How State Laws Shape Repairability And Cost

When Your Car Says No

Stacey Miller 0:00

I think that's the point, you know. Like a lot of us, we live in these bubbles. We live in these cities where, yes, incomes are higher. You know, it may be easier for someone to purchase a new car, but for the rest of America, which is the jo majority of America, right? Like we are repairing cars, we're fixing cars, we're excuse me, keeping them as long as possible.

Donovan Ringo 0:21

So we have to. I mean, especially when you you live in rural areas, it's there's not a a bus or a train system that's coming to get you. You you have to drive miles to get to the store, miles to get to a hospital. So you're relying on that repairability of the vehicle and that the vehicle works when you start it up. You know, it's scary. Um, we actually I saw a video where this guy, it was a dramatization. Um, I think you sent it to me, where um the guy tried to get in his car and he was frantic and he was there was uh uh accident that happened on a job site and the car wouldn't start because they was like, he's has a high stress, so he shouldn't be driving. So I mean, I mean, if a car can lock you out from driving, I mean that's a scary future that we're looking at. Um, that the OEMs kind of have to take a step back and say, hey, maybe we should rethink this. Um, because someone may be startled that time, there may be a reason there's an accident they need to, uh an emergency they need to get to, or emergency they need to get away from where I need to move, so start my vehicle. So it's scary.

Welcome To Traction Control

Stacey Miller 1:34

Welcome to Auto Care on Air, a candid podcast for a curious industry. I'm Stacey Miller, Vice President of Communications at the Auto Care Association, and this is Traction Control, where we chat about recent news from the global to the local level and what it may mean to the industry featuring guests on the front lines. Let's roll. All right, welcome back to another episode of Auto Care on Air. We're not starting our episodes like this anymore because Jackie told me that that is not the optimized way to do it. So she's gonna clip in something really cool that we say as like the hook when we get in. But for some reason, in my mind, I always have to say that. It just feels like the right starting point.

Donovan Ringo 2:15

I love it. It actually makes sense.

Stacey Miller 2:16

It makes sense. But today we're here with Donovan Ringo. He is our director of state affairs and grassroots here at Auto Care Association. So welcome back to the show.

Donovan Ringo 2:26

Glad to be back. I'm glad to be here. Thank you. I didn't know I was gonna come back the first one. So it's good to be back.

Stacey Miller 2:32

Oh, stop. And we are here in your hometown of Atlanta, Hotlanta.

Donovan Ringo 2:37

Welcome to the South. Welcome, welcome.

Stacey Miller 2:39

And it's hot. It's hot this time.

Donovan Ringo 2:41

Of course, of course. It's great. We're we're hosting the World Cup this summer. Uh it's great. Braves are doing great. You know, unfortunately, our our Hawks and Falcons still trying to figure it out, but I hope everybody enjoys it when they're here. Uh, it's gonna be a great time having the association, our members here in Atlanta.

Stacey Miller 2:58

Good stuff. We're just getting started. It's gonna be a long week and we're really excited, but um I'm happy to talk to you today because there's a lot that's been happening at the state and the grassroots level. It's something that you are constantly on top of. I think every single day you're following something like hundreds of bills across the aftermarket. And I really wanted to continue this series because of the importance of grassroots and being engaged at the local

Why Grassroots Wins State Fights

Stacey Miller 3:25

level. So talk a little bit about that and kind of what you've been up to the past couple of months because you've been busy doing calls to actions.

Donovan Ringo 3:32

Yeah, it's been busy. I I think this has been a gap in what the association has done for a while now. So it's been really great because of that gap. It's given me a lot of uh white canvas space to kind of paint what it is. And it is really when you think about what grassroots advocacy is, it is our members taking ownership of their business when it comes to legislation and laws when you when you think about it. Um so since we've last spoke, I mean, the legislative cycle has been fast and furious. It is a lot of people don't realize how fast a lot of these states move. Um, some states, I mean, it's only 90 days where all the laws are decided in three months. So that's from bill introduction, that's from hearings, debates, testimonies, and then all the way to the governor's seat within 90 days. I mean, it's crazy. While there's other states, they take their time. Um, you know, like our good friends in Illinois, they take two years, which is really cool. So, you know, you really take the time and like make sure you get it right. So um on the on the grassroots effort, I would say, you know, we're actually piloting something interesting that you know I love to talk to you about here. Um, but it it's it's been fun.

Stacey Miller 4:42

Yeah, I noticed uh we've really ramped up our grassroots efforts. Every day I'm seeing new communications from you and your team, whether it's um some upcoming legislation that's happening in Illinois or Texas, you're now going out and you're targeting all of the member companies in those states, trying to get them engaged, get them educated, and get them to take action. And it sounds like you've been having some really great success there.

Donovan Ringo 5:06

Yeah, it's interesting, right? Because a lot of our member companies or Fortune 500 companies that really don't interact daily with their legislators at the state level. You know, federally they they support us, right to repair. You know, we're so grateful what they do, but really getting into the weeds and getting that hand-to-hand combat with their state officials, they really don't mess with it a lot. So um it's really good to kind of hear they've enjoyed getting the updates and actually getting that feedback from our members has been helpful. It's great. Everyone can get an email, everyone can get a phone call. But when you're having the members reach out and say, Hey, can I learn more about this or how can I help with that? Really shows that what I'm doing is actually working, which is awesome.

Stacey Miller 5:47

It's working and it's worth it because I'm I'm curious what the feedback is from members when you send out one of the alerts. Like, were they even knowledgeable of some of the these regulations that are happening or being introduced that could be a threat to their business, or was that new knowledge to them that you had informed them about?

Donovan Ringo 6:03

So it was a mix, but majority is it was unaware that it was happening in their state locally. So um, and they're you know what what's great is once they hear about it, they say, what can I learn more? Who can I reach out to? And that kind of activates them to want to get involved. Actually having member companies go and do hearings and and talk to represent the automotive aftermarket, that that's the benefit. You know, I I'm just you know, I'm looking at the bills and the data, but they're the subject matter experts when you think about it. So actually having them go to the legislator and say, hey, I know what you're trying to do, but this is what's gonna happen in the long run. And this is actually what how it's gonna hurt my industry and business. And I mean, we've seen successes where bills have been edited and altered to be a little softer. Um, you know, sometimes it's a full victory, sometimes it's softer how it can hurt the business.

Stacey Miller 6:51

Absolutely. And that and that can be considered a win as well, right?

Donovan Ringo 6:54

Yeah, yeah, it is. You know, that's the thing. Um, the ultimate is compromise. So if both parties can come to the table and lose a little bit, it's actually got something good in the bill. So, you know, there's not a winner or a loser if you think about

Maine Right To Repair Breakthrough

Donovan Ringo 7:05

it.

Stacey Miller 7:05

Donovan is on it, literally on top of it. So there's plenty of state issues. I want to get into a couple of them um at the state level that you're following. Let's start off with everyone's favorite right to repair. And apparently something pretty big happened in Maine.

