"Money flows in auto bill battle; Lobbyists reap over $600,000; ‘Right to Repair’ vote set for today" by Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | February 24, 2010
A measure that could make car repairs less expensive for consumers heads to a vote on Beacon Hill today amid a torrent of lobbying by some of the country’s most powerful corporations.
We know who is going to win that battle, especially in Massachusetts.
The stakes are high in the battle over the Right to Repair Act. Massachusetts stands to become the first state to pass such a bill, which would tip the balance of power in the auto repair industry.
Advocates, including auto parts makers, say the measure would help consumers get cars repaired more inexpensively because it would allow independent mechanics full access to the same information available to dealership mechanics, who generally charge more.
We call it PRICE GOUGING out here.
Critics, including most of the world’s largest auto makers, oppose the bill, saying it would force them to give away trade secrets to companies that could turn around and make the parts more cheaply.
“The list of lobbying firms involved is practically a who’s who of Massachusetts lobbying firms,’’ said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, a watchdog group that monitors lobbying activity. “There’s a lot of money invested in this.’’
Which is why it will go nowhere.
The lobbyists’ war for influence over the measure has been mounting for years, with hundreds of thousands of dollars spent so far. But the fight reached a critical point this month....
Money that couldn't be better spent elsewhere, huh?
Major opponents include car manufacturers....
General Motors Corp....
Brian S. Hickey, a lobbyist working on behalf of independent mechanics and the auto parts industry, said, “Auto manufacturers have been busy trying to get billions in taxpayer money [through federal bailouts] and people are getting pretty mad,’’ he said. Consumers wonder “why am I taking my seven-year-old car to a new dealer to get it fixed?’’
And we are just getting angrier by the second.
Right to Repair has been proposed in Congress and to eight state legislatures since 2001, but has never been enacted.
In Massachusetts, the legislation was first proposed in 2006. Automakers’ fierce opposition is rooted in the concern that if they release manufacturing information about parts, the after-market parts industry will make and sell them more cheaply.
Boch Enterprises and Subaru of New England, one of Massachusetts’ biggest auto dealers, retained Suffolk Group LLC, a Boston lobbying firm, for $44,000 last year, in part out of concern about the bill....
Related: Hey, Neighbor!
Asshole.
--more--"And I told you they need not worry:
"Senate defers vote on auto bill" by Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | February 25, 2010
The Senate took no action yesterday on a measure that would require automakers to give independent mechanics the same repair information as dealerships, even though the bill was on the chamber’s Wednesday calendar.
Senate President Therese Murray refused to comment, but David Falcone, a spokesman, said no vote had been planned.
“Just because a bill is on the calendar, doesn’t mean it’s scheduled for a vote,’’ Falcone said in an e-mail.
The bill, known as the Right to Repair Act, is now in its third reading in the Senate, which means action may be imminent.
Then again, maybe not.
The measure pits the interests of independent mechanics and automotive parts companies against manufacturers and dealerships. Yesterday, the Globe reported that the proposed law prompted groups on both sides of the issue to launch massive lobbying efforts, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars....
Which is why there is no vote.
Charles Territo, senior communications director for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a group that opposes the bill, said that he anticipated a vote yesterday, but that media attention, as well as radio advertisements for and against the bill, may have slowed the process.
He also noted that the New England Service Station and Automotive Repair Association, which had previously supported the proposal, now opposes it. “Support for the legislation is not as cut and dry as some would like to believe, and there is significant opposition,’’ Territo said. “That may have led to the bill being held up.’’
Or $omething el$e from the lobbyi$t$ did it.
Falcone said that Territo’s assessment is inaccurate and that Murray has not taken a position on the bill.
--more--"While you are going by the statehouse here is what they are doing inside:
Senate takes aim at driving distracted
Antibully measure advances to Senate
And YOU are PAYING FOR IT, taxpayers!
"Many upset at $5 fee for face time at Registry" by Associated Press | March 2, 2010
Un-flipping-real!
Not only is this state fiscally and morally bankrupt, it is IDEOLOGICALLY BANKRUPT as well.
Republican and Democratic critics are taking aim at a new $5 fee the Registry of Motor Vehicles is charging customers who want to do their business with a real person.
Then FIRE ALL those irritable a**holes and save the taxpayers some real money instead!
The fee that went into effect yesterday will be assessed on customers who talk to an agency employee either in person or on the telephone to conduct certain transactions, including renewing driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations.
I did apply for a renewal, officer, but the state never sent me anything back and I didn't want to go down to the local office because of the new $5 fee.
Got my excuse all ready.
The fee would not be charged for transactions completed online, by mail, or over the agency’s automated phone system. Also exempted will be a visit required every 10 years for an in-person license renewal.
Registrar Rachel Kaprelian says the goal is to raise money for the cash-strapped state and discourage people from going to branches. “We’re in a fiscal crisis, and fees are realigning to reflect that crisis, and this is an added twist to get people to use the Internet,’’ she said.
