“Negotiators in Congress didn’t reach an agreement on language that balanced the need for federal law to protect racers and motorsports parts businesses from EPA enforcement with reasonable measures to ensure that race parts are not used on vehicles driven on roads and public highways,” SEMA said in a statement yesterday just before the Congressional holiday shut down.
SEMA was referring to the “Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act” (RPM)* that has hobbled around congress for three years staring with the 114th Congress, including the 2021–2022 session of Congress. The Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee and the House Energy & Commerce Committee were involved in the bill, but members weren’t able to get it out of the House or Senate committees for lack of, well, horsepower. Perhaps the bills sponsors, who were overwhelming Republican (102 Rs, 30 Ds), were part of the problem. The Republicans aren’t known for their environmental policies, but rather the opposite as Global Warming repudiators often backed by the fossil fuel industry and perennial opponents to fuel economy or clean air regulations.
“The RPM Act was one of the most bipartisan bills in the 117th Congress with more than 165 lawmakers co-sponsoring the legislation. SEMA and PRI (Performance Racing Industry) will leverage the momentum we built during this congressional session, assess the current challenges the industry faces and chart a new path forward for the industry’s advocacy efforts at both the federal and state levels,” claimed SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola. Part of this will be more fund raising to fuel PACs, the real top fuel class in Washington DC.
The usual pressure tactics apparently weren’t enough, at least so far. There were more than 1.5 million letters advocating for the RPM Act from the motorsports community to Congress, SEMA and PRI worked with Richard Petty to meet personally with key lawmakers (non-lawmakers?) in Washington, D.C., and with NHRA Top Fuel driver Antron Brown to testify before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
*The RPM Act of 2021 (H.R. 3281/S.2736) is legislation to “protect Americans’ right to convert street vehicles into dedicated race cars and the motorsports-parts industry’s ability to sell products that enable racers to compete. The bill clarifies that it is legal to make emissions-related changes to a street vehicle for the purpose of converting it into a race car used exclusively in competition. It also confirms that it is legal to produce, market and install racing equipment,” says SEMA.
The RPM Act is an attempt to reverse the EPA’s interpretation that the Clean Air Act does not allow a motor vehicle designed for street use, including a car, truck, or motorcycle, to be converted into a dedicated race car. This racing mainstay was unchallenged for 45 years until 2015 when the EPA took the position that converted vehicles must remain emissions-compliant, even though they are no longer driven on public streets or highways.
SEMA claims that the EPA has abandoned efforts to make the policy a formal regulation. However, the agency still maintains the practice of modifying the emission system of a motor vehicle for the purpose of converting it for racing is illegal. Manufacturing, selling, and installing race parts for the converted vehicle would also be a violation. The EPA has also announced that enforcement against high performance parts -including superchargers, tuners, and exhaust systems—is a priority. While California is known for having the strictest emissions laws, the state exempts racing vehicles from regulation.
Motorsports competition involves tens of thousands of participants and vehicle owners each year, both amateur and professional. Retail sales of racing products make up a nearly $2 billion market annually. Most of the vehicles raced on the ~1300 racetracks in the U.S. are converted vehicles.
The industry claims that The RPM Act does not interfere with the EPA’s authority to enforce against individuals who illegally install race parts on vehicles driven on public roads and highways and companies that market such products. Tampering with the emissions system of a motor vehicle used on public roads is a clear violation of the Clean Air Act. (Although you can make a case that the industry stood silent and let this happen.)
Bah Humbug! SEMA on Congressional Inaction on Racing Parts
“Negotiators in Congress didn’t reach an agreement on language that balanced the need for federal law to protect racers and motorsports parts businesses from EPA enforcement with reasonable measures to ensure that race parts are not used on vehicles driven on roads and public highways,” SEMA said in a statement yesterday just before the Congressional holiday shut down.
SEMA was referring to the “Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act” (RPM)* that has hobbled around congress for three years staring with the 114th Congress, including the 2021–2022 session of Congress. The Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee and the House Energy & Commerce Committee were involved in the bill, but members weren’t able to get it out of the House or Senate committees for lack of, well, horsepower. Perhaps the bills sponsors, who were overwhelming Republican (102 Rs, 30 Ds), were part of the problem. The Republicans aren’t known for their environmental policies, but rather the opposite as Global Warming repudiators often backed by the fossil fuel industry and perennial opponents to fuel economy or clean air regulations.
“The RPM Act was one of the most bipartisan bills in the 117th Congress with more than 165 lawmakers co-sponsoring the legislation. SEMA and PRI (Performance Racing Industry) will leverage the momentum we built during this congressional session, assess the current challenges the industry faces and chart a new path forward for the industry’s advocacy efforts at both the federal and state levels,” claimed SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola. Part of this will be more fund raising to fuel PACs, the real top fuel class in Washington DC.
The usual pressure tactics apparently weren’t enough, at least so far. There were more than 1.5 million letters advocating for the RPM Act from the motorsports community to Congress, SEMA and PRI worked with Richard Petty to meet personally with key lawmakers (non-lawmakers?) in Washington, D.C., and with NHRA Top Fuel driver Antron Brown to testify before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
*The RPM Act of 2021 (H.R. 3281/S.2736) is legislation to “protect Americans’ right to convert street vehicles into dedicated race cars and the motorsports-parts industry’s ability to sell products that enable racers to compete. The bill clarifies that it is legal to make emissions-related changes to a street vehicle for the purpose of converting it into a race car used exclusively in competition. It also confirms that it is legal to produce, market and install racing equipment,” says SEMA.
The RPM Act is an attempt to reverse the EPA’s interpretation that the Clean Air Act does not allow a motor vehicle designed for street use, including a car, truck, or motorcycle, to be converted into a dedicated race car. This racing mainstay was unchallenged for 45 years until 2015 when the EPA took the position that converted vehicles must remain emissions-compliant, even though they are no longer driven on public streets or highways.
SEMA claims that the EPA has abandoned efforts to make the policy a formal regulation. However, the agency still maintains the practice of modifying the emission system of a motor vehicle for the purpose of converting it for racing is illegal. Manufacturing, selling, and installing race parts for the converted vehicle would also be a violation. The EPA has also announced that enforcement against high performance parts -including superchargers, tuners, and exhaust systems—is a priority. While California is known for having the strictest emissions laws, the state exempts racing vehicles from regulation.
Motorsports competition involves tens of thousands of participants and vehicle owners each year, both amateur and professional. Retail sales of racing products make up a nearly $2 billion market annually. Most of the vehicles raced on the ~1300 racetracks in the U.S. are converted vehicles.
The industry claims that The RPM Act does not interfere with the EPA’s authority to enforce against individuals who illegally install race parts on vehicles driven on public roads and highways and companies that market such products. Tampering with the emissions system of a motor vehicle used on public roads is a clear violation of the Clean Air Act. (Although you can make a case that the industry stood silent and let this happen.)