Stop Regulatory Enforcement Abuses, NADA Tells House Committee
18 March 1998
Stop Regulatory Enforcement Abuses, NADA Tells House CommitteeWASHINGTON, March 18 -- New-car dealerships, like all small businesses, are faced with a daunting array of federal, state and local regulations, the National Automobile Dealers Association told the House Committee on Small Business in testimony today. Despite limited resources, dealers make a concerted, good faith effort to comply with their regulatory responsibilities, said Douglas Greenhaus, NADA's director of Environment, Health and Safety. More than 80 percent of NADA's members are small businesses, as defined by the Small Business Administration. While many federal agencies now achieve their goals without "hard-nosed enforcement" abuses still occur, said Greenhaus. As an example, he cited the Department of Labor's "arbitrary and capricious" interpretation of teen driving rules, calling it "the kind of anachronistic regulatory abuse that has no place in our federal system of government." Under a DOL regulation, licensed 16- and 17-year-olds are allowed to drive on the job, with certain restrictions and safeguards, as long as the driving is "incidental and occasional" to their employment. In 1994, without warning, DOL decided to interpret "incidental and occasional" to mean "only in rare and emergency situations." Without notifying them of the new interpretation, Labor fined 59 Washington state new-car dealers. The action has led to protracted litigation and the elimination of thousands of jobs that offered teens an opportunity to save money for higher education and gain valuable work experience. "NADA hopes that, in the future, the DOL will recognize the benefits of open government and of working cooperatively and proactively with small businesses to achieve its statutory mandates," Greenhaus concluded. The committee also heard testimony on the effectiveness of small business advocacy review panels as forums for addressing the concerns of small business in some rulemakings conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Greenhaus praised EPA for "devoting considerable resources to reaching out to and working with small business" and for making a good faith effort to comply with the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. The National Automobile Dealers Association represents 19,500 franchised new-car and -truck dealers holding nearly 40,000 separate franchises, domestic and import. SOURCE National Automobile Dealers Association