Related:
State Keeps Watering Evergreen
Pigs at the State Trough
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Biotech Giveaway Was Borrowed Money
UBS Picks Up Pike
Slow Saturday Special: Day at the Movies
The Hollywood Heist of Massachusetts
Massachusetts' Business Tax Increase Was a Corporate Tax Cut
Slow Saturday Special: Patrick Pimps Football Footpath For Patriots
Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride on the T
Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride
Why Massachusetts Needed to Raise Taxes
Tax Increase Fails to Save Massachusetts ServicesBlood All Over Massachusetts State Budget
State Government On Probation
The Next Taxachusetts Tax Increase
Bankers' Bark Worse Than Bite to State
The Compassionate Budget Choices of Massachusetts
The State of Massachusetts is Mentally Ill
Just wanted you to know why you have to pay an extra $5 for face time at the DMV, Bay Staters.
Jennifer Nassour, chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, called the fee a backdoor tax.
Yeah, Massachusetts DemocraPs are good at shoving things up our old backdoors, world.
“This hike burdens those people who can least afford it, like the poor and elderly who often don’t have Internet access,’’ she said.
What do they care on the Hill as long as their pensions are funded and their taxpayer-funded perks remain untouched?
State Senator Steve Baddour, a Methuen Democrat who cochairs the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, told the Boston Herald the state should not be nickel-and-diming people for mandated services.
Yeah, somehow STATE LOOTING became a PUBLIC SERVICE here in Massachushitts.!
The Herald also cited an RMV memorandum that appeared to coach employees about hiding the fee hike, saying it should not be singled out but included in a discussion of broader fee hikes during the past year.
Kaprelian denied any skullduggery. “There was no intent . . . not be upfront about it, ’’ she said. “We want to be upfront about it, because we want people to know they have an option, a great option’’ via the Internet.
Then WHY TRY to HIDE IT, etc?
You know, it DOESN'T HELP when EVERYTHING that comes out their mouth is BS or a LIE!!!!!
--more--"
Btw, have you ever tried any of the state websites?
Better get that $5 out right now.
And you know where they are inspecting you, right, readers?
"Trooper, two men accused of bribery" by John R. Ellement, Globe Staff | February 19, 2010
A state trooper from Stoneham was charged yesterday with accepting a $50 bribe to falsify vehicle inspection records for two men connected to a Revere body shop, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office.
Trooper Robert A. Forrest Jr., 61, and Bernaldo Hernandez and Kenneth Lafauci were each indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury on charges of bribery, making a false statement in an application for a title certificate, conspiracy to commit bribery, and conspiracy to make a false statement in an application for a title certificate.
“From the evidence we’ve seen, Mr. Forrest sold his badge and sold it cheap,’’ Conley said in a statement. “There’s a reason these cars need to be inspected, and that’s to protect the public at large. Not doing so puts unsuspecting drivers and pedestrians at risk.’’
Separately, State Police issued a statement saying Forrest was suspended without pay last summer as a result of the investigation led by members of the State Police command staff.
Authorities did not give details on how the alleged bribery occurred, but said they are looking into whether more vehicles and payments were involved.
Colonel Marian J. McGovern, the top commander, said the agency “has absolutely no tolerance for alleged lawbreakers within our ranks, and as this case shows, we will investigate allegations of criminal misconduct by our members swiftly and surely.’’
“The allegations against Trooper Forrest, if proven to be true, are an affront to the overwhelming majority of state troopers who prize their integrity and honesty above all else,’’ McGovern said.
According to Conley and State Police, investigators were tipped off to the alleged conspiracy between the three men. At the time, Forrest was assigned to the salvage title section, where he was supposed to inspect damaged vehicles and confirm that repairs had been done and that no stolen parts were used.....
--more--"
And whatever you do, don't take the tunnel:
"The Big Dig’s deadly ‘safety’ rails; Seven motorists have died after becoming entangled in railings that line parts of the Big Dig tunnels. Experts and a legal claim say design flaws make such tragedy all too likely" by Matt Carroll, Globe Staff | February 14, 2010
State Trooper Vincent Cila is one of seven motorists and passengers who have been killed - most of them gruesomely dismembered - when they struck the handrails lining the Big Dig tunnel system between 2005 and 2008. One other person lost an arm and survived.
The handrails have been dubbed the “ginsu guardrails,’’ after the knives advertised on TV, by some police officers called to the grisly crashes.
What a DISASTER that over-priced project has become.
Stretching along some 6 miles of the Big Dig system, the railings draw little attention from motorists focused on driving safely through the busy tunnels and highways.
Until you hit one, slice!
They sit on top of raised walkways lining the roads and were installed to prevent maintenance workers from falling into traffic....
--more--"Related: Review of tunnel handrails is urged
Not only are we in debt forever for that monstrosity, it is unsafe as hell.
Update:
State rescinds new RMV fee
Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan told the AP: "I think it's an example of us not standing still and looking for creative ways to serve people better."
I wouldn't be so angry were it not for the condescending bullshit they expect us to swallow.
