Override of auto body veto would cost RI drivers

‘Tis the season as the saying goes. The holidays are filled with gift giving and the New Year a chance to start anew. Unfortunately, one of the “gifts” the General Assembly may have planned for their return on January 4th is a potential vote to pass special interest legislation (S-870, H-6324) that will benefit a small number of auto body industry insiders by allowing them to charge a totally undefined, uncapped “industry standard markup” when repairing your vehicle.

Like the proverbial lump of coal, this is not a gift that Rhode Island drivers, who already pay the highest auto body repair costs in the nation, want or need. Even higher auto body repair costs, and likely increased auto insurance premiums as a result, are the last thing drivers need in the New Year, especially with the cost of gas, groceries, and other essentials all going up.

S-870 and H-6324 are the latest in a long line of special interest bills passed by the General Assembly that have benefited the auto body industry at the expense of Rhode Island drivers. These bills would drive repair costs higher still and make Rhode Island even more of an outlier nationally in auto body issues.

Seeking to protect Rhode Island consumers from an undefined, unprecedented scheme to raise auto body repair costs, in July 2021, Governor McKee wisely vetoed S-870 and H-6324. As noted in the governor’s veto letter: “The legislation would add two types of costs (‘markup’ and ‘sublet services’) that insurers would be required to pay to auto body shops when repairing a vehicle covered by insurance. Neither of these terms are defined and there are no clear limitations of when those costs might be appropriate.”

With an average auto body repair cost of $4,500, even a 10% “industry standard markup” could end up costing Rhode Island drivers an additional $450, and with no definitions or limits these additional costs could easily be significantly higher. As the governor also wrote in his veto letter: “The National Association of Insurance Commissioners ranks [Rhode Island] 7th in the nation for highest auto insurance premiums. As we look to restart our economy after the pandemic, we cannot implement measures that may drive costs even higher for consumers and small businesses.”

No other state in the nation has anything even remotely close to what is in S-870 / H-6324. It only benefits a small group of auto body industry insiders at the expense of everybody else.

If the General Assembly does indeed override Governor McKee’s veto of this special interest legislation when lawmakers return on January 4th to, Rhode Island will be a total outlier and Ocean State drivers will pay even higher auto body repair costs.

Rhode Islanders just want their cars repaired at a reasonable cost, particularly at a time when many are experiencing rising costs for all kinds of essential items during this pandemic.

That is why the General Assembly should start the New Year and 2022 legislative session on a positive note by letting Governor McKee’s proconsumer veto of S-870 / H-6324 stand.