Donovan Ringo 7:20

Yeah, rights of repair. Uh, you know, all of you all who have been paying attention and what's been going on with the association, uh, Massachusetts and Maine, those have been our state baby. So Maine actually um, you know, there was a bill that was introduced to uh honor what the voters had actually voted on almost four years ago. Um it went through, went through hearings. There was a competing bill going on the exact same time that wanted to gut everything that we worked on in Maine. Um that bill ended up dying. Um the bill that was actually favorable for the automotive aftermarket made it all the way to the governor's table and she signed it in April. So what's yeah, I mean, exciting, right? What's unique about this bill, Stacey, is that it it covers rights repair. So now shops will be able to repair vehicles. There's actually penalties in there, so if they cannot access data, that they are actually be able to report it and actually get a benefit to their shops financially. I'm saying, if they actually uh report, sometimes they can access it. And what's great is there's telematics access written into the laws. So if you think about uh fleet fleets and you think about how much data these vehicles are transferring, that data is now going to be available to the automotive aftermarket in Maine. But you know, our good friends over there at the uh at the at the other place, you know, I don't want them to bring the episode down. Our good friends, they're already trying to challenge the law again, uh citing cybersecurity. Um and you know, you're paying attention to the federal law. That was something they try to do at the federal level. So they're they're trying to use that playbook at the state level as well. Um, but we've proven it at the federal. So we're we're ready to fight it. We're ready to show this is wrong, this is dumb. Come on, let's let's battle in another state. And and I think we talked about it last time. There's other states that are mirroring what Maine is doing when it comes to rights repair. So these upcoming legislative cycles, I'm excited to see, you know, who's gonna be the next battleground for rights repair at the state level.

Stacey Miller 9:17

Yeah, it just um I don't want to be overly optimistic, but I get really excited because while these battles they're very long, they're very drawn out, uh, there's a lot of delays, there's a lot of challenges from the opposing side. In the end, ultimately we are victorious, and we're victorious in that drivers know that it's wrong that they don't have the right to repair, and the states know that it's wrong, and that's not good for their constituents. So whatever form it takes, it's the right thing to do. Like not to make a pun, but right to repair is the right thing to do, right?

Donovan Ringo 9:54

It is, and it's one of the rare things we have in our great country where uh everybody agrees on. So, you know, everything's so divided, but everyone's like, hey, I should be able to take my vehicle anywhere, my vehicle, my phone. I mean, it's it touches everything to get repaired how I want to, and I think that's important. So no, uh, like uh late Nipsey Hustle said, the marathon continues. We're gonna continue rights repair at the federal level. Well, you know, that's the ultimate goal. We get federal rights of repair pass, the the state battles and skirmishes will end. So yeah, let's keep going.

Stacey Miller 10:25

I love that you mentioned the penalty because it feels like this is the first time that there's a real enforcement mechanism.

Donovan Ringo 10:33

That's right.

Stacey Miller 10:34

Right. So if you're not complying, you're gonna get fined.

Donovan Ringo 10:37

Is that that's a good that's exactly how it works. So um if a shop goes and they try to access GM repair data and or the telematics data for the vehicle they're trying to repair, uh, if they can't, they report that there's going to be a um an I guess advisory board that you can actually report these things to. They'll verify it, they'll check it, and if there's proof that they that shop was lost, they they can get access to the data, they actually get a nice pretty check in the mail. So it becomes that incentive to say, like today, shops are like, I can't access it, pull it out the bay, let's pull another vehicle in, we don't have time. But now there's a financial incentive in Maine to say, hold on, let's document this, let's send it in. And that's ultimately what the uh Auto Care Association has been wanting for years now. But now Maine becomes that proof case that, hey, if there's an incentive, shops will do it.

Stacey Miller 11:27

And amazing. I'm so interested to see how this may waterfall into other states. So I know you'll keep us posted.

Donovan Ringo 11:34

No, and uh really grateful for everyone who with the boots on the ground in Maine. I mean, they they have been doing the work, they have been taking little pickup trucks in backwoods, Maine, and actually talking about rights of repair, and then that just goes into the importance of grassroots at the state level. Um, anyone can send a letter, like I said, but actually pulling them into a shop and saying, hey, you should care about this. This is affecting your business and getting them energized. I think that's the important thing that our association has to start

Repairability As A Rural Lifeline

Donovan Ringo 12:01

doing.

