Auto Rental News, January 2021

A What started as a normal government relations year quickly switched to the new normal of business survival and changing customer demands AUTO RENTAL NEWS Fact Book 2021 5 ACRAS 2020 GOVERNMENT RELATIONS campaigns can be divided into two different segments pre COVID 19 and COVID 19 This likely is the case for most car rental operators and their suppliers What started as a normal federal and state government relations year in January quickly switched to the new normal of business survival and changing customer demands and offerings starting in March Normal Federal Issues Starting in January ACRAs federal government relations efforts were focused on vehicle data access autonomous vehicles discriminatory state and local excise taxes extension of full expensing for personal property and potential federal privacy legislation Any progress made on any of these issues was quickly halted by the advent of the pandemic in March 2020 and most if not all work on these issues was suspended to focus on pandemic related policy issues New Normal Federal Issues As ACRA members were overwhelmed by the business impacts of the pandemic the first federal and state and local challenge was to ensure that car rentals were classified as essential businesses that could continue to operate despite state and local shutdown orders Securing critical infrastructure classification by the U S Department of Homeland Security was a significant achievement and helped ensure governors and county officials saw car rentals as essential businesses that should be permitted to remain open ACRAs leaders quickly established a list of priority goals for federal pandemic relief legislation some of which have been achieved as this article goes to press while some are still pending 1 liquidity programs like the Paycheck Protection Program and Main Street Program 2 liability protections for operators following federal and local guidelines 3 a tax credit for sanitation and cleaning supplies 4 measures such as tax credits or grants to individuals to stimulate travel and 5 relief from airport MAGs and rent payments which was provided temporarily by some airports with CARES Act funds after some pressure from the Federal Aviation Administration As Congress considers 40 pandemic relief legislation in the 2020 lame duck session ACRA continues to push for enactment of these car rental industry federal priorities Normal State Issues In January 2020 the legislative world like most of the rest of the world began as usual Legislators returned to state capitols bills were filed committee hearings were held issues were being debated The wheels of state government were turning ACRA was engaged on a number of fronts Ensuring a competitive marketplace remains and that all operators in the industry including peer to peer companies play by similar rules regarding insurance coverage taxes and airport access Continuing the work to improve efficiencies in registering and licensing vehicles for the industry and Guarding against rental car taxes or any other harmful proposals to the industry New Normal State Issues Then the world stopped State and local governments shut down businesses and issued stay at home orders to stop the spread of the virus State legislatures suspended their work But ACRA pivoted and continued working ACRA successfully fought to have the industry designated as an essential business so that our members could continue operating and serving their customers Most if not all states agreed and allowed the industry to stay open ACRA GOVERNMENT RELATIONS RECAP A TALE OF TWO 2020s BY GREGORY SCOTT AND GORDON REEL In the early days of the pandemic state governments issued emergency orders and activated price gouging laws ACRA sought clarity in several price gouging laws such as in Pennsylvania and Colorado as often the laws are challenging for the industry to implement In addition ACRA worked to ensure that other government functions that impact the industry did not disrupt operations ACRA worked to get extensions for registering and licensing vehicles and that expiring drivers licenses remained valid when DMVs were closed In late spring and early summer as state legislatures came back to work ACRA didnt let up and had several significant victories Peer to Peer Legislation Legislation passed in Tennessee Virginia West Virginia and Louisiana that ensures a competitive rental car marketplace Registration Licensing Efficiencies Missouri and Florida passed ACRAsupported legislation creating efficiencies for fleet owners COVID 19 Liability ACRA joined with other businesses seeking protection from frivolous lawsuits regarding COVID 19 Fifteen states have passed such protection Sales Tax Exemption ACRA successfully pushed back on a Massachusetts proposal to eliminate the sales tax exemption when members purchase vehicles for their rental fleets This proposal will likely come back next year Prevailing Wage ACRA continues to work against legislation in New York that would greatly increase costs for all airport operators In sum 2020 was an active unpredictable year on the legislative front ACRA scored solid victories and looks to carry that momentum into 2021 Gregory Scott is ACRAs public affairs representative Gordon Reel is ACRAs secretary and vice president of Government and Public Affairs for Enterprise Holdings