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Stop Regulatory Enforcement Abuses, NADA Tells House Committee

18 March 1998

Stop Regulatory Enforcement Abuses, NADA Tells House Committee

    WASHINGTON, 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