Stacey Miller 12:01

Yeah, I think it's incredible. It's um it's also really gratifying when you talk to shops that do know about it. It's so funny. I um I uh I'm documenting something. I'm doing a little experiment. I actually did this when I first started at AutoCare, but I bought a used car that I thought would be kind of difficult to repair um, TLDR, before it even comes out. It is extremely difficult to repair. I've been having a host of problems with this car, and it's so funny. Um, but I do it because I love it. It's interesting. I use it as a mechanism to learn like outside of the nine to five. And I took it to um my local repair facility literally a mile down the road, and they go, Hey, you know, this, this, and this is wrong, you know, you're at this many miles. Um, historically, these cars are really hard to repair. They put what you need repaired in a really difficult position. So now we're gonna have to tear out all of these different components. And while this repair, you know, it's really only $300 in parts, it's gonna cost you $3,000 in labor because of all the hours it's gonna take us. And I'm like, you are so aware, but you're also really good at communicating this back out. And if drivers knew kind of like that long-term repair cost, would that change their view on buying X, Y, and Z make and model of cars? So, you know, we need more shops like that that are having experiences like that, that are great at articulating that to come come talk to Donovan so we can share some of these stories, right?

Donovan Ringo 13:29

That's it. No, and it it's so interesting you say that. Um I read an article that there's a lot of people that are kind of tired of that experience where there's a demand to buy older cars again. So people are searching for repairable vehicles. Yeah. So they're like, hey, it may be a 95 F-150, but I know I can fix it. Um and it's but that's I think we have a benefit in the automotive aftermarket where having those older parts, I mean, there's a there's a long tail benefit for us if you kind of have a rejection of the newer cars. The the newer bells and whistles are great, but it's not that same experience. You when you talk to a lot of older shop men, they're like, hey, I remember sitting at the truck with my dad, I'm handing him a wrench and doing that. I mean, I'm what does it sound like? Hey, I got a tablet in front of my face and I'm showing my son, press this button here to unlock it, press this button. It's not the same. You know, being able to have that tactile and that that relationship with your car, like you just said you did. I think that's the importance of it. And I think that's really interesting that um we we kind of have to keep somehow. We we get it. The technology and cars are supposed to make us safer, they're supposed to make things a lot better. Um, but they have to be some form of repairability continue.

Stacey Miller 14:42

So 100%. YouTube university has to continue.

Donovan Ringo 14:45

I think you need it. I think you need it.

OEM Camouflage Bills Explained

Stacey Miller 14:48

All right. So switching gears from right to repair, um, one of the other things that you're following are, and we saw it in the last state report, there are OEM repair procedures being proposed. They're just rampant across the states. Like they do not discriminate what against what state. It's just no you need to fix this car with this part because we said so. So tell me a little bit about what's going on there in your work.

Donovan Ringo 15:12

I I call it OEM camouflage bills. So, you know, they they they they seem like they're uh a good bill for repairability. Um, you know, it was you really see a lot of it in the collision space, but you're starting to see the mandates coming into normal repair. So having to disclose, if you don't disclose that you're not using the OEM procedure, uh i.e. the OEM part, you need to let someone know. So that takes a savvy service advisor to say, hey, this aftermarket part is actually better, or equivalent to that OEM part. But these these bills, they're they're written in such a way where if you're not paying attention to that language, you're gonna completely miss it and think, hey, this is not pertaining to us. So it it's it's so important that I'm flagging these OEM camouflage bills to our members to say, hey, there's something that potentially can affect your business. Um last time I was here was talking about Ohio, um, um Utah, um, but there have been five states so far that have OEM camouflage bills out there, similar language, so you can kind of tell there's another entity um, you know, pushing these bills. Um so we're kind of tracking that down, verifying sources to say, okay, who's pushing this? Um to make sure that you know we can know how to combat that language the correct way, so we have one unified message instead of having a different message in every state. So um, yeah, OEM camouflage bills are they're tricky, but um the the main point is to inform the legislator that know how that would affect the aftermarket. I think that's important.

