RVIA’s government affairs team influenced legislators this year in many ways that helped create favorable market conditions for RV industry members. The association worked at the state and federal level to engage lawmakers and leverage their influence.
Federally, RVIA stated the government team accomplished three major goals.
First, the team helped lobby for federal investment in traditional and outdoor recreation infrastructure in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law Nov. 15 by President Joe Biden. The team sought to show the importance of the $114 billion RV industry to the American economy.
“We are very pleased that the bipartisan infrastructure legislation will help funds the RV Industry Association’s priority transportation programs at historic levels,” RVIA stated, “and at the same time makes critical investments in rural broadband, supply chain resiliency, and electric vehicle infrastructure.”
The team is working with federal agencies to ensure infrastructure funding goes toward improving the infrastructure in national parks and public lands, which RVIA cited as relied upon by RVers for safe and adequate outdoor recreation and camping experiences.
The government affairs team also focused on working with federal agencies to direct funds from the Great American Outdoors Act to support RV industry priorities, such as modernizing and expanding campgrounds. Funds also will go to ensuring safe and adequate access to public lands and waters for generations to come.
The governmental team also monitored and promoted Biden’s 30 by 30 initiative, aimed at combating climate change through conserving 30% of American lands and water by 2030.
Through working with state governments, RVIA stated the government affairs team accomplished three further goals.
First, the team helped influence lawmakers to remove RVs from Louisiana’s redhibition statutes. The broad law allowed for sale revocation or price reduction if a defect rendered the product useless or inconvenient. The RVIA team successfully influenced lawmakers to remove RVs from the statutes and enact more appropriate lemon law provisions for non-conforming RVs.
Secondly, the team worked with the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable to call on all 50 states to establish an Office of Outdoor Recreation. This year, Maryland and Arkansas joined the ranks of 16 prior states in establishing outdoor recreation offices.
The team also engaged with the California Air Resources Board on a provision that would have limited out-of-state diesel motorhome drivers from visiting California for over three days without having a “smog check” on the vehicle. CARB exempted out-of-state RVs from the new requirements following state affairs team action.
RVIA’s 2021 advocacy work can be found here.
