Connecticut to screw car enthusiasts

Can't use my letter as it was highly personalized detailing the effect on my car directly. Anyone else want to post up a nice generic one? To be honest, I'm a little hesitant of the form letter approach as it clearly indicates a lack of commitment by the sender.

Sending by post is not necessary per Steve. The Email system works fine.

 

here's Steve's Email to me

Lane:

Thanks for your message. Please have your cohorts join the SEMA Action Network (SAN) at www.semasan.com. As you are aware it is free and carries no other obligations. We use the network only to alert hobbyists to pending legislative and regulatory issues. Also, continue to encourage your members to oppose H.B. 5405 through letters to the committee members. As you may be aware, this is the same bill that was considered last year in the legislature without success, due largely to the efforts of Connecticut hobbyists.

Thanks again. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Steve McDonald
SEMA

 

I'm certainly no lawyer and have never formally protested much of anything but I would think a few buzz word type sentences might be useful. Feel free to cut and paste to your letter and add any personal reservation you might have. If you have thought of other sentences you feel might help others write their letters, please post them here. I included some of the following in my letter:

"Dear Sir or Madam of the Connecticut Joint Committee on Planning and Development, I have recently become aware of the proposed changes to the structure of the Antique, Specialty and rare car text to be considered under HB 5405"

"I have numerous problems with the bill"

"I find the changes to be unfair as they target a very small group of individuals who have no real collective voice to oppose"

"It seems particularly unfair to an individual who restored a pile of junk making the car worth substantially more"

"The increases are so dramatic they cannot be measured in percent but rather by factors of 100"

"I foresee a great difficulty with the municipalities coming to agreement on proper valuation since the Classic car sections of any published guide rely greatly on mechanical and cosmetic condition which must be inspected"

"I strongly request your hearty opposition to this bill"

"Thank you for your consideration in this personal matter"

 

I hear what you are saying but add that my car happens to be a 1993 vintage. When I purchased the car 4 years ago, I took all of the costs and values into consideration. I've been patiently awaiting the antique status. Failure to achieve that status for an additional 10 years will effectively add 10% to the cost of my car. Grandfathering is a good idea and important to many of you but has no effect on my situation at all.

 

Just clipped this from the SEMA lobby guide (under the header "Legislation" at the site linked on post 1)

LETTERS AND OTHER
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
When you are pushing an issue or supporting or trying to defeat a bill, writing your
legislators is a very effective way of getting your message across. However, some
methods of communication are a lot more effective than others.
I. Personal letters –
The absolute best thing to do is to write a personal letter. Personal letters show legislators
that the author is knowledgeable, interested and committed to the matter at hand.
Sending a personal letter also alerts the legislator to the fact that the author is politically
active. Legislators keep close track of how their mail is running on particular issues, so
your letter will have an influence whether the elected official personally reads it or not.
Many legislators argue that one clear, logical individual letter is worth more than a petition
with a thousand signatures!

Suggestions for writing personal letters

Be Timely – Write when an issue is current. Procrastination and apathy guarantee that
your voice will not be heard and that legislators will assume you don’t really care.

Be Brief – Limit yourself to one page and one topic. The goal is to be read and
understood.

Be Specific – Reference specific bill numbers. Include basic information like what the
legislation would do and how it would affect you and other people in the legislator’s
district or state. Remind legislators how their actions affect your hobby and your vote.

Be Legible – Clearly sign your name and include your address in the letter itself
(envelopes with return addresses are routinely discarded). How can a legislator know
who you are, what your concerns are, or where you are from if he can’t read your
handwriting? Better yet, type your letter.

Be Supportive – Write thank you letters when a legislator supports your cause. Too
often they get only “anti” or complaint letters. A thank-you will make you stand out and
it will help establish a more personal relationship with the legislator.

Don’t Be a Pest – Don’t become a constant “pen-pal.” Legislative offices track who
writes and how often. Avoid being seen as a constantly writing crank or malcontent; it
will dilute your message.

 

The argument concerning depreciation.

I thought long and hard about the reason for the law to begin with and came to the following conclusion.

Depending on the particular popularity of a motor vehicle the depreciation curve follows generally standard line. For most cases (probably 90%) the curve is dramatic when the new car is driven off the lot and over time settles in to a elliptical decline until the age of between 15 and 25 years when most cars become worth absolutely nothing. This is most likely the reason the "antique" car property values were established to begin with.

