U.S. News: Rhode Island Bill Clarifies Street Rod Classification

The Rhode Island Senate passed SEMA-model legislation to create titling and registration classifications for street rods, custom vehicles, kit cars, replicas, etc.
The bill has already passed in the house and needs only to be approved by the Governor before becoming law. The SEMA model defines a street rod as an altered vehicle manufactured before 1949 and a custom vehicle as an altered vehicle manufactured after 1948.
The legislation exempts street rods and customs from periodic vehicle inspections and emissions inspections and a range of standard equipment requirements. The measure also provides that a replica vehicle will be assigned the same model-year designation as the production vehicle it most closely resembles and allows the use of non-original materials.