Q. What will registration do for me?
A.
First, the board's primary focus is to address "backyard"
operators and create a level playing field in terms of competition.
If costs are relatively equal between shops, competition is increased,
price-cutting is reduced, and repair pricing/labor rates more
accurately reflect the actual cost of operations. Second, we are
intent on regularly providing information to you, both through
our website and direct mailings as regards programs that can be
of benefit to shop owners, articles of interest, and keeping you
informed about legislative/judicial activities that may impact
your business, both positively or negatively. We believe that
by being better informed you can make better decisions. Last,
we are uniquely positioned to address issues such as falling profit
margins, after-market versus OEM parts, securing future labor,
et cetera, that have plagued the industry for years and which
can be resolved or improved upon.
Q.
Why haven't I heard of the registration program before?
A.
The shop registration requirement has been "on the books"
since December, 1997. Since then, a board has been named, staff
was hired, and office space was acquired, all of which take time
to bring together. Additionally, state agencies are required to
write, submit, and get approval upon rules by which they operate.
The rule making and review process alone takes over 60-days to
accomplish. On January 21, 1999- nearly 13 months later- the agency
was finally able to embark on its mission, namely, promoting the
program and registering shops statewide. Since then, we have and
will continue to send literally hundreds of letters to shop owners
telling them about the program. In addition, we have conducted
numerous presentations around the state through which we explain
the program and answer shop owner questions and concerns, with
more being scheduled for the future. The fact that you haven't
heard about the program is a great example of why it is a good
idea to remain informed about things that affect your business
and how we can help.
Q.
What is an example of a "program" we, as shop owners,
might be able to use?
A.
Good question. A sister agency, called the Ohio Air Quality Development
Authority, has a program known as "The Clean Air Resource
Center", which can be reached at (614) 224-3383, (800) 225-5051.
This program is designed to address and remedy air pollution sources
within a business. Contacting them puts you in touch with their
field staff who will come and assess your facility, at no cost,
and if necessary, prepare a report outlining the source(s) of
pollution there along with proposed remedies. While working with
them, the Environmental Protection Agency is prohibited, by law,
from levying fines or other enforcement actions upon your establishment,
regardless of the amount of pollution you generate.
Assuming
you must acquire equipment to solve a pollution problem, they
can secure loans, at competitive rates, with which to obtain that
equipment, the purchase of which is exempted from the payment
of state sales tax, personal use taxes, and personal property
taxes. In many instances, the savings can and have literally paid
for equipment!
We believe many shops can utilize this program, can help clean
the environment and save money at the same time.
Q.
How did the registration requirement come about?
A.
Over ten years ago, a group of concerned shop owners decided they
were fed-up and tired of trying to compete with illegitimate shops
that were playing by a different set of rules, avoiding regulations
that every legitimate business must abide by and losing repair
business to them. These shop owners took it upon themselves to
come to Columbus many, many times, to meet with and discuss the
problem with state legislators in order to get legislation put
in place that would compel the "backyard" operators
to abide by the law. Finally, after years of effort and countless
trips between Columbus and their homes, The 122nd General Assembly
recognized the problem and passed Amended Substitute House Bill143,
which became law December 18th, 1997.
Q.
Won't registration put some shops out of business?
A.
No. The intent of the board and legislation is to promote fair
competition from shop to shop and across the state. The law provides
up to four years for currently non-complying shops to come into
full compliance. In most cases, a non-complying shop will merely
have to obtain and provide necessary identification numbers (e.g.
worker's comp I.D., federal taxpayer I.D.), and begin paying their
fair share in the areas they neglected previously. In a few cases,
shops will have to acquire equipment to satisfy regulations, particularly
those of the Environmental Protection Agency, which will cost
money. In all cases, however, the agency will work with each and
every operation as best possible to bring them into compliance
while keeping them in business. Ultimately, should they decide
to hang up the tools at the end of four years, the decision will
be an internal decision rather than being forced out of business
by an outsider.
Q.
What if my shop does not register?
A.
Shop
registration is now a requirement and so, failure to register
becomes a violation of Ohio law. This agency is authorized to
enforce that law and can administer fines of up to $5,000 and
can ultimately close a shop, if necessary. Additionally, failure
to register results in the loss of your mechanic's lien rights,
which can be costly if you have performed work but have not been
paid for. Moreover, we assist other agencies in their enforcement
efforts and exchange investigation information with them when
required. This can bring additional penalties to bear upon the
issue. Considering the potential costs of not registering compared
to the costs and benefits attendant with registration, registering
a shop makes good sense.
Q.
I do not feel comfortable providing "confidential" information.
What can you do about that?
A.
As a state agency, we are subject to "sunshine" laws,
which make it necessary to divulge our records upon request. However,
Ohio case law has generally held that the release of information
like social security numbers, for example, should not be disclosed
as the potential for wrongdoing outweighs the possible benefits
of disclosure. To that end, we will not produce information of
that sort nor will we compile and then sell lists of the registered
shops across the state. When a public records request is received,
we "redact" (black-out) sensitive information of that
sort and provide only copies and information that is in the public
domain such as addresses, names, et cetera. Additionally, pursuant
to the sunshine laws, an agency cannot be compelled to produce
records that it does not maintain such as lists.
Q.
The program sounds like a good idea but, when will we see results?
A.
Results will not come overnight since many of the problems this
industry faces have existed for decades. We ask for your patience
since our primary focus right now is to inform shop owners of
the registration program and get them signed up. That effort will
most likely continue into the early months of the year 2000. Subsequent
to that, we will be fully capable from an information gathering/distribution
standpoint, as well as be better able to devote time to lobbying
on behalf of the collision repair industry. Even though we are
just now barely four months old though, we have made progress
in those two areas. For example, as of today, May 26th, 1999,
we have our website, http://collisionboard.ohio.gov,
up and operating, and also, we have been successful in preventing
a major insurance company from pursuing repossession actions against
unregistered shops until we have had a chance to get all shops
on-board. Progress is being made so, please bear with us as we
grow and mature.
Q.
What role does the Ohio Motor Vehicle Collision Repair Registration
Board play?
A.
Effective December 18, 1997, every independent collision repair
shop is required by law to be registered with the state of Ohio.
The program is administered by the Ohio Board of Motor Vehicle
Collision Repair Registration whose mission is to insure repair
shop compliance with existing statutes such as taxation, worker
benefits and minimization of pollution.
The
Ohio Board of Motor Vehicle Collision Repair Registration:
