Friday, January 22, 2010

Senate Public Hearing After Action Report (AAR)

Friday, January 22, 2010

SENATE HEARING AFTER ACTION REPORT (AAR)

Current status of the proposed Wisconsin legislation.

This past Wed, the public hearing was held before the Senate Transportation Committee at the state capitol in Madison. Public comment was heard on two bills SB 392 by Senator Erpenbach and SB 404, by Senator Hansen.

The Hansen bill 404 is the companion bill with assembly bill AB 592 (Dec 2009) that was developed with input from the Wisconsin MVPA membership and Historic Military Vehicle Owners clubs. The bill was drafted after collectors met with the DOT to determine the states concerns and objections to licensing HMV’s. The DOT primarily objects to the unrestricted use of the broad category of “former military vehicles” with includes large and small vehicles and wheeled armor.

The Hansen/Zigmunt bill would create a change in current state law that would create a definition and category for Historic Military Vehicles. The bill was drafted to overcome a potential state ban being enforced by current law thru the DOT and would allow owners of former military vehicles to use their vehicles as historic objects in parades, public displays, club and other organized events. And could be driven for maintenance (exercising the vehicle). The bill also eliminated the 20 year age requirement for former US built military vehicles which simplified the registration process and would allow titling and registration of vehicles purchased from the government without a “Date of Manufacture”. It also would create a new “Historic Military Vehicle” license plate for former military vehicles.

The Erpenbach bill 392 was developed on behalf of the smaller group of owners of Ex Swiss Pinzgauer trucks who had been targeted by the DOT since 2007. The Pinz owners advocate for unrestricted use as regular transportation. The bill seeks to create a change to the existing state collector vehicle license rules that would define former Military Vehicles as a special interest type and allow there unlimited use under the collector law. It would eliminate the current collector plate restriction to limit cargo to no more than 500 Lbs. The only restriction would be no use during the month of January as in the current collector law.

Both bill’s create a category for former military vehicles with some restriction. Both bill’s have bi-partisan support.

The hearing was attended by about 20 HMV owners. Four spoke, including myself, all in favor of both bill’s. Only the attorney for the DOT/DMV spoke against. And his testimony apposing the Erpenbach bill was so strong that the chairman and other senators on the committee formally apologized to the veterans and vehicle owners present. The chair also indicated his concern that the state DOT was acting like a playground bully over the issue.

The DOT testimony to the Hansen bill SB 404 was less harsh and they acknowledged the efforts of the HMV collectors to cooperate in addressing the safety concerns the state had raised.

In our testimony we asked for amendment to both bills. Eliminating the 25 year age requirement from the Erpenbach bill and changing the wording of the Hansen bill to allow in addition to parades and events, HMV owners to use there vehicles for “private recreational use”. They would still be prevented from using HMV’s as daily transportation.

Some of the Pinz owners suggested in testimony that a two tiered solution could be created to allow the smaller vehicles more use. Several numbers were stated, including vehicle weight limits of 10 or 15,000 Lbs. We are opposing this proposal because it would complicate the registration requirements and unfairly favors owners of smaller vehicles.

We are working with the senate and assembly committee members to remove the language from both bill’s requiring “military markings” and simply keeping a former military vehicle as manufactured as a special interest vehicle. This was an objection heard from collectors as too vague and an unneeded requirement.

In each case, legislation to allow some type of use of former military vehicles in Wisconsin, will likely move to a floor vote. This would have to come before the end of the legislative session this spring or the process starts all over in fall.

Several directions are now possible,

1) The two bills may be modified and amended based on public input from the hearings. Then merged into a single bill,

2) The committee could choose to allow one and block the other.

3) The committee could allow two bills to be sent to the floor for a vote.

Since there are similar bills in both the assembly and the senate, any differences would have to be reconciled for final approval before reaching the governors office. And the Governor can always veto any bill that reaches his desk.

All Military Vehicle owners need to continue to contact their Wisconsin state legislators and ask them to support one of the bills. This is fast moving (for legislation) and needs your action as soon as you can. Call them, write to them or e mail them but tell them which bill you want.