In special cases based on many variables the curve inverts and value starts to climb. The ascension of value is directly linked to condition both mechanically and cosmetic along with a constantly changing public perception of the vehicle and the added variable of the specific history of that car. Cars in poor that have a special history can be worth many times that of a good example of the car. A partially restored car may look to be in near perfect condition but is in no way more valuable than a fully restored one. A car that was used in a historic event carries many times the value of another example of that same car. That is to say the car that carried a wounded Ronald Regan to safety is far more valuable than an exact duplicate.

With these variations in mind it seems rather normal for the industry that sets the pricing on cars to establish a limitation of estimate at 20 years. While they do provide estimates of value after 20 years, those numbers are widely varied and a disclaimer is applied suggesting the need for a detailed assessment to determine actual value. They imply that an expert is necessary to determine the actual value and that value can be substantially different from expert to expert .It would therefore seem prudent that political jurisdictions would follow with that same logic. Up until now virtually all jurisdictions agree. Classic, Antique, or other titles applied to the vehicles have always been associated with the 20th year.

Seriously...Are they really going to value a car previously purchased under a salvage title and value it anywhere near a museum quality time capsule? Who at your town hall has the expertise necessary to accomplish that?

 

I understand your point entirely.

I would also point out that a 250 GTO remains eligible for antique status and is therefore valued at $500 (or $2500 next year) and must be taxed as such regardless of actual value. Mr. Sachs has only to concern himself with a car between 1983 and 1993. In addition, VERY few truly expensive collector cars are actually registered in CT. Most are driven on dealer plates for this very reason. The wide angle on this issue remain with those middle class individuals that do not have property in another state and cannot write off the value of anything using corporate tax techniques.

Isn't that funny. If you own a 250 GTO you will pay much less in taxes than I do for my 348. You will also pay much less than the guy who owns a 1992 Honda civic that he somehow keeps alive.

Please understand that after reading my comments above, I find that I do sound a little like one of those ridiculous "occupiers". Please know that it absolutely pains me to say that out loud. I suppose the big difference is that I don't begrudge Mr, Sach his success and don't feel he owes me anything.

 

It has nothing to do with whether or not I can afford it.

People that sit back and continue to accept the way things are deserve everything they get. You must draw a line someplace....this is my line.

 

Didn't know about it until just now. I'm going to try.

Can anyone else make it?

 

Couldn't make it...anyone know where to find the meeting minutes?

 

Fairly full schedule....We were #7...Maybe we get lucky.

Planning and Development Committee

PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA

Friday, March 9, 2012

10:30 AM in Room 2B of the LOB

I. COMMITTEE BILLS FOR REVIEW

1. S.B. No. 342 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERNET WEB SITE FOR THE WASHINGTON-ROCHAMBEAU REVOLUTIONARY ROUTE NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL.

2. S.B. No. 343 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING INTERVENTION IN PERMIT PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT OF 1971.

3. S.B. No. 344 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

4. S.B. No. 345 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPAL FLOOD AND EROSION CONTROL BOARDS.

5. S.B. No. 346 (RAISED) AN ACT CREATING A REGIONAL COMPOSTING FACILITY SITING TASK FORCE.

6. Proposed H.B. No. 5008 AN ACT CONCERNING THE MARIJUANA AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES TAX.

7. H.B. No. 5405 (RAISED) AN ACT ESTABLISHING A STATE-WIDE MILL RATE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES AND AMENDING THE DEFINITION OF ANTIQUE, RARE OR SPECIAL INTEREST MOTOR VEHICLES.

8. H.B. No. 5406 (RAISED) AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY BARRIERS TO THE FORMATION OF MUNICIPAL UTILITIES.

9. H.B. No. 5407 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES.

10. H.B. No. 5408 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING ADOPTION FEES FOR DOGS.

 

Here is the deadline schedule. The committee considering is Planning & Dev.

http://www.cga.ct.gov/lco/XLS/Committee_Deadlines_Current_Year.pdf

This isn't over yet...get the word out to all your gear head friends.
Emails Emails Emails. That has to happen NOW.