In an ongoing effort to keep members informed about issues affecting the vehicle rental industry, ACTIF posts frequent state and federal legislative updates on the members-only section of its website (www.actif.org). Below is just a sampling of the information available to ACTIF members. Call Maggie Tatton, ACTIF Associate Director, at (888) 200-2795 for more information or to join ACTIF today.

North Carolina
On May 1, the North Carolina House passed H.B. 1152, which requires that an insurer obtain the written consent of an insured or claimant on the estimate, appraisal, or work order before it authorizes the installation of a non-OEM crash part. In a press release from the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality (CARE), Sandy Bass-Cors, executive director of CARE, accused the N.C. House Insurance Committee chairman Hugh Holliman, and the bill’s sponsor, "retired car dealer" Nelson Cole (D-Casell, Rockingham Counties), of not believing that Americans should have the right to "consumer choice without intimidation." CARE represents automotive aftermarket manufacturers, distributors, and other organizations. The N.C. Senate is now considering the bill.

California
California A.B. 1227 has passed the Committee on Insurance and is being considered by the full Assembly. The bill makes the Bureau of Automotive Repair an "authorized governmental agency." Also in California, S.B. 551 (which prohibits insurers or third parties from suggesting or recommending that a specific automotive repair dealer repair an automobile unless the insured or claimant requests a suggestion) passed out of committee on May 7. S.B. 551 also makes insurers who violate the legislation liable for damages.