Automotive Service Association Commends Michigan Bill for Alleviating Requirements on Shop Owners

The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has put its support behind a piece of legislation in Michigan, according to a recent press release.

Senate Bill (SB) 867, introduced by Senator John Cherry, is a bipartisan piece of legislation that would alleviate some of the requirements enforced on repairers in the state. 

The law would make it so that shop owners who open an additional facility for their business can register it under the same registration and registration number as their primary facility, so long as it meets three requirements: being located within a reasonable distance of the main facility, serving as an extension of the main facility, and does not operate independently of it.

ASA claims that this will save repair facilities from paying repeated registration fees, as well as having to put up extra signs and needing duplicates of customer forms, contracts, or statements, potentially saving them up to $500 per facility. In addition, the law will also extend registration renewal from being required annually to every four years.

Additionally, while current state law requires businesses owned by corporations to report to the state if 10% or more of their stock has been sold or transferred, SB 867 would increase that requirement to 25%.

“SB 867 would help repairers like me immensely,” said Tom Piippo, owner of Tri-County Motors in Rudyard, Michigan and an ASA Board member. “Anyone who runs a small business knows that time is money, and that adage is especially true for small independent auto repairers. Time spent completing detailed paperwork and dealing with government bureaucracy is time spent away from repairing my customers’ vehicles.”