WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., have reintroduced the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act in the Senate.
The RPM Act, which was also reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in May, would reverse the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2015 interpretation of the Clean Air Act that it does not allow a motor vehicle designed for street use to be converted into a dedicated racecar.
Multiple versions of the bill have been introduced in both houses of Congress over the last six years — all of which stalled in committees, according to the RPM Act's backer Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) — since the EPA stated in a proposed rulemaking that once a motor vehicle (car, truck, motorcycle) has been certified as a street vehicle, it cannot be converted into a racing vehicle even if that vehicle is unlicensed, trailered to the track, and never driven on public road.
Although the EPA withdrew the draft provision in 2016 following a public outcry, the agency still maintains that the Clean Air Act does not allow a motor vehicle to be converted into a racing vehicle used solely for competition, according to SEMA.
Since then, SEMA said the motorsports and aftermarket industries have been left in a state of uncertainty.
The RPM Act is well positioned for passage in the current Congress as a result of the strong grassroots support for the legislation, SEMA said. Members of Congress are familiar with the RPM Act, which already has been the subject of hearings in previous years by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which have jurisdiction over the bill.
"Amateur motorsports is a unique American pastime," Mr. Burr said. "This bipartisan legislation provides certainty for folks who enjoy America's long-held racing tradition, in the spirit Congress intended when it passed the Clean Air Act more than 50 years ago.
"I'm proud to work with my colleagues on this common-sense legislation to protect the legacy of American motorsports for years to come."
Motorsports competition involves tens of thousands of participants and vehicle owners each year, SEMA said. Retail sales of racing products make up a nearly $2 billion market annually.
A majority of the estimated 1,300 racetracks operating across the U.S., including oval, road, dirt and off-road, feature converted race vehicles the EPA now considers illegal.
SEMA said already this year more than 1.5 million letters asking Congress to pass the legislation have been sent out.
