AASP/MA Legislative Campaign Grows in

AASP/MA Legislative Campaign Grows in Sponsorship

AASP/MA’s efforts in the Legislature in support of consumers and collision repair professionals have grown to previously unseen heights – and lawmakers are paying attention.

As of this writing, the association has 80-plus combined sponsors for its two bills, “An Act Relative to the Licensure of Appraisers” (House Bill 327) and “An Act to Establish Minimum Reimbursement Rate to Insurance Claimants” (House Bill 1111/Senate Bill 709). The current bill numbers were recently assigned to replace the previous House Docket numbers and will remain in place for the rest of the current legislative session. Amazingly, House Bill 327 (which previously had three sponsors when it was introduced in the Senate in the previous legislative session) gained a whopping 38 sponsors in just a three-day period at the end of February. This achievement was the direct result of AASP/MA members contacting their area representatives and urging their support.

“We’ve been off to a tremendous start right out of the gate,” AASP/ MA Lobbyist Guy Glodis commented during the association’s recent virtual General Membership Meeting. “If you just look in comparison to where we are starting this legislative session to where AASP/MA was two years ago, it’s literally a night-and-day difference. When you look at these sponsors, you’re going to see a very eclectic group of legislators – urban to suburban, Republican to Democratic. I think we’ve done a great job of reaching out.”

Filed by Representative Tackey Chan of Quincy, House Bill 327 aims to move the Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board (ADALB) from the Division of Insurance to the Division of Professional Licensure. It also seeks to expand the size of the ADALB to include two consumer advocates, one appointed from the Attorney General’s Office and the other from a consumer advocacy group, and replace the current Board chairman, appointed by the Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance, with one appointed by the Commissioner of the Division of Professional Licensure. Additionally, it will set term limits for all ADALB members.

Filed by Representative James Hawkins of Attleboro, House Bill 1111 seeks to set a minimum reimbursement rate for auto body labor paid by insurers to Massachusetts claimants. This would guarantee that the consumer has a choice in selecting a facility and will not be limited to just shops that are willing to work for a substandard rate.

“This bill talks about a minimum rate of reimbursement to the insured to make sure that they have enough money to have a vehicle fixed properly at a shop that they choose, which is properly trained and may have a higher Labor Rate because of that,” AASP/MA Executive Director Evangelos “Lucky” Papageorg explained during the General Membership Meeting. “Consumers need to be reimbursed at a rate that keeps up with modern automotive repair technology.”

House Bill 327 has been referred to the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. Chan is the House chair; Susan Moran (Falmouth) is the Senate chair. House Bill 1111 has been referred to the Joint Committee on Financial Services. Jamie Murphy (Weymouth) is the House chair; Brendan Crighton (Lynn) is the Senate chair. Glodis and Papageorg are taking immediate steps to meet with these committee chairs and members to educate them on the reasons for the bills and why each should move forward.

As for hearings on the bills, Glodis noted that these gatherings may be held virtually if scheduled during the spring, while in-person hearings are tentatively expected to return in the summer or fall.

With momentum for both bills growing by the day, Glodis urged General Membership Meeting attendees – and the entire AASP/MA membership – to continue to reach out to legislators in the months ahead.

“[Representatives] want to be your friend. They get elected and reelected based on their constituents. There’s nothing more powerful than a business owner who has a business in their district, a constituent or an employer who employs four or five constituents calling up and just talking about a bill that affects their industry and livelihood. I think you’d be surprised by seeing how positive the response is and how the Legislature really wants to support their constituency.”

Above all, he congratulated the AASP/MA membership for taking an active role in securing such a large number of sponsors so early in the legislative session.

“Lucky and I certainly can’t take credit for this; this is a collective effort.”