Stacey Miller 16:42

I mean, I love that you call it camouflage because it tells me exactly what it is, but it makes me feel some type of way that they do this in such a sneaky, deceptive way. Like, like call it what it is, be be explicit so people could understand it, right? Like, why do we have to result to these type of tactics?

Donovan Ringo 17:01

But Stacey, I mean, imagine someone telling you going to a lawmaker and say, Hey, we want uh your constituents to pay four times more for the same part. Uh we want to do that because we have uh we have to make money as as an OEM. So no lawmaker in their right mind is gonna say, let me sign up for that. You know, let me let me let me people's uh pocketbooks are a little pinched already, so let's charge them more so they can't get to the grocery store, so they can't get to work. So they they frame it in a way where it seems like it's good for the the drivers, and it's not. It's you know, the repair procedures are still the repair procedures, and that's ultimately what rights of repair is. It's showing the shops the right way to fix it and being able to use the part that fits, the the fitment for that vehicle. That's all that matters. It it's all about how you fix it and putting the right part on there at the end of the day. It doesn't matter what the part is, as long as it fits.

Stacey Miller 18:33

I'm gonna I'm gonna bridge into some opinion here just because we're here and I'm a little amped up now. I'm here. I'm amped, Donovan's gone. Um I mean all of these different tactics you have to replace

Sustainability Versus Planned Obsolescence

Stacey Miller 18:47

a part with this part at this many thousand miles, it's gonna cost you this much. You know, this car is basically gonna stop working earlier than it should because we engineered it this way because we really want you to buy a new car.

Donovan Ringo 18:59

That's right.

Stacey Miller 18:59

Um, but yet automakers are pledging so much about being green and sustainability and EV and this and that and lower emissions. I mean, repairing your car would be more sustainable, in fact, than doing all of these other things, in your opinion, right?

Donovan Ringo 19:17

Yeah, yeah. It's uh I I mean you kind of lie lay it out perfectly. You know, when you drive around dealerships, you know, the OEMs, they the dealerships pledge to buy so many vehicles. So if they can't move them, they can't make new models, they can't make more money. So you kind of have to have a shelf life for vehicles. Um, it's unfortunate. And I think that's why you have the rejection from drivers. I mean, the average age of a car is upwards of 11 years now. It's it's because people are like, hey, I'm gonna hold on this longer because I don't have $90,000 for a new SUV. Um not everyone can have that. So being able to say, hey, I'm gonna hold on to my car longer. I'm sorry. The new bells and whistles are nice. I would love to have a car that drives myself, but unfortunately, you gotta make a lot more money to be able to drive a hundred thousand dollar vehicle. So that's not gonna work in um in the back of here in Georgia. Like Atlanta's great, but you know, you get two hours outside of Atlanta, people are repairing their vehicles.

Stacey Miller 20:15

Yeah.

Donovan Ringo 20:15

So and that's that's really the bread and butter of America.

Stacey Miller 20:19

I think that's the point, you know. Like a lot of us, we live in these bubbles. We live in these cities where yes, incomes are higher, you know, it may be easier for someone to purchase a new car, but for the rest of America, which is the majority of America, right? Like we are repairing cars, we're fixing cars, we're excuse me, keeping them as long as possible.

Donovan Ringo 20:40

So we have to. I mean, especially when you we you live in rural areas, it's there's not a a bus or a train system that's coming to get you. You you have to drive miles to get to the store, miles to get to a hospital. So you're relying on that repairability of the vehicle, and that the vehicle works when you start it up. You know, it's scary. Um, we actually I saw a video where this guy, it was a dramatization. Um, I think you sent it to me, where um the guy tried to get in his car and he was frantic and he was there was uh an accident that happened on a job site, and the car wouldn't start because they was like, he's has a high stress, so he shouldn't be driving. So I mean, I mean, if a car can lock you out from driving, I mean that's a scary future that we're looking at. Um, that the OEMs kind of have to take a step back and say, hey, maybe we should rethink this. Um because someone may be startled that time, there may be a reason. There's an accident they need to uh an emergency they need to get to or emergency they need to get away from where I I need to move so start my vehicle. So scary.

