Pub. 9 2019 Issue 3

6 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com IADA PRESIDENT’S Message | BY PAT MANNING I ADA is pleased to report that it has been a busy and produc- tive spring for the association legislatively. Our annual Dealer Day on May 7th attracted some sixty-five people who attended the luncheon and over 200 dealers, legislators and legislative staffers who attended the Legislative Reception/BBQ held at the IADA offices overlooking the State Capitol. Speakers at the event included: IADA Chairman Pat Manning, Dekalb; House Republican Leader, Jim Durkin, (R) Western Springs; Representative Jay Hoffman, (D) Swansea; and Jamie Auffenberg, NADA Director, O’Fallon. The IADA Board of Directors met and had an opportunity to hear Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady, (R) Bloomington, discuss Republican concerns over increasing income taxes and various fees to balance the state budget. During the luncheon, IADA Chairman, Pat Manning, DeKalb, highlighted several dealer issues that IADA is working on at the state level with Illinois legislators, including a proposal to create electronic titles and a proposal to permit expanded use of dealer plates by heavy duty truck dealers. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, (R) Western Springs, reviewed issues the Illinois business community is facing in a state budget which is continuing to experience deficits in record numbers. Rep. Jay Hoffman, (D) Swansea, an assistant majority leader in the House, talked about financial issues facing Illinois. He also commented on several important dealer issues which he is supporting. Also speaking was NADA Director Jamie Auffenberg, O'Fallon, who discussed dealer legislative and manufacturer issues at the national level and also encouraged dealers to become more politically active in supporting the NADAPAC. Following the Legislative luncheon and visits to the State Capitol, IADA and our CAR of Illinois state legislative political action committee hosted a Reception and BBQ for Illinois Legislators, legislative staffs and dealer attendees at the IADA Offices overlooking the State Capitol. The day and evening were highly successful in promoting the dealer franchise system and helping IADA's legislative activities. Since Dealer Day, Senate Bill 690 raised the cap on the maximum documentary service fee that a dealer can charge for performing services related to closing the sale of a vehicle from $179.81 to $300 starting January 1, 2020. The doc fee will remain subject to annual Consumer Price Index adjustments. This increase in the doc fee reflects the cost to dealers of complying with the increasing number of federal and State laws regulating the sale of motor vehicles such as the Red Flags Rule, amendments to the Risk Based PricingRule, theMilitary LendingAct, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the creation of the used car 15-day/500mile warranty for power train components to name a few. We were able to defeat legislative attempts to reduce the vendors' sales tax collection allowance. Retailers are permitted to retain 1.75% of the sales tax they collect as partial reimbursement for the cost of calculating, collecting, and remitting sales tax on behalf of the Department of Revenue. Legislative proposals to cap the vendors' collection allowance at $1,000 per year, which would have cost the average dealership approximately $60,000 per year, stalled at the end of the session. Unfortunately, at the end of the legislative session the Governor’s office proposed imposing a cap on the value of the trade-in credit for first division motor vehicles (defined as vehicles designed for carrying no more than 10 people) at $10,000, starting January 1, 2020. The trade-in credit cap contains a Use Tax component, meaning that Illinois residents who purchase their vehicles in other states will not get a bigger trade-in credit than purchasers who trade their vehicles in to Illinois dealers. Although we were not successfully able to stop the cap, the final version does retain the full trade-in credit for second division vehicles (defined as vehicles designed for carrying more than 10 people, motor homes, and vehicles designed for pulling or carrying freight, cargo, or implements of husbandry). Lastly, Senator Oberweis (R) Aurora has made another attempt to circumvent the Sunday Closing Law by filing language which would have allowed used car dealers who sell fewer than 35 units a month and must close on Saturdays for religious purposes, to be open on Sunday. The Senate Transportation Committee did not hold a hearing on the proposal. Similar legislation was filed earlier in the Legislative Session and a hearing was held on the subject matter only. The legislation is dead for this session. IADA would like to thank dealers for their political involvement and support of CAR of Illinois at the state level and NADA at the national level that allows us to maintain a strong dealer voice in Springfield and Washington D.C.  Sincerely, Pete Sander IADA President