Massachusetts House of Representatives is urged to reject bill!

NESSARA is the leading organization for the independent auto repair industry in Massachusetts.  With over 400 members, NESSARA has more independent repair business members than any other organization in Massachusetts.

After careful review of the proposed “Right to Repair” law, it has become clear that this bill is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. 

This bill will supposedly give independent repair businesses access to repair information and tools that car dealerships have at a similar price.  Well, we can already do that.

The opinion of independent repairer’s in Massachusetts as to the availability of auto repair information and tools runs the full range of opinions.  There is confusion.  Some believe that these items are not easily obtainable, if at all, while others believe that most or all of them are readily available.   This mix-up is being exploited by the proponents of this “Right to Repair” effort.

This bill will do nothing to address what the Massachusetts auto repair industry really needs, training and education about information access and tool utilization.

What this bill will do is create lawsuits which will lead to uncertainty in our industry!

It is a recipe for disaster.

We have performed, and continue to offer, auto repair demonstrations for legislators to get a first hand view of the real circumstances around this issue.

This legislation is unnecessary and will not help, but will hurt our businesses and customers.

It should be defeated.

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) -- Global Partners LP said Tuesday it has agreed to purchase 190 retail gasoline stations in three Northeastern states from ExxonMobil Corp. for $200 million in a move to expand its wholesale supply business.

Under terms of the agreement, Global Partners will get the right to supply Mobil-branded fuel to those stations and another 31 Mobil stations owned and operated by independent dealers. All stations will remain under the Mobil brand.

The stations are located in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

"These Mobil sites are highly visible with high traffic counts, and situated on virtually non-replicable, prime locations," Global Partners CEO Eric Slifka said in a statement. "We believe that the strategic value of this transaction comes from the significant new stream of income we expect to generate by supplying these 221 locations in New England with gasoline and diesel fuel through our supply and terminaling system."

Pending the approval of independent directors, the partnership plans to negotiate a contract to manage the company-operated stations with Alliance Energy LLC, which is about 95 percent owned by members of the Slifka family. Global Partners said ExxonMobil employees whose positions may be affected by the sale will be offered jobs by it or Alliance Energy.

Of the 190 stations being acquired, 42 are company operated and 148 are dealer operated.

Global Partners, based in Waltham, Mass., will finance the purchase by borrowing under a revolving credit line or by raising capital. The purchase is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and add to earnings in the first 12 months of operation.

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, APRIL 13, 2010……. House leaders are striking a $6 increase in motor vehicle inspection fees, intended to pad local coffers, from a municipal relief package starkly scaled back from the version that won committee endorsement in February, sources told the News Service Tuesday.

The increase, contained in a long-gestating bill aimed at prodding municipal governments to streamline services and save money, would have imposed an additional $27 million on drivers, aides said during the bill's preparation.

The retreat comes after Gov. Deval Patrick encountered public blowback earlier this year when his administration implemented a new $5 Registry of Motor Vehicle fee on transactions that could have been conducted online. Patrick quickly rescinded the fee.

The bill, due for release from the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, is an outgrowth of last year's Municipal Relief Commission. After the Municipalities and Regional Government Committee approved a more comprehensive bill in February that axed a plan to allow municipal officials to redesign their employees' health insurance plans, the budget committee version is expected to back off further on several other key provisions.

The Municipalities and Regional Government Committee version would have increased inspection fees on motor vehicles by $6 to $35, with proceeds from the more than 20 percent fee hike dedicated to municipal police training and requiring local matching funds.

The increase would have imposed an additional $27 million in collective costs on drivers, aides said.

The committee bill also would have forgiven tax scofflaws their penalties if they paid what they owed, fined new residents who failed to register vehicles within 30 days, and required municipal workers to enroll in Medicare if eligible.

It also enabled cities and towns to offer early retirement to certain workers, a plan favored by Gov. Patrick. It would permit extended pension funding schedules, an effort to avoid cost spikes to make up for recent investment losses. The legislation also enabled municipalities to partner with neighboring cities and towns - including those just over state borders - to share public safety services, encouraged the consolidation of school districts and allowed residents to pay local bills online.

It was unclear early Tuesday which components would survive a Ways and Means rewrite due out Wednesday.

While the state is banking on rising tax revenues next fiscal year, legislative budget authors have warned of reductions in local aid, cuts the municipal relief bill is designed to soften. Senate budget chief Steven Panagiotakos said last week the Senate might trim Chapter 70, the primary school assistance account for cities and towns.

-END-
04/13/2010
By Jim O'Sullivan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

http://http://www.patriotledger.com/business/business_columnists/x1475171494/MASS-MARKET-Bumps-in-the-road-for-Right-to-Repair-bill

...Senate to Oppose the Misleading "Right to Repair" Legislation February 23...means, they hit the brakes on “Right to Repair.” This is clearly a national...to giving the quote-unquote “Right to Repair” coalition what they want – which...

The Senate on Feb. 11 gave initial approve to legislation that would force manufacturers to provide repair shops information and diagnostic tools currently provided to franchised dealer service centers, a change framed as consumer friendly by the bill’s proponents.  But while many repair shops support the bill, saying it will level the competitive playing field with franchise dealers, some service stations and independent repair shops are reversing their position on the bill.  In a letter circulated to state senators, the New England Service Station and Automotive Repair Association said its investigation of the bill and feedback from “experienced auto repair members” had “motivated us to step back from our position of support several months ago.”   The group, called NESSARA, said training and education on how to access and use auto repair information are the most significant needs facing the repair industry.  “The opinion of repairers, as to the availability of information to conduct automotive repairs, runs the full spectrum of possibilities,” the Billerica-based NESSARA wrote, urging the Senate to “put the brakes” on the legislation (S 2268).  “There is an obvious disconnect – some believe that information is not easily obtainable, while others believe that most or all of the information is readily available.”  Veering far from its past support of the bill, NESSARA is now telling lawmakers that the legislation will “do more harm than good” and lead to lawsuits while potentially restricting access to information.  The legislation could emerge when the Senate meets in a formal session on Wednesday.

Statehouse News  

 Automotive grade of world's most widely used nitrogen fertilizer used to meet new US environmental regulations to cut air pollution.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/i-uto111008.php