Under the new Trump Administration, Automotive Services Association (ASA)’s Bob Redding says it’s likely there will be strong support for pro-business and consumer protection legislation plus an effort to put the “right to repair” debate to bed.

Redding, ASA’s government affairs Washington, D.C. representative, provided legislative updates during a TechTalk360 webinar held by AirPro Diagnostics on Wednesday.

The aggressive push under former President Joe Biden’s Administration on R2R and data access in industries across the board isn’t likely to occur going forward under Trump, Redding said.

Redding discussed how the new environment might provide success for efforts such as the Safety as First Emphasis (SAFE) Repair Act, which would “allow shops to move forward and not be penalized for using OE repair procedures.”

A coalition comprised of the ASA, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) sent a letter to Congress on Feb. 18 outlining the SAFE Repair Act in response to the automotive R2R debate sweeping the nation.

The coalition says the act seeks to:

• • Ensure consumers and independent repair shops have the data they need to repair vehicles.
  • Ensure consumers retain the right to decide where and how their vehicles are repaired.
  • Guarantee repairs are performed according to manufacturer-produced repair procedures to restore vehicle safety systems and structural integrity.
  • Ensure consumers can decide between OEM parts and non-OEM parts.
  • Extend the same recall and safety protections to customers who choose non-OEM parts as currently available for customers who choose OEM parts.
  • Require disclosure of prior alterations or repairs made to used vehicles.
  • Support and promote periodic safety inspection and post-collision inspection programs to safeguard against unsafe or improper repairs.

The letter contends that the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act, introduced during the last Congressional session, “contained significant flaws.”

The SAFE Repair Act hasn’t been filed yet.

Redding added that the bill would give authority to the U.S. Department of Transportation on post-repair inspection after a collision when a vehicle is resold.

“New Mexico has a program similar to the suggested guidelines in the SAFE Act,” he said. “That should be popular amongst collision shops and consumers that will be interested in purchasing a used vehicle. We’re very pleased that those items are in the bill in addition to numerous others and, most importantly here, addressing vehicle data access.”

That would be addressed in a reintroduced Auto Data Privacy and Autonomy Act, which focuses on vehicle owners having access to their data in addition to rental car companies, Redding added.

“This is a tighter bill that a number of the rental car companies will support going forward, and we anticipate that will be an initiative that is reintroduced at the state level,” he said.

An audience member noted that a common interface, such as the J2534 and PCs for use to access vehicle data, is no longer included in the REPAIR Act, and asked if there are plans or discussions to address that.

“It would shock you at how many members and staff, even though a lot of the legislative assistants in individual offices haven’t been here that long, how informed they are about this,” Redding said. “I think where we end up is going to be somewhere that addresses every type of vehicle and every vehicle in the foreseeable future. The OEMs agreed in July of 2023 with ASA and SCRS to have these two committees — one to address today’s data issues… and also a working group to address those problems in the future — whatever type of fuel, whatever drives that vehicle, whatever type of material is used to build that vehicle. And that was a voluntary agreement.

“If they [Congress] move forward with legislation, it’s going to be something that has a really intelligent look at resolving this and being done with it, and that doesn’t mean just in real time, it doesn’t mean just with EVs but a broader, longer look at our industry and a healthy way to do it… I think if it comes to it and this is the Congress that finally puts it to bed, it’s going to be a very thoughtful document.”

Redding mentioned new data access laws in Massachusetts and Maine as examples of how state laws complicate matters more than they alleviate concerns.

“If we have to have legislation, we want to do it at the federal level,” he said. “One of the problems you get into, particularly with the growth of MSOs in collision… [and] mechanical shops, is when you have owners that have shops in multiple states — multiple laws impacting the daily life in that particular business. It’s complicated.”

Regarding insurance regulation, Redding said the ongoing attempt since last Congress to eliminate the Federal Insurance Office will “struggle to go all the way” but the collision repair industry should keep an eye on it.

Originally, FIO was created to monitor state-level pro-consumer or pro-small business issues that a federal regulatory entity could address, he said.

“It has been a very weak agency since its inception,” Redding said. “One of the problems with the agency had to do with, unfortunately, the first director appointed and subsequent directors have come out of the state insurance regulatory system or structure… It is our hope on the collision side that this agency could morph into something that would be more valuable to small businesses, like collision shops, as well as consumers. To date, that has not occurred.”

Redding predicts the new administration will also back tax incentives that will benefit the collision space and small businesses as well as apprenticeships.

“We have an administration that wants to spend time and resources on apprenticeships, and I know, particularly the House, will be focused on how small businesses, education entities, and the federal government can work together as well as states, localities, and municipalities on the apprenticeship area. But what will be important here, and we’ve learned this from the last Congress, is that these need to be broad-based training for not just electric vehicles and the new hybrid fuel vehicles.”

Redding said ASA hopes to see legislation pass like the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act and Perkins Act. The first was a reauthorization of a major pro-business/small business initiative for training and education, he said. The Perkins Act … It was popular with several community colleges and training entities nationwide, according to Redding.

Jordan Hendler, Collision Industry Conference (CIC) Administrator and Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association executive director, asked Redding when apprenticeship support, from initialization to execution, could be seen in the marketplace. She noted that, as claims are down, some shops are holding off on hiring.

“I think we’ll have to see it all the way to the assistant secretary level at the Department of Labor because they would be over the apprenticeship part,” Redding said. “There is a tremendous interest, particularly in the House, by the current majority in what we think and how we get up to speed with these newer vehicles.

“They’re very interested in small businesses, particularly where we’re standing in the gap between the traditional vehicles that we’ve had moving to these hybrids and EVs, zero emission vehicles… We need to take advantage of it and make sure these programs are broad enough to cover our folks.”

He added that, in general, it’s going to be a tough two years for EV legislative initiatives, especially for subsidies or any encouragement to purchase them and additional funding for EV infrastructure and charging stations.

“It’s going to be more about what can be pulled back versus new initiatives or additional spending,” Redding said. “Just be aware that the policies in the auto space that are probably the most dramatic for our industry would be electric vehicle policies under the last administration in the last Congress versus what we have today.”

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