Thanks

Jeff Rowsam

Jan 20 MVPA and HMV Owners Testimony For Bill SB 404

Testimony – Senate Committee Hearing Jan 20, 2010

Jeff Rowsam
Spokesperson representing
Military Vehicle Preservation Association and
Wisconsin Historic Military Vehicle owners

Historic Military Vehicle Collectors wish to submit testimony in favor of registration of former military vehicles:
1) Prefer to support SB 392 with amendment.
2) Will support SB 404 with amendment.

Good Morning,

My name is Jeff Rowsam

I live at 5432 South County Hwy P, Town of New Denmark in Brown County, Wisconsin

I’m speaking today as a historic military vehicle owner and as spokes person on behalf of the individual members of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA) and the Historic Military Vehicle owners groups in Wisconsin.

Our members include The Midwest Military Vehicle Association (MMVA) from Southern WI, MV collectors of the Fox Valley and North East Wisconsin, the Antigo Area MV owners, The Chippewa Valley Military Preservation Association, LLC (CVMPA) and the Red Arrow Chapter of the MVPA from Northwestern Wisconsin. These groups represent some 600 owners statewide with over 1500 Historic Military Vehicles (HMV’s). The MVPA represents nearly 10,000 members in North America.

Former military vehicles are known for their heavy duty construction and have been sold as surplus equipment by the US and other governments since the 1920’s. Weekly sales continue today. Individuals, municipalities, the DNR, county highway departments, farmers, loggers and utility contractors have a long history of safely and successfully operating former military vehicles in commercial and private on-highway service.

Over the past 20 years, as popularity of WWII history re-emerged, interest by individual preservationists to own and restore these vehicles has evolved and reached the point were it is now a well developed “old car hobby”. The purchase and restoration of these vehicles for historic preservation, public displays, car shows and recreational driving is very active throughout the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe and Australia.

Restored Jeeps and other all wheel drive trucks have been regularly driven to public events such as parades on patriotic holidays, club activities, events honoring our military veterans, and historic displays for schools and the general public. As collector vehicles, our owners also display their vehicles at car shows and enjoy occasional local drives as a form of recreation.

While fewer and fewer former military vehicles are operated in daily commercial service, Historic Military Vehicles (HMV’s) from WWII and Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War and from Operation Desert Storm now have special interest and increasingly are being purchased and restored to their original historic configuration.

In 2007, owners and collectors in Wisconsin saw an increasing number of applications for titles and registration of HMV’s being rejected by the Wisconsin DMV and the DOT. The DMV has been inconsistent. Some registration applications were approved. Others were not. The rejection of applications for models that had been licensed and operated for many years previously has left vehicle owners confused and frustrated.

The Department of Transportation states they are receiving an increasing volume of applications for registration of many different unique vehicles, both foreign and domestic, with a wide variety of ages and designs and they include former military vehicles in that list. They sight a raised concern about what is suitable for safe operation on Wisconsin highways.

The on-highway use of wheeled military vehicles is well known. The historic military vehicles we seek to preserve have the same equipment needed to meet the requirements of Wisconsin Admin Rule Trans 305 which specifies the minimum equipment for any motor vehicle in order to be registered in Wisconsin.

We know of no fatalities in Wisconsin involving privately owned HMV’s. There is no data to indicate increased rates of civilian collisions or injuries involving HMV’s in Wisconsin and there is no public protest demanding that Historic Military Vehicles be prohibited. The DOT’s concern that these vehicles pose a higher risk to public safety than other civilian vehicles is unsupported.

As collectors we place a high value on our historic vehicles, often spend many months and large sums to complete a restoration. They operate with greater caution over limited miles to preserve their value. Most collector owned HMV’s operate less than 300 miles per year.

A solution that would allow the continued use of HMV’s in Wisconsin is needed. Beginning in 2007, HMV owners give input and listened to legislative contacts and conducted an extensive dialog with DOT administrators to gain understanding of all sides of the issue. This resulted in the creation of SB 404. And its companion bill AB 592.

