Indiana’s State RV Group Offers Update on Legislative Issues – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Indiana Manufactured Housing Association & RV Indiana Council (IMHA-RVIC) issued the following update to its members regarding several legislation issues in the Hoosier State.
The 2025 Indiana legislative session kicked off Wednesday, Jan. 8, and your association is hard at work on behalf of Indiana’s RV manufacturers, dealers and transport companies. Here are updates on three bills already seeing traction by Executive Director Ron Breymier:
SB 848 – RV Manufacturer/Dealer bill sets forth requirements for recreational vehicle dealer agreements for the sale of recreational vehicles in Indiana. Establishes responsibilities for manufacturers and dealers outlined in these agreements. The bill is tentatively scheduled for a hearing on January 28, 2025, in the Homeland Security and Transportation Committee of the State Senate. The bill is authored by State Senator Blake Doriot (R-Goshen).
HB 1688 – RV Sales Tax bill: This bill would level the playing field for Indiana RV dealers when making sales to out-of-state consumers who will title or register their RVs or cargo trailers in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Seven of these states have a lower tax rate than Indiana. Only California has a higher tax rate. This means there is an additional expense for the consumer to purchase an RV in Indiana. This bill aims to eliminate the collection of Indiana sales tax on these eight non-reciprocal states to better compete with neighboring sales tax-friendly states. It also exempts residents from foreign countries from Indiana’s sales tax if they purchase an RV in Indiana. State Representative Dave Heine (R-Fort Wayne) is the bill’s author, which has been assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee.
SB 37: Tort reform – This bill addresses torts involving the commercial trucking industry and aims to offer protections against nuclear verdicts. Creates a procedure to bifurcate a trial of a civil action filed against the operator of a commercial motor vehicle and the employer of the operator or the owner of the commercial motor vehicle involved in a motor vehicle accident. Allows a defendant to file a motion to bifurcate the trial into two parts. The first is to determine who is at fault, the second phase takes place once fault is determined and punitive damages are determined. SB 37 is authored by State Senator Susan Glick (R-LaGrange).
