On the heels of the defeat of a U.S. Congressional proposal to create a
national Cash for Clunkers program, a bill has been introduced in the
Washington State Legislature that would implement a vehicle scrappage
program for passenger vehicles more than 15 years old that are not
emissions compliant.

Under the bill, qualifying vehicles would have to be registered for a
24-month period and be in satisfactory operating condition. Replacement
vehicles purchased under the plan would be required to have an EPA
highway gasoline mileage rating of at least 30 mpg. Participants in the
program would be granted a sales-tax exemption for the first $2,000 of
tax paid on the purchase price.

All trade-in vehicles would be destroyed, regardless of their
historical value or collector interest. The Specialty Equipment Market
Association (SEMA) opposes this bill and says that if it is passed,
hobbyists could be denied the availability of vintage cars and parts
for restoration projects.

Chuck Sulkala, executive director of the National Auto Body Council,
recently spoke out in favor of the national Cash for Clunkers program
(to read the entire story, click HERE).

For more of SEMA’s view on the Washington bill, click HERE.