2021 LEGISLATIVE REPORT
2021 Legislative Session, One for the Ages
Only 275 bills of the 3,096 introduced passed this Session and will go to the Governor. The building was off-limits to citizens and lobbyists for the most part. FADA had to depend on your calls and emails to House members and Senators. We are so proud of those of you who stopped and responded when we asked.
What Failed:
- Big Tech Data Privacy bill – Dead (Trial lawyer version DOA) (SB 1734)
- Dealer bills from Braman and FADA died in committee (HB 1065 and HB 677)
- Anti-dealer bills on state procurement and right to repair –Dead (SB 1152 and SB 374)
What Passed:
- COVID Liability Protection for Businesses – Passed early in Session (SB 72)
- 10 Day Notice Required to DMV for Major Changes or Non-renewal of Garage Policy (SB 1194)
- Florida No-fault Insurance is retired and all drivers will buy 25/50k limits. Florida will become a comparative law state and drivers will have to ensure themselves properly for their own protection, the protection of others they damage and protection against uninsured or under-insured drivers. Medical payments coverage will be optional. (Insurers are asking for a veto by Governor DeSantis)
The Details:
The top priority of the Governor and leadership to pass a complicated data privacy bill failed in the contentious last week of Session. This is great news for all dealers and other Florida businesses. But don’t rest – it will be back and you will need to continue to educate your Legislators back home.
The scary part of the debate over this data privacy bill was that it was backed by the House and Senate leadership and the Governor. This legislation was a potential political win-win in the eyes of those in power in Tallahassee because the public outcry against the big tech companies has never been more real and focused. Ultimately, FADA and other business groups made it clear that the House version, with trial lawyers as the enforcers, would be an awful blow to Florida businesses. The Senate version, while more business-friendly, was still complicated and would have cost you thousands of dollars in compliance. This heat seeking missile narrowly missed passage in the last week and we all breathed a sigh of relief!
Braman Management offered up their franchise bill and it was filled with some issues that the automakers did not want to discuss, let alone see passed. As a result our opponents hired a cadre of lobbyists and went to work to convince the House and Senate leadership that our ideas were not something that should be considered during such a difficult legislative Session. The OEMs and JM Family teamed up to oppose our DMV bill and the Braman bill and they were successful.
With our legislation in a holding pattern, FADA focused on a few bills that required full scale opposition to ensure that they did not pass. One bill introduced by Senator Jeff Brandes would have pulled all state and local vehicles into a single purchase program and our dealers who today provide assistance and service to their localities would have been completely removed from the procurement process. That bill died in committee (SB 1152).
The farming community became the focus for a bill that would have eventually lead to us fighting the long standing battle with independent repair shops over the right to repair. Your factory lobbyists joined us in battling this right to repair farm equipment bill and it was rejected. This same legislation continues to appear as part of a national effort by the independent repair facilities to get the codes and technical abilities to do repair work on your vehicles (SB 374).
COVID protection for businesses helps to ensure that your dealership will not be sued as long as you provided a reliably safe environment for your employees and customers (SB 72).
In a larger bill DMV asked for the ability to ensure that dealers keep their required insurance coverages in place. If you renew or terminate coverage or make significant changes you must notify DMV within 10 days to avoid fines and penalties (SB 1194).
Florida caught up with other states and passed a “save the retailers” tax bill that results in proper sales tax collections on online sales. Not a problem for us as we have had a system for proper taxing of autos for years (SB 50).
Property insurance reform passed and the result should be an improvement in homeowners’ insurance availability and future pricing (SB 76).
When you step back and look at the commitment these 160 men and women make to lead our government it is almost hard to fathom how a process that offered up 3096 bills for consideration ended up passing only 275 bills for the Governor’s signature. This is a definite sign of the times and this small pass ratio was not due to COVID. Yes, the buildings were essentially off-limits to Florida’s citizens and the lobby corps, which made it hard to put on a full court press to pass your bills. But this legislature took on some huge issues but failed to act on thousands more, so we were not the only association to see its agenda go up in smoke during the 60 day Session.
