We are pleased to announce that Motorcar Parts of America (MPA) will, once again, be the exclusive sponsor of CAWA’s annual dinner gala, the Sunday night before AAPEX (October 31st )! This year’s event will be held at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Thanks to MPA and their President & CEO, Selwyn Joffe for the continued support of the Association. This exclusive sponsorship allows CAWA to deposit proceeds of the event into the Memorial Scholarship Fund, to fund annual scholarships for students and automotive high school teachers. See the registration materials in the next article.

CAWA is hosting our Annual Dinner to celebrate our Memorial Scholarship Fund. Enjoy networking among industry colleagues while experiencing some laughs along the way. We would like to thank our exclusive sponsor Motorcar Parts of America who has again graciously sponsored our event. To register for the event which will take place on the Sunday night (October 31, 2021) of Industry Week, see here.

The bill was moved to the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File last week. All bills that have a cost to the state are referred to a Suspense File, fate to be determined no later than Friday, August 27th. The Committee can either hold or pass the bill out of committee. Passing the bill out and from the Suspense File would move it to the Senate Floor for consideration. Since the legislation has been amended after it left the Assembly, and upon passing the Senate, AB471 would move back to the Assembly for concurrence in Senate amendments. The bill would, if passed by both houses of the Legislature no later than September 10th, eventually move to the Governor for his consideration. The Governor would have until October 10th to sign or veto the bill.

The issue important to fiscal review is the impact on the state’s budget. Since the Bureau of Automotive Repair is funded primarily by fees and not by the state’s general fund, reviews of any uncovered costs, as well as revenue impacts, are scrutinized. AB471 has both additional costs, but also has significant revenue in the form of current fees and how they apply to new provisions in the bill. CAWA is encouraging legislators and committee staffs to realize the fiscal benefits of the legislation, as well as the consumer safety side of the provisions in the bill.

A copy of the bill can be found here. For more information, contact our Legislative Advocate, Gary Conover at 916.233.9655 or gary@garyconover.com.

The governing boards of the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach (the Ports) adopted the 2017 CAAP update on November 2, 2017. The 2017 CAAP update document continues to drive emission reductions from mobile sources that operate in and around the Ports, continually demonstrating success since its inception in 2006. The Ports and supply chain partners continue to favor a voluntary, cooperative approach to achieving emission rather than rulemaking. See the Association’s letter here.

Recently, the California Insurance Commissioner adopted and issued lower rates for workers’ compensation insurance as businesses continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and rehire workers — reducing the benchmark rate by $.05 to $1.41 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance, effective September 1, 2021. See further details here.

Contact our insurance partner, Glen Daley of Armstrong & Associates to discuss your workers compensation needs. Glen can be reached at gdailey@armstrongprofessional.com or 916.690.6425.

Each day I see new reports on what the requirements are for wearing masks at work. How do I figure out what my company must to do comply? See more discussion here. Source: Our Friends at the California Chamber of Commerce

There are two primary character traits that almost guarantee success in a salesperson. Of course, they need to have people skills first and foremost, but assuming they do, these two character traits usually seal the deal. Salespeople who possess these two character traits will move Heaven and Earth to reach success and if they have these, and they’ll also have most of the other qualities you want in top producers. In addition, you won’t have to babysit them to make sure they’re doing what they should be doing, they’ll do what they should be doing automatically, provided of course, you’ve given them proper direction on what their most important activities are and the support to do them. See more here. Source: John Chapin

For over a decade, Superior Financial Systems (SFS) has been a premier provider of merchant services for the Automotive Industry. Their partnerships with hundreds of businesses in automotive wholesale, parts, repair, and service among many others has given them a unique insider perspective that sets them above the rest. You’ve probably seen their name in the association newsletters, sharing important updates that impact your business and customers. See more details here. Contact Todd Lazar, SFS Vice President at (888) 737-7762 or Todd@SFSProcessing.com.

CAWA Arizona Health Trust provides high quality, affordable employee benefits programs to employers in the automotive industry, headquartered in Arizona.

As a member of CAWA, groups may choose from several medical plan options underwritten by BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona. Ancillary benefits include mandatory $15K Life/AD&D through The Standard Insurance Company, dental coverage through BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona and vision coverage through VSP.

Participating groups must have a minimum of 2 employees enrolled in the plan. Another member benefit.

To personally request a quote or by your current broker contact the team at DiMartino Associates:

Phone: 206-623-2430

CAWA Quotes: cawaquotes@dimarinc.com

General Information: cawa@dimarinc.com

All Employee Benefit plan companies must be dues-paying members of CAWA. Please view and complete the CAWA Membership Application.

CAWA and Prominence Health are excited to include the Association within the growing line of Association Health Plans in Nevada. CAWA members include employer groups within the automotive industry. For details, see here.