To: CAWA Arizona Members and Prospects
I would like to brief you on CAWA's presence in Arizona since we established the Association there in 2008. Should you have any questions regarding our efforts in the Copper State, please let me know at 800.332.2292 or [email protected].
Rodney Pierini President & CEO ------------------------------------- CAWA's Presence in Arizona
CAWA made a commitment to representing the aftermarket in Arizona, beginning in January of 2008. Financial and other resources have gone to creating this presence and we have "troops on the ground there". We have a legislative advocate, Stuart Goodman ( 602.617.5708 ), who is based in Phoenix and has an extensive background in lobbying in legislative and regulatory issues in the State. We also have a legal counsel based in Phoenix and his name is Jones Osborn ( 602.640.9318 ), a principal in the firm of Osborn - Maledon. Recall, that our Arizona based members can call Jones and receive ½ hour of free legal consultation each month on any legal issue they may have encountered or will encounter. Lastly, we have our Membership Services Representative based in Tempe who is there to serve the needs of our members and prospective members. He is Bill Hanna ( 805.796.3033 ) and he is also licensed to sell insurance products in the State to bring competitive and quality insurance programs to our members and to consult with them regarding insurance related issues, e.g., ObamaCare. All this costs money and CAWA has committed to those costs.
We also have competitive and quality business services for our Arizona members and those services can be found at www.cawa.org. From insurances to credit card processing to business forms, we provide them to our members who can purchase them from CAWA endorsed vendors or to use our offerings to negotiate a better deal with their local supplier, e.g., a fellow Rotary Club member, a friend or relative that might be selling business services.
Our electronic communication, called "Connections" is sent to our Arizona members to apprise them of legislative, regulatory and other industry issues so they might consider the impact of these issues on their own businesses. We alert them to governmental compliance issues so they can be within the confines of law and regulation.
Since we have been in Arizona we have three major accomplishments in government affairs that directly would impact our Arizona members businesses:
(1) we met with members and the Arizona Environmental Quality Department leadership to explain the aftermarket distribution business while they were contemplating adopting California's 15 year, 150,000 extended warranty regulations. The regulators, in their analysis, forgot to mention the impact adopting this regulation would have on distributors and retailers in the State. They were not even mentioned in their reports on extended warranties! CAWA was at the regulatory table to ensure the interests of our members were considered. Eventually, Arizona did not adopt the California rules ... lesson to be learned is "you better be at the table";
(2) at the behest of a couple of Arizona members, CAWA sponsored a bill to increase the amount a retailer could charge a customer for a battery core. The law was such that they could charge up to $5 for the core. Through our successful legislation (that costs CAWA several thousands of dollars to sponsor), the law was changed so that a retailer could charge up to $15 for the core;
(3) we carved out part stores from a bill that would have required them to report to state government regarding their battery sales and it also had a provision to restrict the number of batteries that could be sold each day. Our advocate working on behalf of our members, had the language changed so that part stores would not come under provisions of the law, thus not affected by governmental action.
Recall, that a presence in governmental affairs is not when issues of serious importance suddenly appear in the regulatory or legislative processes. Like the selling of auto parts, government affairs is a people relationship business and a constant presence and nurturing is required. That's why we have engaged Stuart Goodman to be vigilant, on a daily basis during the year, to promote and protect the interest of our Arizona members in government affairs. There may be an issue that "hits the legislature" next year or the year after and if you are not there to be a voice for the industry, nothing good will come of that issue. Without this presence, the impacts of the proposed law or regulation on Arizona aftermarket businesses will not be heard and that is not good.
Here are some examples of what has happened in California that directly affected the aftermarket in Arizona:
(1) in 2001 CAWA coordinating other state and national aftermarket associations in California, secured the passage of a bill that would require the automakers to provide emissions related information, tools and training to the independent aftermarket in the same manner that they provide the information to the new car dealers. This was the father legislation to the Right to Repair legislation you see passing in Massachusetts today and that which has been in the federal legislative hopper for several years now. So, California based technicians could now have access to the emissions repair and diagnostic information and as a direct result Arizona based technicians would as well. And you know, if the independent technician is healthy, then the other parts of the aftermarket distribution system will be healthy;
(2) last year, in California, BMW was seeking exclusivity on replacement keys for their vehicles. This, too, was an access to information issue for the aftermarket. CAWA received a gubernatorial veto of their exclusive rights so that the aftermarket, along with their locksmith partners, could produce keys for BMW vehicles. This exclusive right was watched by our national colleagues because they knew this was simply another attempt to "lock out" the aftermarket from information which would have affected every state in the nation;
(3) Clearly, if we can promote and protect the interests of the industry in California, it bodes well for all states, including Arizona.
Parting comments: Positive or negative legislation or regulation that can affect other states will most likely come from California and that's one reason why our national counterparts, AAIA have consolidated their government affairs program with CAWA. I have personally attempted to demonstrate the value of CAWA in Arizona by attending owners meetings, distribution center tradeshows, distributor customer events, etc. and discussing what we have done on behalf of the industry in the State. If you are having such an event and would like CAWA's presence, please let me know. Thanks for your membership and support and we wish you the best in business in 2014. If you are not a member, please consider joining. I have enclosed a membership application (view) for your convenience.
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