COLUMBUS, Ohio—ASA-Ohio, the Ohio state organization of the Automotive Service Association (ASA), is supporting a bill in the Ohio Senate that would establish a registration program in the state for independent automotive mechanical repair shops.
If passed, it would make Ohio just the second state in the nation to require independent repair shops to undergo registration. Florida is the only other state with a comprehensive registration program for both collision and mechanical repair shops, the ASA told Tire Business.
Sponsored by state Sens. Edna Brown (D-11th District), Tom Patton (R-24th District) and Peggy Lehner (R-6th District), Ohio Senate Bill 232 would expand on the current registration program that covers only collision repair shops in the state.
Among other things, SB 232 would dissolve the existing Motor Vehicle Repair Board in Ohio and replace it with a new board of the same name that oversees both mechanical and collision repair shops, according to the ASA.
The bill would also:
c Require all mechanical repair facilities to register with the board;
c Create a Motor Vehicle Operator Vendor's License Suspension Fund; and
c Make changes to the Motor Vehicle Repair and Window Tint Operator Law.
“We have been very pleased with our state collision shop registration bill, and ASA believes the next step is to put in place a mechanical shop registration law for the state of Ohio,” said Joe Sanfilipo, an ASA-Ohio board member and past president. Mr. Sanfilipo urged ASA-Ohio members to contact their state legislators in support of the bill.
A number of states and municipalities have some kind of shop licensing or registration law on the books, but many simply require a fee for a business license, rather than establishing any sort of quality criteria, it said.
The Tire Industry Association (TIA) takes no stand on repair shop registration legislation, but for some time it has considered the idea of establishing a TIA certification program for tire stores.
“There are so many issues involved in shop certification,” Roy Littlefield, TIA executive vice president, told Tire Business. “We certainly support the idea of certifying tire shops, but we decided short-term to support our training programs, which are going incredibly well. Right now we are concentrating on safety and training.”