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2015 Texas Legislative Session Discussion Thread

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#81
Does anyone want to get together for a meetup at our respective Texas House and Senate reps' offices? I'm sure they are in Austin most days (doing their job!) but if/when they are available to chat at their local offices, I bet a handful or more of their constituents would be people they'd want to meet to discuss this proposed legislation.

I've got Sen. Van Taylor and Rep. Matt Shaheen. Here's what I've put on their FB pages so far:

"Senator Taylor, as your constituent here in Far North Dallas, please cast a YES vote for the free enterprise SB639, this session. You have to admit, the great State of Texas currently has some laws put in place by those influenced by the same lobbyists you are fighting with your Ethics Reform and Anti-Corruption Package. SB639 helps to fix that and starts to put Texas consumers back in a position of freedom when it comes to purchasing automobiles. I see there are many bills that deserve your time there in Austin, but please allow effort to be placed into moving this along until it becomes law."

"Dear Representative Shaheen, as your constituent here in Dallas, please cast a YES vote for the free enterprise HB1653, this session. You have to admit, the great State of Texas currently has some laws put in place by those influenced by the same lobbyists you are fighting in the wonderful HB1257 you've filed. HB1653 helps to fix that and starts to put Texas consumers back in a position of freedom when it comes to purchasing automobiles. I see there are many bills that deserve your time there in Austin, but please allow effort to be placed into moving this along until it becomes law."

The tactic is to find out which bill or initiative they are publicly touting as "anti-corruption" or "anti-lobbyist" and remind them that these bills are directly in line with their stated values. You should be able to find out your rep and senator's values and initiatives that they campaigned on and use it for the good of these bills.
 
#82
Tesla direct sales in Texas?

Six Texas lawmakers filed bills this week that would allow Tesla to sell cars directly to customers.

Now, six state legislators in Texas want to reverse that state’s ban on Tesla stores. They’ve introduced legislation to both the state House and Senate proposing that any automaker might be allowed manufacturer-owned stores so long as they do not compete with an existing dealer franchise in the state, and they number twelve or fewer.
Automotive News reports that according to a poll conducted in the state, 84 percent of its citizens support the prospect of consumers being allowed to buy certain new models directly from the automaker, which by extension would legalize Tesla stores. And that’s not Tesla’s only source of support; the Federal Trade Commission came out in support of Tesla stores, calling any legislation to ban them is “anti-competitive.”

The automaker would be able to open 12 stores if the measures from State Reps. Eddie Rodriguez, Charles Anderson, Jodie Laubenberg, Tan Parker and Rod Simmons and Sen. Kelly Hancock become law, Automotive News reported.
Click to expand...

Identical bills were filed on Thursday in State Senate and House of Representatives.

The question of Tesla stores has turned out to be a more divisive issue than we ever imagined; it makes sense that for an automaker just starting out, with comparatively limited production capacity, establishing a nationwide chain of franchises might be out of the question. In the meantime, the automaker must have some way of selling its product.
Click to expand...

Dealerships argue that the direct-sales ban protects Texans by ensuring that they have spots to buy cars across the state, not just in highly populated cities where manufacturers, if given the chance to sell directly, might otherwise focus.

“Tesla asks for an exception to state law that eliminates their completion, allows them to sell their vehicles at one non-negotiable list price and export their profit out of state, leaving no benefit for Texas,” said Bill Wolters, president of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association. “The Texas franchised dealer system protects consumers and prevents monopolies through competition on motor vehicle sales and service.”
Dealers have sparred with Tesla since 2013, when legislation failed to draw a chamber vote. Tesla has added firepower this session. It's spending between $625,000 and $1.18 million on 21 lobbyists — including some particularly high-profile names, according to Texas Ethics Commission filings.
Click to expand...

Go Texas!

Oooops, sorry for starting a new thread, I failed to see the existing thread in this forum section...
 
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#91
Texans--
Tesla PR folks say it would be tremendously helpful to friend Sen. Hancock on Facebook and then post comments in support of SB 639 which he introduced. He is taking a lot of heat from dealers and others and they are prolific on his Facebook page. Here is the link to his page:
https://www.facebook.com/kelly.hancock.9883

Note this is his personal page and you need to friend him and be accepted in order to post. (You will see that several Austin owners have become his friend in the past 24 hrs.) He also has a "fan" page TexansForKellyHancock and you can post there too.
 
#92
TexasEV said:
Texans--
Tesla PR folks say it would be tremendously helpful to friend Sen. Hancock on Facebook and then post comments in support of SB 639 which he introduced. He is taking a lot of heat from dealers and others and they are prolific on his Facebook page. Here is the link to his page:
https://www.facebook.com/kelly.hancock.9883

Note this is his personal page and you need to friend him and be accepted in order to post. (You will see that several Austin owners have become his friend in the past 24 hrs.) He also has a "fan" page TexansForKellyHancock and you can post there too.
Click to expand...
I'm in. It's a shame that "all or nothing" opponents of the franchise model are polluting the page with their opposition of the bill. They and the Franchised Dealers are such "awesome" bedfellows.
 
#93
I sent letters to Sen. Kel Seliger and Rep Four Price. I spoke about the issue directly w Rep Price a couple months ago. Texas is a "Right to Work" state, and we value our personal freedoms, yet TADA takes away our "Right to Buy" something as basic as a car. We should frame this as a loss of personal liberties and anti-Texas, which is is.
 