SB 404 addresses the specific objections of the DOT and creates a bill that would not be opposed by most HMV collectors. The restrictive wording for limiting HMV use to public events and parades and for maintenance is an excessive restriction that is opposed by our membership. Like SB 392, the SB 404 bill would create a needed definition for the preservation of Historic Military Vehicles and would solve registration issues for preservationist owners and resolve many confusing title and registration issues for DMV officials.

SB 404 overcomes the DOT’s concern that under collector rules, HMV owners would have unlimited daily vehicle use. Daily use is allowed under collector vehicle registrations. SB 404 creates a new, distinct and separate HMV category with a distinctive plate that could allow continued use of former military vehicles in a historic role and satisfy the DOT’s concern for public safety by restricting use to a profile similar to antique vehicle registrations. That is, to limit use of their HMV’s to a few hundred miles per year.

SB 404 addresses the needs of Historic Preservation and the DOT concern for public safety by:

1) Simplifying registration for vehicle owners and the DMV by providing a single MV
category.

2) It allows HMV’s to be operated with limitations.
The current wording to allow driving for “necessary testing and maintenance” does not meet the collector expectation for occasional short local recreational drives. We recommend that the restriction be amended to a less restrictive profile that allows some type of recreational use.

3) Eliminates the previous requirement for U.S. MV’s to be specified age or vintage.
a. The US military does not recognize model year. Many vehicles are sold by the US government with an incorrect year or notation “date of manufacture unknown” on the documents.
b. It retains the 25 year age requirement for imported former military vehicles which is in line with federal regulations that exempt imported vehicles from NHTSA safety rules for imported vehicles more than 25 years old. A DOT issue.

4) Under current DOT policy, all MV’s are prohibited, Including commercial and governmental use. SB 404 creates a provision to allow municipal users to own
and operate former MV’s in special applications such as rural fire fighting and
emergency government, but limits the public exposure by limiting operation to their local areas and low mile use applications.

5) The distinctive license plate allows law enforcement to distinguish privately owned
HMV’s from the active service military fleet.

6) Establishes a single HMV data base to track the future safety record of HMV’s
separate from the general collector car category.

Both SB 392 and SB 404 provide for the continued use of HMV’s and both have some restrictions.

The provisions of SB 392 would be easier to implement, would not require the cancelation and transfer of existing registrations and meets the operating profile of collector vehicle owners.
SB 392 would be the preferred legislation with less restrictions for owners.

SB 404 is acceptable legislation but is more restrictive to vehicle owners.

On behalf of the many owners of Historic Military Vehicles through out Wisconsin, we respectfully submit that both SB 392 and SB 404 be given consideration.

Thank You. For the

Respectfully, Military Vehicle Preservation Association and Wisconsin Military Vehicle Collectors

Jan 20 MVPA and HMV Owners Testimony For Bill 392

Testimony – Senate Committee Hearing Jan 20, 2010

Jeff Rowsam
Spokesperson representing
Military Vehicle Preservation Association and
Wisconsin Historic Military Vehicle owners

Historic Military Vehicle Collectors wish to submit testimony in support of SB 392.

Good Morning,

My name is Jeff Rowsam

I live at 5432 South County Hwy P, Town of New Denmark in Brown County, Wisconsin

I’m speaking today as a historic military vehicle owner and as spokes person on behalf of the individual members of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA) and the Historic Military Vehicle owners groups in Wisconsin.

Our members include The Midwest Military Vehicle Association (MMVA) from Southern WI, MV collectors of the Fox Valley and North East Wisconsin, the Antigo Area MV owners, The Chippewa Valley Military Preservation Association, LLC (CVMPA) and the Red Arrow Chapter of the MVPA from Northwestern Wisconsin. These groups represent some 600 owners statewide with over 1500 Historic Military Vehicles (HMV’s).

Former military vehicles are known for their heavy duty construction and have been sold here as surplus equipment by the US and other governments since the 1920’s. Weekly sales continue today. Individuals, municipalities, the DNR, county highway departments, farmers, loggers and utility contractors have a long history of safely and successfully operating former military vehicles in commercial and private on-highway service.

