RV Industry Association Government Affairs Team Shares 2024 State Priorities

Last week, the RV Industry Association reviewed its advocacy goals at the federal level. This week, the Association is sharing its state legislative priorities, which are outlined below.

RV-friendly EV Charging Infrastructure

Electric vehicles are gaining a stronger presence in the RV world. Some RV manufacturers are prototyping electric vehicles and electric assist trailers, and many electric vehicles on the market have the capacity to haul towable RVs.

The Government Affairs team continues to engage states, charging companies, and site hosts to include RV-friendly electric vehicle infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on the importance of pull-through charging. The team also continues to talk with states about incentivizing pull-through charging and appropriately accounting for the increased cost that comes with deploying these sites.

RV Specific Franchise Laws

The Government Affairs team continues to advocate for RV-specific franchise laws, particularly in Maryland, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Washington state. These RV-specific franchise laws provide consistency for manufacturers to develop and manage dealer agreements across the states, as well as reciprocal advantages for RV dealers.

Although progress was made on the Maryland franchise bill last year, the legislation was unable to obtain a concurrence vote in the Maryland House of Delegates and subsequently did not pass the legislature. The Government Affairs team continues to advocate for the passage of this legislation as the Senate-passed version of the bill has been reintroduced in both the House (House Bill 605) and Senate (Senate Bill 504) this year.

Also, in Wisconsin, Director of State Government Affairs Michael Ochs testified last year before the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection in support of a franchise bill. The Wisconsin franchise bill, Assembly Bill 230, was approved by the Wisconsin House on a unanimous vote on January 25th and is tentatively expected to be taken up by the state Senate in the first quarter of 2024. Additionally, Michael recently testified on HB 1996, the RV-specific bill in Washington state, in January and plans to testify in Maryland (HB 605) in February.

Upholding RV Standards

The Government Affairs team protects against legislation that would classify tiny homes as RVs especially if they were not built to either the NFPA 1192 RV Standard or the A119.5 Park Model RV Standard.

Such a bill was recently heard in the Florida House Regulatory Reform and Economic Development Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee. The definition of “movable tiny home” was removed from the park model RV definition and placed in the cargo trailer section, following opposition to the initial version of the bill delivered to the sponsor by RV Industry Association and other Florida coalition partners. The Government Affairs team continues to monitor state legislation for similar bills and will weigh in when appropriate to educate lawmakers about the key differences between RVs and tiny homes.

State Offices of Outdoor Recreation

Currently, 21 states have established an Office of Outdoor Recreation. These offices play a critical role in increasing outdoor recreation participation by working with local communities to improve infrastructure, coordinating recreation efforts statewide, and promoting the benefits of engaging in outdoor recreation among the citizens of their state. They have proven to be exceptionally effective at encouraging increased participation in outdoor recreation and that means a stronger economy.

The Government Affairs team continues to work with the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable to support these offices’ ongoing efforts and advocate for more states to establish similar offices.

The Government Affairs team proactively monitors state legislation and regulations that impact the RV industry and quickly advocates for the appropriate solutions. Examples of current state regulations that the team is monitoring include small off-road engine regulations by the California Air Resource Board, and diesel engine labeling. Other relevant legislative topics monitored by the team include direct sales legislation, RV-friendly electric vehicle charging infrastructure, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, access to motor vehicle data, right to repair legislation, and other topics.