#94
reddy said:
I sent letters to Sen. Kel Seliger and Rep Four Price. I spoke about the issue directly w Rep Price a couple months ago. Texas is a "Right to Work" state, and we value our personal freedoms, yet TADA takes away our "Right to Buy" something as basic as a car. We should frame this as a loss of personal liberties and anti-Texas, which is is.
Click to expand...
Texas has really flip-flopped over the past few years. Texas actually has some of the strongest consumer-protection laws. Texas is one of 10 states that prohibits merchants from imposing a surcharge on credit card transactions. Texas has always been about individual rights, but also about protecting those individual rights from the larger interest of big government or corporations.

The dealership law was intended to protect consumers from unfair practices imposed by the manufacturers. Imagine if your engine went dead and the manufacturer refused to replace it under warranty, or replaced it with a smaller, less powerful version. What would you do? The dealership is supposed to act as your advocate and is empowered to make warranty decisions and seek reimbursement from the manufacture. That way, the manufacturer does not have the ability to deny the warranty work. In the future, if your battery goes bad, what is to stop Tesla from replacing your battery with a refurbished, less healthy one? If you received a battery with less range as a replacement, who would you complain to?

Sure, at this moment in time, it appears the dealership concept is outdated and unnecessary. Tesla seems like an honest company who will not take advantage of their customers. Will that always be the case? I don't know. But the argument here isn't for personal freedom. Rather, what is best for Texans? How do we give Texans the power necessary to stand up for their rights, whether that's buying the car they want or taking on a company that's taking advantage of Texans?

We shouldn't be too hasty to pass a half-assed solution. It's probably all moot anyway since the Lt.Gov. won't put this bill on the Senate's agenda. But I don't see this as a fight against the dealerships. There needs to be an aspect of consumer protection included, or we'll never get past the original intent of the current situation.
 
#95
supersnoop said:
Sure, at this moment in time, it appears the dealership concept is outdated and unnecessary. Tesla seems like an honest company who will not take advantage of their customers. Will that always be the case? I don't know. But the argument here isn't for personal freedom. Rather, what is best for Texans? How do we give Texans the power necessary to stand up for their rights, whether that's buying the car they want or taking on a company that's taking advantage of Texans?
Click to expand...

Nobody's trying to outlaw dealerships. If they provide value, then people will continue to use them. It's simply about giving consumers a choice, so everyone can make the decision that works best for them. Can't get more free and fair than that.
 
#96
supersnoop said:
Texas has really flip-flopped over the past few years. Texas actually has some of the strongest consumer-protection laws. Texas is one of 10 states that prohibits merchants from imposing a surcharge on credit card transactions. Texas has always been about individual rights, but also about protecting those individual rights from the larger interest of big government or corporations.

The dealership law was intended to protect consumers from unfair practices imposed by the manufacturers. Imagine if your engine went dead and the manufacturer refused to replace it under warranty, or replaced it with a smaller, less powerful version. What would you do? The dealership is supposed to act as your advocate and is empowered to make warranty decisions and seek reimbursement from the manufacture. That way, the manufacturer does not have the ability to deny the warranty work. In the future, if your battery goes bad, what is to stop Tesla from replacing your battery with a refurbished, less healthy one? If you received a battery with less range as a replacement, who would you complain to?
Click to expand...
No, the franchise law was not intended to protect consumers from unfair practices of manufacturers. It was intended to protect dealers from the manufacturers they represented back in the day when there was only the Big 3 automakers and they had life or death power over local franchisees. With regard to warranty work, the law prohibits the manufacturers from contracting that out to independent shops or opening service centers themselves. It has to be done by the franchised dealer, which is a protected source of income for the dealers and for them is one of the most important provisions of the franchise law, as much or even more so than preventing new car sales directly by the manufacturer.

What prevents a manufacturer from screwing a customer as you described? The internet. What company would risk losing millions in sales from bad publicity like that?
 
#97
TexasEV said:
No, the franchise law was not intended to protect consumers from unfair practices of manufacturers. It was intended to protect dealers from the manufacturers they represented back in the day when there was only the Big 3 automakers and they had life or death power over local franchisees. With regard to warranty work, the law prohibits the manufacturers from contracting that out to independent shops or opening service centers themselves. It has to be done by the franchised dealer, which is a protected source of income for the dealers and for them is one of the most important provisions of the franchise law, as much or even more so than preventing new car sales directly by the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

Right. I daresay that the dealer cartel now has far more power than the vehicle manufacturer. The mom and pop dealers of many years ago have gone the way of the family farm. Dealers now own several different manufacturers vehicles (even though they are mostly in separate buildings) and many span multiple states. A far cry from when a dealer only sold Ford or Chevy and had one or maybe two locations. Today it's the manufacturers that protect the consumer against the dealers in almost all cases (no doubt there are exceptions but those are rare).

My opinion is that we need both dealers and manufacturers to have outlets so that there is real competition, rather than the "faux competition" there is today. Naturally the dealer cartel is against this.
 
#98
Supersnoop, that's the whole point of being a freemarket. It is giving the consumer's the choice. We are grown-up. We should be able to choose who we buy something from. Saying that dealer franchise laws are there for the protection of the consumer is absurd They are there to protect the monopolies the dealers have enjoyed for many years. That is why dealers are willing to spend great capital, time opposing and lobbying against any change. I believe it is not if, but when these laws will change.
 
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