Southeast Edition Florida Georgia Alabama Mississippi
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Florida Total Loss Legislation Passes in House, Companion Bill Fails to Move in Senate Florida Senate Bill 540, the companion bill of Florida House Bill 885, has died in the senate. Florida H.B. 885 passed the House with language that eliminates Northeast the current 80 percent threshold for a Edition total-loss vehicle to receive a certificate of destruction—which would allow potentially unsafe vehicles to be NewasYork branded "repairable" and put back Jersey onNew the roads, according to the Automotive Service PennsylvaniaAssociation (ASA). ASA opposed the Senate bill if it Delaware included language similar to H.B. 885. ASA appreciates the Florida collision repairers who took the time to contact their legislators to express opposition. To view the full text of these bills, visit ASA's legislative website at www.TakingTheHill.com. According to ASA, the House Bill would allow insurers to determine whether the vehicle receives a certificate of destruction.
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The Automotive Service Association announced its opposition to this bill because the amendment could: ● Allow unsafe vehicles to operate on Florida’s highways. The amendment would require dangerous vehicles to be branded “repairable” when such vehicles should not be put back on the roads as they cannot be adequately repaired to operate safely. ● Allow insurance companies to determine whether or not a vehicle should obtain a certificate of destruction. Without the current 80 percent threshold that requires a total-loss vehicle to obtain a certificate of destruction, vehicles that should not be repaired can be returned to the roads. ● Create dangers for consumers who would be unable to identify the level of damage that a vehicle has sustained since the vehicle branding will not reflect the actual designation
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See FL Amendment, Page 6
VOL. 3 ISSUE 2 APRIL 2012
Nearly 200 Congressmen and Senators Write in Opposition to China’s Auto Parts Practices On March 16, a group of 188 U.S. lawmakers led by U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) urged President Obama to crack down on “predatory” Chinese pricing practices, which they said are threatening the U.S. auto parts industry and could cost the U.S. more than a million jobs. “We cannot wait until further damage is done,” the nearly 200 members of the House and Senate— including all the Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee—said in a letter to President Obama. “Seventy-five percent of the jobs in the automotive sector are in auto parts, and these jobs are at risk in every state in the nation.” The Congressional letter encourages Presidential action against Chinese predatory trade practices in this sector to be one of the “first and highest priorities” of his Administration’s recently created Interagency Trade Enforcement Center. The lawmakers
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praised the administration’s creation of the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center to promote a more coordinated effort, which they say will provide the United States additional resources to examine China’s and other nations’ trade violations. This effort, unlike any that have taken place in recent memory, asks the Administration to further investigate the barriers that China has adopted and initiate appropriate action to level the playing field. The complaint is supported by the United Steel Workers. “Most trade cases are filed by the private sector after substantial injury has occurred. China’s practices in this sector have already caused harm, but the goal is also to alter its policies before the complete decimation of our domestic industry. In these critical economic times, we must take every appropriate action to address unfair trade practices by foreign countries,” said USW PresSee Chinese Auto Parts, Page 21
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State Farm Pays Gunder’s Processes and Materials Previously Denied—Without Litigation Ray Gunder of Gunder’s Auto Center has been pressing insurers to provide full compensation to his customers for “necessary processes and materials needed to properly and thoroughly repair his customer’s vehicles” through filing litigation against the insurer, specifically State Farm, on the customer’s behalf.
The first instance required a lawsuit to be levied against the insurer by Gunder brought the matter of unpaid procedures and paint and material invoicing to court and was settled during a court ordered mediation and actual litigation was avoided. State Farm agreed to pay all the procedural See Gunder, Page 8
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