Stacey Miller 21:42

A lot of ethical implications in how cars operate and where we're gonna go with this. We we we can't get into that because we're we're gonna go for like two hours on this. It's so it's so interesting though. It is lots of cool features, but but lots of questions on doing the right thing and you know, are we are we putting profit putting profits over people? It's pretty clear.

Donovan Ringo 22:03

Yeah. But um, you know, in the the you know, not to get philosophical, the powers with the people, you know, we we have to get back to where we're interacting with our legislators. And I I think that's the importance of uh what we're trying to build with our grassroots advocacy here is you know, you are in this state, you have a voice. These um legislators are beholden to you. You're an elected official. So not being afraid to you know put on a suit, put on a polo, and go down to that state capitol and say, hey, you know, Representative Ringo, this is what's going on, and this is how this bill's affecting my business, that goes a longer way. Than getting a call from Donovan.

Stacey Miller 22:42

Exactly. Exactly. All right. Let's talk about one more issue and then I want to go back to grassroots because it sounds like you're building something really cool that you want to share with everybody. So we'll save that to the end. So you have to listen until the end. Ha. Just kidding. But um the other big issue

PFOS Bans And Real World Tradeoffs

Stacey Miller 22:59

that we've been talking about and hearing about nonstop is EPR, extended producer responsibility, and PFOS, polyfloral.

Donovan Ringo 23:08

Yeah, forever chemical. Thank you. Yeah, it's uh that has been a trend this legislative cycle. There has been an um numerous bills on the EPR front. Um we're tracking upwards of uh 11 or 12 bills already uh floating around the state houses. On the PFOS side, we're looking at upwards, there have been five that have passed. Um we're looking at another five or six that are in state houses now. Um and there's a couple studies out there as well. States were studying the forever chemicals. And another thing, you know, on the outside looking in, I'll talk about PFOS first. It's you know, they're there are chemicals that are put into products. Those of you who don't know are designed to make the products last longer, withstand weather, um, withstand wear tear. Um those that's the purpose of it. But the problem is those chemicals get in our bloodstreams and you know, the the the data showing it it's causing cancer and it's causing illnesses, so it makes sense. Um but not knowing how many products have these uh PFOS chemicals in it, uh it's it's touching so many things. So it's becoming blanket bans. So if you think about it, if there's anything that you can touch that has PFOS in it, um they're they're want to ban it. So there's PFOS and fire extinguisher fluid, you know, the the the uh the spray. Yeah. So it's like are so we're gonna ban fire extinguisher, uh, you know, fire extinguishers because it so legislators, as they're getting more information from industry, they're like, well, maybe it shouldn't be a ban. Maybe there's a different way that it can be handled or distributed that we need to educate people about. Um so it's come to our world in the automotive space. Um, so we are working, um, my my counterpart, he does regulatory affairs, and we're we're trying to decide, you know, how does the uh uh the Auto Care Association, what is our stance here when it comes to PFOS? We want to make sure people are safe, but there's still so many products that have PFOS in it that would would hurt a lot of our uh retail customers or a lot of our uh distributing customers as well, uh not customers, but members as well. So it's it's interesting and we're we're digging into that more. On the EPR side, um I know you've all talked to people with EPR. It it's the states have realized it's very hard to recycle things. You know, it's very easy to just put in a landfill, cover dirt on it, forget about it. But having to recycle uh products and lubricants and oils, it's it's hard. So they're they're putting it back onto the producers. And it's very expensive because the producers have to essentially stand up the whole entire supply chain to uh recycle their products. Where eventually originally the states were doing it, now they're saying, hey, just kidding, now you all are on it. So it has to be a give and take between industry and the states um that we have to kind of come together at. Um, California, that that's one that we're you know, we have been really focused on this year. It was a lubricant um EPR law where it was recycling lubricant containers. So you think about your cleaners, your oils, and all those things. They can't go into the regular blue bin with the other recyclables. So unfortunately, you have to stand up a whole new mechanism to sort, to clean, to recycle these, and it doesn't exist in California now. So that's millions of dollars that our members have to pay to get this stood up. And then when you look at the language of the law, there is no dollar cap. There's no cap to say what the salaries are, no cap on how many facilities they need to build. It's just y'all will fund it and we'll continue asking for funds because you are selling into our state.

