NCOIL votes to kill Model Parts Act

Jan. 1, 2020
At the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) spring meeting March 6 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the Property and Casualty Insurance Committee voted against the proposed Model Act Regarding Motor Vehicle Crash Parts and Repair.
At the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) spring meeting March 6 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the Property and Casualty Insurance Committee voted against the proposed Model Act Regarding Motor Vehicle Crash Parts and Repair.

The collision repair industry, including the Automotive Service Association (ASA) and Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) united with the automotive industry to oppose the model act.

ASA said its members have been contacting state legislators who serve on the committee asking them to oppose the proposed model act. Committee members first accepted an amendment that stated “certified aftermarket crash parts shall be presumed to be capable of restoring a vehicle to its pre-loss condition.” This amendment was offered by state Rep. Brian Kennedy, D-R.I. ASA opposed the Kennedy amendment; the amendment passed by one vote. The Property and Casualty Insurance Committee followed by defeating the Model Parts act.

"During the hearing in D.C., and in the days leading up to it, SCRS and our partners in opposition to the model became increasingly convinced that we had the necessary support from the committee members to put this issue to rest once-and-for-all," said SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg. "Given our confidence in the legislators on the committee during this meeting, we didn't want to risk that the amendments could delay a final vote by creating additional discussion over the proposed language." Once the additional amendments were removed from consideration, the committee called for an up-and-down vote on the model, which resulted in the vote to oppose, and the conclusion of several years spent discussing this topic within NCOIL.

Robert L. Redding Jr., ASA’s Washington, D.C., representative, spoke on behalf of ASA at the NCOIL meeting on Capitol Hill, highlighting provisions found harmful by the ASA Collision Division Operations Committee.

In a letter released last week, signed by ASA, SCRS and a coalition of other national associations representing automakers, dealers, and repair constituents, the NCOIL P&C Committee was urged to oppose the overall model in totality. In addition to the five primary signatories, SCRS also worked to include more than 35 additional state and national collision repair associations who endorsed the content of the letter provided to legislators, further demonstrating the widespread consensus within the industry.

 

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"It is rewarding to see our longstanding efforts to defeat this model succeed," said SCRS Chairman Barry Dorn. "Our membership and affiliates have worked tirelessly to share our opposition with the legislators on the committee over the past several years, and defeating this model at NCOIL curtails the inevitable need to oppose the language on a state-by-state basis had it passed.”

Although the model act did not pass, The Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) said it was encouraged that NCOIL voted in favor of an amendment to the model act that it said validated the need for certified parts as a necessary component to bringing a car back to pre-accident condition.

“Rep. Brian Kennedy’s (D-RI) amendment was an important step forward in protecting consumers from both poor quality and overpriced parts,” said Jack Gillis, executive director. A bipartisan group of NCOIL legislators agreed that certified parts will bring a car back to pre-accident condition. "We are pleased to have been able to introduce this issue to these legislators. The result has been a far better understanding of the impact that the car company parts monopoly has on the American consumer and our concern that alternative parts meet important minimum quality levels.”

To review more about aftermarket crash parts, visit ASA’s legislative website, www.TakingTheHill.com.

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