This year marks a new chapter in OHI’s advocacy work. After 13 years of tireless dedication, Jeff Sims, who led OHI’s government affairs efforts, retired in January. Jeff’s legacy of passionate representation laid the foundation for everything we do to advance the interests of privately owned outdoor hospitality businesses across the country.
Succeeding him is David Basler, OHI’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. David brings years of leadership experience within the organization and a strong commitment to building on Jeff’s work. Under his direction, OHI is expanding its advocacy team and deepening its presence in Washington, D.C.
To that end, we’re excited to introduce . . .
Andrew Mills, who has joined OHI as our lead lobbyist in the nation’s capital. Andrew will be our voice on the Hill, working to ensure policymakers understand the unique contributions and challenges of RV parks, campgrounds, glamping resorts, and other outdoor hospitality businesses.
Andrew is the President of Lone Tree Strategies, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm. With nearly two decades of grassroots, political, and legislative experience, he has a proven track record of running impactful advocacy campaigns and building bipartisan coalitions on complex national issues. His six years on Capitol Hill with Senator Richard G. Lugar cemented his belief in collaboration across the aisle, and he has since served in senior leadership roles in both industry and nonprofit spaces, including the National Audubon Society and the Audubon Action Fund. An Indiana native and Purdue alum, Andrew brings a thoughtful, strategic approach to our policy work—and we’re thrilled to have him on the team. If you need anything from our advocacy team, you can reach them at ohi-advocacy@ohi.org.
With Andrew on board, we’re charging ahead with an ambitious 2025 legislative agenda that reflects your business priorities:
- The Credit Card Competition Act – Promoting transparency and competition in the credit card processing market to help reduce your credit card swipe fees by an average of 15% each year. With our coalition partners, we’re also actively supporting companion bills introduced in 24 states.
- The Main Street Tax Certainty Act – Making the 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction permanent for small businesses, including those in outdoor hospitality. Our goal here is to save you money on your taxes so you can reinvest in your business and your people.
- The Online Accessibility Act – Seeking the reintroduction of this bill to create a 90-day cure period for businesses addressing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website accessibility claims. In the true spirit of the ADA, this bill will help businesses like yours be more accessible to those with disabilities and will make our industry more welcoming to campers of all abilities.
With a growing team and a focused agenda, we’re ready to take OHI’s advocacy work to the next level. Since November, the OHI team has been on Capitol Hill three times and almost 100 of you from more than 70 OHI-member businesses have joined us. Thank you for your continued engagement and support—together, we’re making a difference.
Let’s get to work!
3 AHA! Moments
The things you must know for the first quarter of 2025
The Changes Coming in NEC-P07
Starting in late 2026, all new RVs must include Ground Monitor Interrupters. These devices detect issues like loss of ground, neutral, reverse polarity, and voltage problems—cutting power to protect the RV. For parks currently operating with properly designed and maintained electric systems, this new requirement should not pose any problems.
Lawsuit Challenges U.S. Travel Rule Impacting Canadian Snowbirds
A new lawsuit claims the Trump-era policy requiring foreign nationals to register for U.S. stays over 30 days was rushed and failed to consider its economic impact on communities that rely on Canadian snowbirds. Critics say it upends longstanding policy, causes confusion and fear, and risks deterring Canadian tourism, which brought in over $20 billion in 2024. The Canadian government has issued a travel advisory, and advocacy groups are urging the policy’s reversal.
Legislative Calendar Update
The 2025 legislative cycle closes in the next 30 days for 17 states across the country. Is your state one? Check it out here.
THE W’S
Wins That Are Worth Bragging About
SB 484 Signed into Law Boosting RV Dealer Protections
SB 484 establishes the first RV Manufacturer/RV Dealer agreement for the sale of recreational vehicles in Indiana. We are pleased to announce that Senate Bill 484 has been signed into law by Governor Mike Braun.
QUICK BITS
Bite-sized Insights and Watchworthy Finds
OHI Supports White House Conference on Small Business
OHI has joined a dozen other national associations in urging President Trump to sign an Executive Order authorizing the next White House Conference on Small Business (WHCSB) in an effort to foster better relationships with the small business community, Congress and the White House to develop innovative policy solutions to economic problems America’s small businesses, which describes all of OHI’s membership, account for 99 percent of U.S. private sector employers and 64 percent of net new private sector jobs.
THE STATE OF THE STATES
Legislative Updates from Our State Executives
California
OHI has taken a leading role in California in support of CA AB 1065, which would require that the calculation of interchange fees charged every time a credit card is used for payment, not take into account certain state and local taxes and fees. OHI is actively working on this type of legislation at the state level in 24 states across the country.
Indiana
SB 1, the property tax relief bill, passed the State Senate and is currently under consideration by the full House of Representatives. Both important bills will be assigned to a joint House-Senate Conference Committee to work out the differences before the last week of April.
Maine
MECOA and OHI are currently tracking a number of bills that are tax related. Three have failed in committee (LD 225, LD 283 and LD 632). Three others: LD 746, which would use local option sales tax on short-term lodging to fund municipalities and affordable housing; LD 291, which would eliminate the lodging tax on campground sites and revert to using the current sales tax; and LD 1476, which would support Maine’s homeless shelters by imposing a fee on booking hotels, short-term rentals and RV camping reservations; are all currently being discussed in committee. If you have questions about any of this legislation, contact MECOA at info@campmaine.com.
Missouri
Minimum Wage & Statute of Limitations
Both of these bills are through the House and through the Senate Committee and are awaiting debate in the full Senate. Please reach out to your State Senator to urge his/her support for House Bill 567 and for House Bill 68.
All Those Little (And Big) Questions You’ve Got, Answered
What’s the difference between “advocacy” and “lobbying”?
Advocacy is “speaking up for a cause”, while lobbying is “directly attempting to influence legislators on a specific piece of legislation”. So, you guessed it, OHI does both! OHI is your constant voice in Washington making sure legislators are always reminded of how valuable your businesses are to the US economy, and when we need to sway influence on specific legislation, we send Andrew in to lobby on our behalf. The best way to influence a legislator is with your personal story as a constituent.
