Senate OKs Auto Broker Bill, but Backer Then Stalls It
Legislation that automobile brokers insist they need to stay in the business of selling cars at discount prices was narrowly approved by the Senate on Wednesday over the intense opposition of new car dealers.
But in a bizarre twist, the Senate manager of the Assembly-passed bill, Sen. Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco), announced he would seek to have the action reconsidered. Kopp’s unusual move prevented the measure from being sent to the Assembly for final legislative passage.
Capping a full day of personal lobbying to recruit the 21 votes necessary for passage in the 40-member Senate, Kopp finally won tissue-thin approval, 21 to 16. But he left some senators shaking their heads in bewilderment when he asked that approval be reconsidered, a move that puts the embattled bill in jeopardy.
Kopp later told reporters that at least two senators who voted “aye” did so only on condition that he hold up actual transmission of the bill to the Assembly. The purpose, he said, was to allow consideration on another day of amendments proposed by the new car dealers.
‘Current Year’
The bill, by Assemblyman Elihu M. Harris (D-Oakland), basically would allow brokers to continue to advertise autos they obtain from new car dealers but not offer them as “new.” They could advertise them as “current year” or “never been registered.”
The brokers maintain that they can resell the new cars to consumers at prices far below those asked by a franchised automobile dealer. Brokers usually maintain no new car inventory of their own, but often use computers to find cars matching their customer’s specifications.
Dealers, who are prevented by law from advertising any vehicle not actually on their premises or easily obtainable from the manufacturer or distributor, want brokers put under much of the same advertising regulations to which they must adhere.
Brokers claim that the new car dealers want to eliminate competition and are trying to put them out of business by banning their advertising.
