated.

DON’T DELAY! Please contact members of the Maryland House Environmental Matters Committee immediately by phone or e-mail to request their opposition to H.B. 1290. 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.

Maryland House Environmental Matters Committee

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