MEMBERS OF CONGRESS INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN BILL TO ALLOW RACECAR CONVERSION

UPDATE

A companion bill to the RPM Act was introduced in the Senate March 9. Sponsored by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Dean Heller (R-NV), Senate Bill 2659 affirms the Environmental Protection Agency "cannot regulate vehicles used solely for competition, and for other purposes." Constituents can draft a prewritten letter to their senators and representatives through the SEMA Action Network at this updated link.

Representatives from North Carolina, Texas, Florida, and New York have just introduced a bill that would exempt off-highway-only cars from certain restrictions in the Clean Air Act. The bipartisan bill aptly named the “Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2016” (RPM Act for short) clears up any misconstrued notions that road vehicles can’t be converted into racecars to be used off-highway.

This bill comes after several enthusiasts noticed some interesting wording in the Clean Air Act that indicates the Environmental Protection Agency could ban modifying cars even if they weren’t going to be registered for street use again. This could affect a lot of off-roaders who swap engines in Jeeps, trucks, and buggies all the time even though the trailer them to OHV areas or private parks.

Luckily the rule hasn’t been enforced yet, but it has brought great concern to the automotive aftermarket, particularly at SEMA. They went so far as to publish a Whitehouse petition, which garnered more than 100,000 signatures in just 24 hours.

The RPM Act, introduced by U.S. representatives Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Richard Hudson (R-NC), Bill Posey (R-FL), and Lee Zeldin (R-NY), backs SEMAs response to the potential EPA overreach. SEMA is asking that you write to your representative to get this bill passed and clear up this situation for good.