Search
Close this search box.

EXCLUSIVE: Legislative Success Topped RVIA’s 2024 Advocacy

A picture of RVIA Vice President of Government Affairs Jason Rano at RVIA's 2024 Advocacy Week in Washington, D.C.
RVIA Vice President of Government Affairs Jason Rano at RVIA's 2024 Advocacy Week in Washington, D.C.

In football terms, RVIA’s top legislative priority was facing fourth down, and a Hail Mary was necessary to pass through Congress and score. On 2024’s last legislative day, one senator’s desperate play was successful – the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act passed.

The legislation is the largest outdoor recreation package ever to become law. President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law Jan. 4.

The effort capped an active year for RVIA’s governmental affairs team. Vice President of Government Affairs Jason Rano called the year exciting. He cited the advocacy team’s work to achieve RV-specific franchise law passage in three states, which is believed to be the most franchise legislation passed in a year. California passed an update to the state’s lemon law that took effect Jan. 1. RVIA’s annual Advocacy Day event in Washington D.C. brought numerous RVIA members and partners face to face with key legislators, staff and regulators.

He said the cherry on top was passing the EXPLORE Act.

“This is a great example of all the work that we, and so many in the outdoor industry, put in over the last several years,” Rano said. “You have to put in the work to be able to take advantage when you get to the 1-yard line.”

Down to the Wire

The House originally passed the EXPLORE Act in early April. The legislation had such widespread bipartisan backing that passage came from a voice vote on the House floor rather than a traditional roll-call-registered vote.

Over the next eight months, Senate and House negotiators worked to resolve differences between the House-passed bill and the Senate legislation, called the America’s Outdoor Recreation Act. After the federal elections in November, both sides sought to include the EXPLORE Act in legislation funding the government, but in the final week before Congress ended its 2024 work, the bill was left out of the government funding package.

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), who already announced his retirement from Congress at the end of 2024, took to the Senate floor on Dec. 19 for one last chance to get the bill passed. He asked for unanimous consent to pass the bill. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) took to the floor to oppose the motion but instead did not object, securing the EXPLORE Act’s passage.

Rano said his team received notice of Manchin’s intent earlier in the day but did not know Sen. Cruz could be on the floor to object.

“It is always a little chaotic, and you never know who is going to be on the floor or who is going to be in the chair presiding over the Senate,” he said. “We were pleasantly surprised that it went through at the end there.”

Rano said the bill’s passage was incredibly satisfying and somewhat familiar. Before joining RVIA, Rano worked for a different advocacy group whose main legislation was held up until Congress’ last day. In the final hours before the Senate adjourned, a senator who previously objected to Rano’s legislative priority went home sick. The bill passed.

“This was maybe a bit less dramatic than that,” he said, “but not much.”

The massive outdoor recreation legislation provides resources for new projects and directs federal agencies to identify opportunities to open public lands. Other provisions modernize technology around public lands and streamline the permit process to access public lands.

Rano said the legislation had the momentum to pass because of the leadership provided by the top four House and Senate leaders: House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Ranking Member Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

“It speaks to the importance and bipartisan nature of conservation and outdoor recreation,” Rano said. “Unfortunately, there is not a ton that garners broad bipartisan support.”

The EXPLORE Act spurred some disagreements around the edge. However, Rano referenced Cruz’s jurisdictional concern over the broadband provision. He said the issues often unite congressional members.

Rano said, “We were pretty confident the bill would get done because of the leadership of the four corners, the dedication of the staff and the commitment of all these organizations on the outside to get it done.”

Rano said one of the EXPLORE Act’s top provisions is to expand Wi-Fi service to areas where consumers drive to national parks in the front country. The service extension will enable more consumers to work and access schooling from an RV while on the road. Another beneficiary of the outdoor recreation package is gateway communities.

“What we saw during the pandemic, and we still continue to see, are gateway communities, especially for national parks welcoming a lot of visitors,” Rano said. “Helping those that need the help to better prepare for visitors and better leverage the economic benefits will be very good.”

State Success

Although the EXPLORE Act’s passage was the year’s highlight, the government affairs team also celebrated success at the state level.

He said the team’s progress comes from continued engagement with allies in various industries. He cited the team’s work on state legislation, particularly surrounding Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS chemicals. RVIA staff collaborated with regulatory agencies and educated members on zero emissions needs, working with the California Air Resources Board on its zero-emission vehicle goals.

He said, “We are trying to make it so regulations do not overly burden our members as states push to transition to zero emissions.”

The new California lemon law was the government affairs team’s top state accomplishment.

He said, “It was a cross-functional effort by a lot of folks.”

2025 Plans

A year after passing the largest outdoor recreation package, RVIA’s government affairs team will focus on another broad package: The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), passed originally in 2020.

The package is up for reauthorization, and Rano said GAOA will be the federal team’s primary objective in 2025. Congress introduced a bill last year to provide reauthorization to start the project.

Among the House and Senate committees with authority over outdoor recreation, three of the four leaders change this year from the previous Congress.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) replaces Manchin as the Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will be the committee’s new ranking member.

Westerman will remain the Natural Resources Committee chairman in the House while Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) replaces Grijalva as the ranking member.

The quartet served years as committee members, so Rano said they are not new to issues such as the renewal of the GAOA. He said the RVIA team hopes to work with the committee to spur progress.

With many of the provisions from 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation scheduled to expire at the end of the year, Congress is prioritizing extending those tax cuts and credits. RVIA and RVDA are working to include the bipartisan Travel Trailer and Camper Tax Parity Act in the tax package.

“Our top federal priority, especially at the beginning of the year, is passing a fix for the discrepancy between the tax exemption for interest paid on RV dealer inventory,” Rano said. “Because of an error in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, interest on motorhomes is fully deductible, but travel trailers are only eligible for a 30% deduction. That impacts 90% of RVs sold.”

The Travel Trailer and Camper Tax Parity Act, introduced by Reps. Rudy Yakym (R-Ind.) and Dina Titus (D-Nev.) would fix the problem.

Other critical issues concern trade and tariffs. Rano said the RVIA advocacy team will monitor tariffs and determine ways to ensure their impact is not too great on the RV industry.

Continued engagement with regulators on the CARB standards will be another key priority.

Rano said, “What is interesting about CARB is you see some states moving to delay implementation and others are moving forward. So, it is a little more fractured.”

Regulations concerning PFAS chemicals are another area of interest, he said. Although the calendar year is just underway, Rano said preparations for RVs Move America Week and Advocacy Day are already in full swing.

He said, “Hopefully, we will have as many members as possible participate and advocate on behalf of the industry.”

RV News magazine spread
If you are employed in the RV industry and not a member of the trade media, Subscribe for Free:
  • Daily business news on the RV industry and the companies and people that encompass it
  • Monthly printed and/or digital magazine filled with in-depth articles to increase profit margins
  • Statistics, data and other RV business trade information
X