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More Legislative News
Governor DeSantis has been in the news talking about the passage of a great new Big Tech Data Privacy bill, but it is not the one FADA alerted you too. His reference is to a bill that deals with protecting free speech so that big tech companies cannot censure opinions they disagree with. This is an attack on social media platforms that removed individuals during the election cycle.
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DMV Audits of Titling and Registration Apps Continue
As DMV staff returns to their duties around the state, audits of titling and registration applications continue. We continue to caution all dealers that while the law requires you to apply for titles in 30 days and the DHSMV is allowing up to 90 days before you are cited, it is incumbent on your staff to do everything in your power to process all registrations and titling in a timely manner.
Anyone with cases over 90 days is getting a letter. At that point DHSMV will still allow you to explain the reasons you are late for each account and they will consider abnormalities. With some of these issues coming back FADA is looking forward to meeting with you this summer and fall in smaller regional meetings to help educate our legislators on our business. Stay tuned!
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Sales Price Trade-In Allowance and Service Warranties
Trade-in allowances are applied to the sales price of the vehicle, per F.S.212.09. Service warranties are taxed separately, per F.S. 212.0506 and FAC 12A-1.105. According to a DOR Technical Assistance Advisement service warranties are not taxed as part of the sales price of a motor vehicle and are to be taxed separately. Any trade-in allowance cannot reduce or apply to service warranty tax obligations.
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2021 CAR-PAC Donors
Jacksonville Auto Dealers Association, $20,000
Allen Turner Auto Group, $16,000
Gunther Motor Group, $15,000
Tampa New Auto Dealers Association, $15,000
Alan Jay Automotive Group, $10,000
Beck Automotive Group, $10,000
Crown Automotive Group, $10,000
Douglas Jeep Chrysler Dodge, $10,000
Ed Morse Automotive Group, $10,000
Gettel Auto Group, $10,000
Mahalak Auto Group, $10,000
Morgan Auto Group, $10,000
Panama City Auto Group, $10,000
Parks Lincoln of Longwood, $10,000
Phil Smith Automotive Group, $10,000
Reed Automotive Group, $10,000
Ritchey Auto Group, $10,000
Scott-McRae Automotive Group, $10,000
Sonic Automotive Group, $10,000
Tom Bush Family of Dealerships, $10,000
Bean Automotive Group, $5,000
Bert Smith Automotive Group, $5,000
Deardoff Automotive Group, $5,000
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Dimmitt Auto Group, $5,000
Gator Automotive Group, $5,000
Kelly Auto Group, $5,000
Kraft Auto Group, $5,000
Lehman Auto Group, $5,000
Step One Automotive, $5,000
Stingray Chevrolet, $5,000
Ussery Automotive Group, $5,000
West Coast Auto Group, $5,000
Williams Automotive Group, $5,000
Galloway Automotive Group, $3,000
Lynch Auto Group, $3,000
Red Hoagland Hyundai, $3,000
Castriota Chevrolet, $2,500
George Moore Chevrolet, $2,500
Preston Hood Chevrolet, $2,500
Rivard Buick GMC, $2,500
Bob Steele Chevrolet, $1,000
Kisselback Ford, $1,000
Nissan of Melbourne, $1,000
Regal Automotive Group, $1,000
Rick Matthews Buick GMC, $1,000
Southport Truck Group, $1,000
Wallace Automotive Group, $1,000
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100-Year Anniversary Magazine
Thank you to everyone who has helped to make our special 100-Year Anniversary magazine a success. We had so much fun putting it together for you. This special issue takes a walk back in time to review the history of the automobile industry in Florida as well as the history of the Association. It also features 100-years of leadership. If you need extra copies, please contact members@flada.org.
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