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California’s BAR to hold Thursday workshop on proposed storage fees regulation

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California’s Bureau of Automotive Repair is holding its third public workshop Thursday to discuss proposed regulations on storage and towing fees that have faced some criticism from those in the collision repair industry. 

The meeting will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the Department of Consumers Affairs Evergreen Hearing Room, 2005 Evergreen St. in Sacramento. To participate remotely by Webex use password BAR1017. The meeting can also be viewed by webcast here

Passage of AB1263 last year gave BAR the authority to address storage fees, according to BAR documents. It also allows the bureau to codify its guidance and unify existing law on the subject. 

Those in attendance at BAR’s second meeting in July raised concerns about the regulations requiring them to set a storage rate annually, with no ability to change it during the year for unforeseen circumstances. Concerns also included but were not limited to criteria outlined to set storage rates, the inability to charge storage rates while a vehicle is in the process of repairs, and the state creating an “average storage rate.” 

“I understand why they are doing this because there are cowboys out there doing whatever they want,” Andrew Batenhorst, California Autobody Association Glendale/Foothill Chapter president and Pacific BMW Collision Center body shop manager, told Repairer Driven News after the second meeting. “On the flip side of that, there are repairers like me who follow all these rules and we are still being punished and the customer is being punished.”

Bureau Chief Patrick Dorais said once a final package is completed on the regulations it will be sent to the director of the Department of Consumer Affairs for approval. If approved there, it will be filed with the Office of Administrative Law. A 45-day public comment period would be held by that office, he said. 

“Right now, we are still in the developmental stage very early on in this process,” Dorais said in July. “So this [workshop] is designed to solicit input from everyone and help us make the best product possible going forward.”

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Photo courtesy of DustyPixel/iStock

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