MA - legislative hearing on anti-Tesla bill scheduled in November - let's show up!

[LMB]

Well, I'd love to have lunch, but I think I'm going to focus on being early to sign up to speak. I went to a hearing on something else a couple of months ago. I arrived a half hour early and was the first to sign up. But who knows how early they put out the sign-up sheet?

I'd feel more relaxed if we had coffee afterwards...

And as to what the pitch is, again, this is about allowing consumers to choose how they want to buy a car. The proposed bill protects dealers from competition - which is the opposite of protecting consumers.

 

[Pollux]

OK, I'm gonna drop the pre-meeting lunch idea. Another time, perhaps.

 

[PeterK]

OK, I'm gonna drop the pre-meeting lunch idea. Another time, perhaps.

Makes sense - we can try for coffee afterwards. I suggest you put this on the meetup site so we can see how many are planing to attend.

 

[Pollux]

Done.

Makes sense - we can try for coffee afterwards. I suggest you put this on the meetup site so we can see how many are planing to attend.

 

[pace charging]

Absolutely antiquated is what it is.

 

[EdA]

So are we going to speak "for" the Linksy bill and "against" the Pacheco bill?
Are we going to split up? "we can do more damage that way"...
I suppose we'll talk about this next Thursday...

 

[Robert.Boston]

Sadly I need to fly up to Ottawa on the 19th, so I'll have to leave this all to you. Very disappointed--I would greatly have enjoyed being there.

 

[LMB]

EdA - I plan to speak.

 

[Pollux]

Just want to remind folks to join the meetup if you're interested in getting together after the legislative session.

http://www.meetup.com/New-England-Tesla-Motors-Club/events/149559342/

 

[David Rhee]

There's a nice write of the Tesla and the State's bill on WBUR's Cognoscenti:

http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2013/11/14/tesla-robert-keough

 

[EdA]

So I think I'm planning on parking in the Boston Common garage...assuming I'm coming into town midday just for the hearing.
Was planning on working from my wife's office but she'll be travelling.

 

[DSurber]

Even better is to visit the district office of an elected official and speak to staff or if you're lucky the elected official on an issue. I prevented my CA state assembly member from supporting a bill on an unrelated issue by visiting her district office to speak with staff, followed by another visit to speak with my assembly member. I had to get to her before the state senator who was sponsoring the bill had secured her support.

CalDreamin is absolutely correct. It may be even more important to visit your state representative before the public hearing than it is to attend the hearing itself. Yes, having a good crowd at the hearing is important, but unfortunately it is not unlikely that the reps have made up their minds before the hearing. If you are a constituent of one of the committee members definitely visit the capitol or local office of your representative. Bring a one page letter that respectfully states your position and makes a clear argument. Speak to your rep if possible, otherwise the chief of staff or the aide handling the bill. Be brief, polite and respectful. If you are not a constituent, visit as many reps as you can. This will have a big impact. Attend the hearing as well if you can. If not, do visit before the hearing. Letters, faxes, and phone calls are nice, but do not have the impact of a personal visit.

 

[Pollux]

Following up on @DSurber's point...

I spoke with John Carlton-Foss, an active environmental campaigner here in Massachusetts. His advice for after the legislative session:

After the event, you will want groups of people to go and talk with individual legislators. You can make appointments in advance, or just pound on doors.


So I think that those of us going tomorrow should plan on allowing some extra time for walking around button-holing legislators.

Alan

 

[bareyb]

Just want to say thanks to all of you who are going tomorrow. I for one really appreciate it. It's grass roots efforts like yours that will help move Tesla forward. Good luck tomorrow! How do you see our chances?

 

[Pollux]

Folks,

I also gleaned the following advice from someone whose name I won't repeat at this point.

Making your self heard with the Senate leader in this committee Kennedy from Brockton and House leader Scibak from South Hadley are good ideas. And yes, contacting your state senators and representatives, asking them to push for your logical reasoning (if you can add into the discussion that voting no will help create new jobs, help our environment-look at Superstorm Sandy and the Typhoon hitting the Philippines, and keeping health care costs down) in this matter are great ideas.

I've also learned that if any of your senators or representatives are high up in the power structure, or you are on good terms with any of those higher up in the power structure for whatever reason, talk to them. For instance, if you have been involved with Therese Murray from Plymouth, she could be a powerful advocate as can be Rosenberg from Amherst.

