The February Forum in Napa is one of the best attended in the year. The industry issue presentations are a must to stay current on matters affecting the automotive aftermarket industry. Here are the presentations scheduled for the upcoming session in Napa in February (see registration materials here). They are:

• The Future of Diagnostics is Here and Now: Predicting Vehicle Repairs and Replacement Parts with Real Time Telematics

• Future Vehicle Powertrain Technologies: Making Heads or Tails of All the Predictions, Hype and Promises, as well as, Their Impact on the Aftermarket

• CARB's Regulation to Stop the Sales of ICE Vehicles in California by 2035: The Transition to Electric Vehicles – A Utilities Perspective

CAWA is holding its winter Leadership & Educational Forum in the beautiful Napa Valley on February 22-24, 2023. The event will take place at the Silverado Resort & Spa (www.silveradoresort.com) in the heart of the wine country. See you there...

On Monday, December 5, 2022, the California Legislature convened its two-year 2023-2024 Legislative Session. The November 8, 2022, election resulted in one of the most diverse Legislatures California has seen in recent history. There are 37 new members out of 120, including a record 50 women represented in the assembly and senate. Democrats hold a 31 to 19 Republican super-majority margin in the senate, and a 60 Democrat to 19 Republican with 1 independent super-majority in the assembly. Lawmakers convened the new session under fiscal uncertainty and a State Budget cloud. The Department of Finance has projected a $25 billion budget deficit which means legislators have a difficult task ahead in determining what programs to cut, defer programs, or utilize state budget reserves to close a budget gap. All constitutional offices continue to be held by democrats. Other major public policy issues the Legislature is expected to confront in the new session includes homelessness and affordable housing, water impacts and wildfire, inflation and costs of goods, worker rights, oil company excessive profits, and environmental sustainability. In addition, Clean Car initiatives; the goal of the Legislature and Governor is to eliminate internal combustion engines (ICE) and replace them with electric vehicles (EV). Another policy issue is worker exposure protections from storage and maintenance of lead acid batteries. For further analysis contact CAWA’s legislative advocate, Gary Conover at gary@garyconover.com or 916.233.9655.

With the election of Governor-Elect Katie Hobbs (D) and a Republican controlled Legislature, Arizona is headed for its first divided government since 2009. As Republicans have limited one seat majorities in both the House and Senate, combined with a Democratic Executive, legislative leadership will need to become accustomed to bipartisan solutions on major policy issues. Arizona has been mislabeled a purple state with two Democratic US Senators and the top three statewide constitutional offices of Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General. From a political perspective, Arizona is more appropriately classified as magenta, recognizing the conservative composition of the Arizona Legislature that will temper Democratic statewide officeholders. Expect Arizona to continue to be a pro-business economic environment, as Governor-Elect Hobbs will govern towards the center in order to be competitive in four years when she asks for a second term. Major issues include water policy along with transportation and education funding. Arizona projects a $1.4 billion surplus for the next fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2023. For further analysis (see here) and contact CAWA’s legislative advocate, Stuart Goodman, in Phoenix at sgoodman@goodmanschwartz.com or 602.617.5708.

The Nevada Legislature will begin its 82nd regular session on February 6, 2023. After four years of single-party Democratic control of both legislative houses as well as the Governor’s office, the upcoming session will see a Democratic supermajority in the state Assembly, a Democratic simple majority in the state Senate, and a Republican governor. While the 2021 session was dominated by cost-cutting measures (due to pandemic-reduced state revenues), in 2023 the question will be how the $11.4 billion budget will be allocated, a $3.2 billion increase over the previous biennial budget. The Governor’s first State of the State address was held on January 23rd, and gave a more defined view of the Governor’s fiscal priorities. Governor Lombardo has indicated that his focus areas are education reform and improved school safety, workforce development and stronger economic development, and reducing soft on crime laws to give law enforcement more tools to fight criminal activity - especially in tourism corridors. He also promised a pay raise for teachers and Nevada Highway Patrol and he intends to follow through on both while also fulfilling his pledge to not raise taxes. As is always the case, we expect education and healthcare to be prominent issues for the session, as well as the need for greater economic diversity after the pandemic’s devastating short-term impact to Nevada’s tourism industry. For further analysis contact CAWA’s legislative advocate in Reno, Gabriele McGregor at gabriele@theferrarogroup.com or 775.331.4555

"In my opinion, CAWA is the preeminent automotive trade association. By providing its members with access to the legislative process, industry trends, and networking throughout all levels of the automotive aftermarket, CAWA equips its members with the critical information needed to be successful in today's complex business world."

~ Steve Sharp, Endeavor

A feature of CAWA’s newsletter is a “member corner” that highlights the member, his/her company and makes a statement regarding why CAWA membership is important and a valuable asset to the company and automotive aftermarket industry (see above). Should you decide to do a testimonial for a future edition of this newsletter simply forward your photo and comments to admin@cawa.org. Your testimonial would be very much appreciated.

For federal income tax purposes, CAWA dues may be deductible as a business expense but not as a charitable contribution. CAWA estimates that 35% of your dues for 2023 are not deductible as a business expense because they are attributable to lobbying as in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code Section 6033. Contributions to the Political Action Fund are not deductible as a charitable contribution or as a business expense for federal income tax purposes. For more information, consult with your accountant or tax attorney.

IDTechEx reports five future technology trends that the group expects will be of high relevance in the EV market’s future. See those trends here. Source: AMN aftermarketnews

Global new light vehicle sales will reach nearly 83.6 million units in 2023, a 5.6% increase year-over-year, according to a new forecast by S&P Global Mobility, a world leader in information, analytics and solutions. The auto industry continues to navigate supply chain challenges while confronted by several markets facing deteriorating economic conditions and fading pent-up demand. As semiconductor availability plays out, demand destruction is expected to take a more fundamental role in 2023, impacting production and the inventory restocking cycle. See more here. Source: S&P Global Mobility

Considering the recent passage of the federal Speak Out Act limiting the use of pre-dispute nondisclosure and non-disparagement clauses involving sexual assault and sexual harassment claims, what impact will this have on our template releases, separation agreements, and litigation settlement agreements? How do you recommend we revise those documents? See the analysis here. Source: Littler

This scholarship program supports educational opportunities for you, your family, employees and those interested in a career in the auto care industry. Applying is easy! The online application process allows students interested in auto care industry careers to submit one application each year online at automotivescholarships.com and receive consideration for several scholarships. Preference will be given to those seeking a college level, vocational or technical program pursuing a degree, accreditation or certificate in the auto care industry. A candidate’s permanent residence must be located in the states of California, Nevada or Arizona. Scholarships will be awarded in June, 2023. The applicant with the highest ranking each year will receive the Mort Schwartz Scholarship Award. DEADLINE: March 31, 2023. APPLY HERE!

The oftentimes forgotten individuals in educating and training students in preparation for automotive careers is the high school automotive teacher. Whether it’s their use of personal funds to keep their programs going or their need for certification to keep their instructor and program status, CAWA wants to assist them in achieving success. The Association has established a scholarship program to help these teachers in several ways, including financially. CAWA represents manufacturers, distributors and retailers that could supply these high school automotive teachers with products, tools and other resources for classroom use to assist them in providing relevant, up to date and quality education and training for their students. Access to industry training being conducted by CAWA members could be made available to the automotive high school teachers for their own knowledge and development. Teachers that are interested in applying for a scholarship should complete an application for consideration, found here (PDF) or contact programs@cawa.org. Application deadline is May 31, 2023.