Stacey Miller 26:45

Wow.

Donovan Ringo 26:45

So members are considering like, hey, we'll just not sell in your state. That was great when it was one state, but now when you have 11 states, so I mean, what kind of assortment? Like cat I feel for category managers because you have to decide, all right, does am I gonna get in trouble for selling this here? What happens if they send this product to the wrong state? And it just becomes uh a logistical nightmare with EPR. Yeah. And it is so important for our members. It's so important if if you are have products that touch EPR, is to talk to your legislator and let them know it's like, hey, this is how difficult you all are making it. Let me show you the process. Um, but

EPR Rules And Compliance Chaos

Donovan Ringo 27:22

we've stood up a task force focused on it. We actually uh enacted a task force to look at PFOS. And what these task forces are are subject matter experts that are members of our association, right? It's just not us making the decisions. We're going out to our members, having them bring the best and brightest in the area, and we're working through it and deciding, hey, here's our thoughts, here's the materials we need, here's how we educate other members. So it becomes that collaborative space that the association ultimately is, and it's actually in action.

Stacey Miller 27:53

Excellent. I'm really looking forward to hearing from these task forces. I think that that education is absolutely necessary to demystify what's happening across the states. Because I know we talked about this before. There's a lot of confusion, and if it's happening in California and Oregon, what does that mean in Colorado? And why is there not one unified way in which to operate? Because that's additional overhead for these businesses trying to comply. And I know that's something that those task forces are going to be looking really closely at.

Donovan Ringo 28:22

When you see how different it is, it's gonna eventually come to the federal level. And um, I believe these are going to be the the next biggest things for the association. Rights of repair and environmental regulation. Um I think those become one and two or hand in hand, Jack and Jill, when it comes to uh protecting the interest of our members.

Stacey Miller 28:41

Aaron Powell Absolutely. Um, for members that are looking for resources, we have an updated toolkit on the website. All you got to do is search EPR resources.

Where To Find Member Resources

Stacey Miller 28:49

Um there's a webinar, there's some compliance um information ahead of those deadlines. So do make sure that you check that out. And um I also want to give a shout out to your new colleague, Grant McIntyre. Yeah, yeah. He's um he's our new head of regulatory affairs, he's also an attorney, so um, he's incredible. Yeah, and so we're gonna have him on the podcast soon and we're gonna talk everything regulatory.

Donovan Ringo 29:11

Um I gotta tune into that one.

Stacey Miller 29:13

Oh my god, it's gonna be good, and I'm really excited to have him. He's already started publishing um regulatory updates on autocare.org. So you can check that out. Just search regulatory updates. Um you are doing a lot in response to these changing um regulations across the states, but you are also building something really exciting um now that you've gotten your toes wet, you've been here a couple of months, and you've really kind of evaluated the landscape of what's happening and kind of what needs to happen to make some movement in the industry. So tell me a little bit about what you're building.