Most importantly, if you are a well-known contributor to any one in a higher power position, set up an appointment to talk to them directly, not to their aide, and explain why your position (logic regarding bill S129) is not only good for the economy but good for the environment therefore our health, etc.

So I think that tomorrow we should be trying to spend time after the legislative session with:

• Senate committee leader Thomas Kennedy (Brockton, also includes East Bridgewater and other towns in Plymouth and Bristol counties)
• House committee leader John Scibak (South Hadley, includes Easthampton, Granby, Hadley)
• Local representatives and senators for whom we are constituents
• Therese Murray, President of the Senate (Plymouth, includes Bourne, Falmouth, Kingston, Pembroke, Plympton, Sandwich, Barnstable)
• Stanley Rosenberg, Majority Leader (Amherst, includes the city of Northampton and many towns in the counties of Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester)

Note that this is a joint house/senate committee. Refer to

https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J17
​

for a list of committee members.

Thanks,
Alan

- - - Updated - - -

Per @LMB's reference to an "offending sentence", the lengthy bill -- looks like an auto dealer's wish list! -- has this one section that applies to us (but I haven't read the whole bill! maybe there's more problems hiding elsewhere):

SECTION 2. Paragraph (10) of said subsection (c) of said section 4 of said chapter 93B, as most recently amended by section 4 of chapter 152 of the acts of 2012, is hereby amended by inserting before the first full sentence the following sentence:- This blanket prohibition on manufacturer ownership applies notwithstanding whether a manufacturer or distributor has previously used independently owned or operated dealerships to distribute its vehicles.

That's just one small piece of a very large bill.

This is the ENTIRE text of the Linsky bill, which for our purposes we can think of as the "pro-Tesla" bill:

SECTION 1: Clause 10 of Subsection (c) of Section 4 of Chapter 93B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, by inserting, in line 27, after the word “dealership” the following:-

(iv) owning or operating a dealership when, at the time of establishment of the manufacturer or distributor owned or operated dealership, no franchise agreement existed between the manufacturer or distributor and any dealer in the Commonwealth not owned or operated by the manufacturer or distributor.



SECTION 2: Section 15 of Chapter 93B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:-

(a) Any manufacturer, distributor or motor vehicle dealer who suffers any loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment by a manufacturer, distributor or motor vehicle dealer of the same line make of an unfair method of competition or an unfair or deceptive act or practice as defined by this chapter, any act prohibited or declared unlawful by this chapter, or any rule or regulation adopted under this chapter, may bring an action in the superior court, or if applicable in the federal district court for the district of Massachusetts, for damages and equitable relief, including injunctive relief, as described in the following sentence: The party filing suit must demonstrate that the manufacturer, distributor or motor vehicle dealer that is conducting or has conducted the unfair method of competition or unfair or deceptive act or practices manufactures, distributes or acts as a dealer for vehicles of the same line make as the party filing suit and that the harm alleged originated from or was the direct result of action taken with respect to such line make.

So I think it's important to keep in mind that we may not wish to fight the *entire* bill, S.129. There's lots of stuff in there that other people -- other committee members, Pacheco himself, the auto dealers -- may care about a great deal. Simply striking out the one offending section that matters to us may not generate nearly as much backlash as attempting to derail the entire bill. I'm certainly not sure that I care at all whether the auto dealers receive even more protections and lock-in with respect to existing auto manufacturers.

Alan

 

[Pollux]

Last post of the evening?

More advice, from another environmental campaigner with lots of experience at the State House:

I think you will do well to express your non-quantitaive views about the Tesla. About what it is like to own and drive a Tesla. About the importance of the innovation economy to MA, and about how that means allowing others' innovations into our economy, for a win all around. About allowing markets to develop on the basis of merit rather than on the basis of protectionism. You can let others address the details, and support them. You can mention the existence of a Tesla customer service shop on River Street in Watertown, which means local jobs. You can talk about markets, and government staying out of the marketplace, refusing to create biases that do not need to exist. etc.

 

[Tslagrl]

Good luck to everyone attending today, I shall be there in spirit.

 

[bosgig]

I can't make it over there today but good luck to all!

 

[kumar]

What room

I can't make it over there today but good luck to all!

What room in the state house

 

[Robert.Boston]

Rep. Scibak, the House chair of the joint committee on this bill, got back to me immediately after I sent comments in favor of the pro-Tesla bill. I'd strongly encourage others to contact him, too.