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– Dealer Participation Needed: NADA Compensation and Benefits Survey
– Rocky Mountain Automotive Summit – Green Tie Charity Preview Event
– COBRA Employer Requirements for New Federally Mandated COBRA Subsidy
– HB 1230 Hold Harmless for Dealers – SB-150 Closes Bankruptcy Loophole – SB 273 & SB 281 - State Trying to Take $500 Million From Pinnacol Assurance to Balance the Budget – HB 1331 - Governor Ritter's Alternative Fuel Source Tax Incentives.
– CADA Virtual Seminar: Employer Requirements for New COBRA Subsidy; Archive Now Available
– Dealer Management and Leadership Summit – CADA Annual Member Golf Event
CLICK HERE for an Index of Regulatory CLICK HERE for Bulletin archives.
CLICK HERE for a list of current CLICK HERE for a list of current CLICK HERE for an order form for CLICK HERE for information on all member services. CLICK HERE for NADA CLICK HERE for the Title and CLICK HERE for the Colorado
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Listed here are several articles pertaining to the
DEALER PARTICIPATION NEEDED: NADA COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS Surveys are DUE by April 30th! NADA sponsors an annual dealership compensation survey; we strongly encourage you to participate in this nationwide survey designed to collect compensation and benefits data for key dealership employees. This survey will provide overview information for the Mountain region and also show key compensation metrics in comparison to the rest of the country. In 2007 more than 2,500 dealers from 71 state and local associations participated in this survey and the results were published in the NADA Management Guide “PF15 Paying to Motivate Update ‘07”. The results of this year’s survey, published as “PF16 – Paying to Motivate Update ‘09”, will be mailed to you from NADA for free if you decide to participate!* This publication will also be sold to non-participating members for $150 each and will be available in late summer. Additionally, Colorado state-specific reports will be provided to all participants; CADA will mail those reports when available. To complete the survey online click here: www.nada.org/survey To obtain a paper copy of the survey CLICK HERE DENVER AUTO SHOW RE-CAP The 2009 Denver Auto Show was once again a success this year. The event was Click on the image below to view a video of the cars featured at the 2009 Denver Auto Show... Listed below are some images from the various events leading up to the show as well as the show itself:
ROCKY MOUNTAIN AUTOMOTIVE SUMMIT
GREEN TIE CHARITY PREVIEW EVENT
COBRA EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW FEDERALLY MANDATED COBRA SUBSIDY The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) [“Stimulus bill”] provides for premium reductions and additional election opportunities for health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, commonly called COBRA. Eligible employees include those who became eligible for COBRA during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009 due to an involuntary termination of employment.
Eligible individuals pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through a tax credit. The premium reduction applies to periods of health coverage beginning on or after February 17, 2009 and lasts for up to nine months The Department of Labor’s main COBRA page can be found at: TRAINING FOR THIS TOPIC IS AVAILABLE FROM
* * * * * * * * If you have questions on any legal or regulatory topic, please contact:
DISCLAIMER: CADA is not authorized to dispense legal advice.
* * * * * * * * HB 1230 HOLD HARMLESS FOR DEALERS This bill provides a hold harmless for dealers on address discrepancies provided by consumers and refers sales tax jurisdictional issues to the Transportation Legislation Review Commission for their review over the summer. The bill has passed out of the House and Senate unanimously, a rare testament for any bill, and the House concurred with the Senate amendments last week. The bill is now awaiting Governor Ritter's signature. This bill represents CADA's 2nd successful piece of legislation for the 2009 Session, the first being the passage and implementation of CADA's franchise bill, SB 91, which was signed by Governor Ritter on April 2nd. * * * * * * * * SB-150 CLOSES BANKRUPTCY LOOPHOLE This bill closes a bankruptcy loophole often abused by consumers and protects security interest of dealers and lien holders. CADA worked to amend this bill to provide a thirty (30) day timeline under which dealers can perfect liens and still receive benefits from the bill which originally had a twenty (20) day timeline. SB-150 passed out of the House of Representatives and the Senate concurred with the House amendments. The bill is now awaiting Governor Ritter's signature. * * * * * * * * SB 273 & SB 281 - STATE TRYING TO TAKE $500 MILLION FROM PINNACOL ASSURANCE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET Both of these bills relate to a raid by the State of Colorado on Pinnacol's reserve funds. Pinnacol is a privately run mutual insurance company that, according to Senate Democrats, is a political subdivision of the State. Both of these bills were filed on Monday, April 6th and were heard by the Senate Appropriations committee on Tuesday, April 7th at 7:30 a.m. Senate Bill 273 would draw $500 million from Pinnacol's reserves to help plug a $1.4 billion shortfall in the state budget and avoid cutting $300 million in higher-education funding. The measure passed by a 7-3 vote, with Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, voting with majority Democrats. Senate Bill 281 effectively makes Pinnacol a state agency again, giving government tighter control of the insurer's finances. The organization had operated semi-autonomously since the 1990s. Both bills were heard by the full Senate last Thursday evening, and after extensive debate, both were passed to third reading. Pinnacol held a huge rally on the west steps of the Capitol on Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. Rep. Joe Rice (D-Littleton) and Sen. Mike Kopp (R-Littleton) spoke against these two bills. Thereafter, the Senate had the opportunity to again debate SB 273 and SB 281 that same day when the Senate reconvened at 10:00 a.m. The bills passed out of the Senate Monday with Senate Bill 273 passing 19 to 14 and Senate Bill 281 passing 18-15. On Tuesday the bills were quickly heard in House Appropriations where they were extensively debated and opposed by Pinnacol representatives, CADA, NFIB and CACI, among others. The bills were set to be voted upon late Tuesday night and SB 281 passed out of committee and is now headed to the house floor. However, the committee did not vote on SB 273, the $500 million dollar raid on Pinnacol, and instead it was laid over. The bills were set to be heard again this morning and it was again laid over. We have subsequently learned that the Governor's office directed the House Appropriations Committee that SB 273 was not an option. Please see the article below for more information. Breaking News: Lawmakers scrap plan to tap Pinnacol funds * * * * * * * * HB 1331- GOVERNOR RITTER'S ALTERNATIVE FUEL SOURCE TAX INCENTIVES HB 1331 is sponsored by Rep. Sara Gagliardi (D-Arvada) and Sen. Betty Boyd (D-Lakewood). The bill provides tax incentives for efficient motor vehicles. Vehicles covered by this bill include those that meet the CAL-LEV II standards for emissions, light-duty passenger, truck and medium duty truck diesel-electric hybrids, hybrid conversions, CNG, and installation of idling reduction technology. This bill is from the Governor’s office and part of his legislative agenda. We are working with the Governor's staff to amend the bill to remove any reference to CAL-LEV. If we can successfully amend the bill in this fashion, CADA can provide its full support to this legislation. The bill is scheduled to be heard by the House Transportation committee on Thursday, April 16th at 1:30 p.m. * * * * * * * * Questions or Comments? Please contact: Melissa Kuipers – VP of Government Relations and Communications
Longtime Delta resident Bill Hellman Sr. passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 4, 2009, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colo. He was 82. CLICK HERE to read the entire obituary. * * * * * * * * LET US KNOW ABOUT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS! Have you or anyone else at your dealership won an award recently? Have you or your dealership provided any outstanding community service? We want to recognize such accomplishments. Please send us a brief write-up of the award or event along with any other information to milestones@coloradodealers.org. Also include your contact information for further follow-up. If you want to be added to our mailing list, please CLICK HERE. To remove yourself from this list, click on this link.
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