Over the past 20 years, as interest in WWII history re-emerged, interest by individual preservationists to own and restore these vehicles has evolved and reached the point were it is now a well developed “old car hobby”. The purchase and restoration of these vehicles for historic preservation, public displays, car shows and recreational driving is very active throughout the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe and in Australia.

Restored Jeeps and other all wheel drive trucks have been regularly driven to public events such as parades on patriotic holidays, club activities, events honoring our military veterans, and historic displays for schools and the general public. As collector vehicles, our owners also display their vehicles at car shows and enjoy occasional local drives as a form of recreation.

While fewer and fewer former military vehicles are operated in daily commercial service, vintage HMV’s from WWII and Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War and from Operation Desert Storm now have special interest and increasingly are being purchased and restored to their original historic configuration.

In 2007, owners and collectors in Wisconsin saw an increasing number of applications for titles and registration of HMV’s being rejected by the Wisconsin DMV and the DOT. The DMV has been inconsistent. Some registration applications were approved. Others were not. The rejection of applications for models that had been licensed and operated for many years previously has left vehicle owners confused and frustrated by the change.

The Department of Transportation states they are receiving an increasing volume of applications for registration of many different unique vehicles, both foreign and domestic, with a wide variety of ages and designs and they include former military vehicles in that list . They sight a raised concern about what is suitable for safe operation on Wisconsin highways.

The on-highway use of wheeled military vehicles is well known. The historic military vehicles we seek to preserve have the same equipment needed to meet the requirements of Wisconsin Admin Rule Trans 305 which specifies the minimum equipment for any motor vehicle in order to be registered in Wisconsin.

We know of no fatalities in Wisconsin involving privately owned HMV’s. There is no data to indicate increased rates of civilian collisions or injuries involving HMV’s in Wisconsin and there is no public protest demanding that Historic Military Vehicles be prohibited.
The DOT’s concern that these vehicles pose a higher risk to public safety than other civilian vehicles is unsupported.

Collectors place a high value on their historic vehicles, often spend many months and large sums to complete a restoration. They operate with greater caution over limited miles to preserve their high value historic vehicle. Most HMV’s operate less than 300 miles annually.

SB 392 would create the needed special interest vehicle definition that will continue the registration of Historic Military Vehicles.

Our owners raise one reservation, The bill requirement that a former military vehicle must be 25 years old to qualify for registration. The US military does not designate vehicles by model year. Former military vehicles recently sold by the US government sometimes carry no documented year of manufacture or are sold with a late model rebuilt date that does not reflect the true vintage. Amending SB392 to eliminate a specific age requirement for US manufactured former military vehicles would simplify the registration issue.

In the past, establishing an accurate “Year of Manufacture” has been a confusing and often frustrating, sometimes confrontational issue between vehicle owners and the DMV. Unlike commercially manufactured trucks and autos, collector registration would be the only option for HMV’s in Wisconsin, and the need to defer to a 25 year age requirement is not necessary in this situation.

Under the bill, existing registrations will not require re-registration, cancelation or re-application.

The vehicles are an important part of our nation’s proud military history and should qualify for preservation.

On behalf of the many owners of Historic Military Vehicles through out Wisconsin, we respectfully submit that of the two registration bills under consideration today, SB 392 with a vehicle age amendment is the preferred legislation.

Thank You. For the

Respectfully, Military Vehicle Preservation Association and Wisconsin Military Vehicle Collectors

Links to Full Text Of Three WI Legislature Bills To Allow Registration of Former Military Vehicles

As of Jan 20, 2010

READ THE CURRENT BILL TEXT BY CLICKING THESE ELECTRONIC LINKS

WISCONSIN MILITARY VEHICLE REGISTRATION BILLS PENDING

In the Assembly Transporation Committee

Bill AB 592 Sponsored by Rep Zigmunt

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/AB-592.pdf


In the Senate Transportation Committtee

Bill SB 392 – Sponsored by Senator Erpenbach

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/SB-392.pdf


Bill SB 404 – Senator Hansen (companion to AB 392 Zigmunt bill)

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/SB-404.pdf