Donovan Ringo 29:47

Yeah, what we're what we want to do as the associations really start building

Building State Advocacy Centers

Donovan Ringo 29:52

uh state level uh, you know, advocacy centers. So that that's kind of what we're calling it names in the works. But the purpose of this is to kind of act as a state branch of the Auto Care Association. It's gonna be comprised of uh members that are headquartered in that state or have a strong presence in that state. They have a lot of stores, manufacturing, distribution in there. And what we want to do is give them the toolkit, what they need to actually start advocating at at the state level, the same way that I'm doing it now. So it becomes this army of 50 different state advocacy groups going in and building relationship with the state legislator, building a relationship with their congressman or their senator, so that when there is an ask from us, it isn't a cold call. It's they can just be like, hey Jim, what's going on? It's me, Donnie at Donnie Auto Care. And I want to talk to you about this. You know, let's sit down and have a conversation about it. And, you know, you get a softer welcome into the door from that. So we're excited. We want to pilot this in five states. So uh, you know, I'm I'm based here in Georgia, so Georgia's of course gonna be one. We're gonna do it in uh Michigan. We want to do one in Tennessee, uh, Texas, uh, we want to do one uh, I believe in Ohio, and I believe we want to do one in the Virginia, Maryland area as well. And the whole goal is to really build this coalition of our members to actually start working and doing this this great things. So what I'm gonna do is start building, you know, those resources, those talking points, and but it's not only gonna be advocacy, you know, workforce development is gonna be a part of that as well. You know, uh community engagement. Uh, we you know, we feel a lot of people don't know how big the automotive aftermarket is. So for you to go out to your local uh college and career fair and saying, hey, there's a career in the automotive aftermarket, you can fix the vehicle, you can work for uh an AutoZone or Riley's, you can do all these things, and this is how big this industry is in our state. So that the parents of these young people will be like, Wow, I didn't know that. That's very interesting. Working on cars is like working on computers now. This is wow, I want to send my kid to do this. And you the those companies, the goal is to have these member companies start to be connected with their community a little bit more, right? And then they're they're they're invested in not saying we don't have members that are, but we're we actually kind of standardize the way we're doing it. And then as well as just the the CTAE and the college, that's college career technical education, and it's just educating and getting people into the workforce. That has been the biggest battle cry that we've been hearing for almost a decade now. It's like we're gonna need technicians, we're gonna need technicians. Now we're gonna put it on these members saying, hey, get the technicians in your state, let's help you make that happen. So that's the state advocacy centers, but we want to utilize what we already have is our communities as well as our committees we have here, the Auto Care Association, because they these are the servant leaders that are taking time off of work. They're they're coming to conferences like this, they're they're they're having the web meetings, and they're doing the work because they care, they're passionate about it. So why not feed them what's going on at the state level so that they can take it back to their colleagues, their neighbors, their friends, and they can activate it as well. And then it becomes uh it becomes dominoes, and then everyone's talking about it, everyone has the same talking points, and we begin to see more voices actually galvanizing around causes that matter the most to us. So it's exciting. You know, you know, you know, our ops are watching, you know, they love this show as well, so you know, they'll probably try to do something opposite, but you know, they don't they don't have what we have in the out uh automotive aftermarket, so I'm ready to go toe-to-toe with them here. Let's go. Yeah, let's do it.

Stacey Miller 33:40

The passion, I'm I'm I'm amped. Yeah, I'm completely amped. I love having this conversation and the fact that you brought up workforce. We had talked about it the last time that we spoke to. You have your iron in a lot of fires.

Donovan Ringo 33:52

Yeah, you you you have to. I I

Workforce Pipeline And Community Presence

Donovan Ringo 33:54

think, and that's what's so unique about the Auto Care Association. A lot of people they interact with us at the conference, they may send us an email, but there's some people putting in a lot of work. It's a it's a small yet mighty team. Um, and it's exciting to see a lot of work that everyone's doing. I I love what you all are doing. I mean, what what you and Jackie and Zoe are doing. I mean, it's bringing a voice to the aftermarket that didn't exist. You know, you had the pockets, but having that source, I I want y'all to keep it up. I mean, uh keep it going. This is great. This is amazing.

Stacey Miller 34:28

We're trying to get on that on that Netflix podcast. So Netflix. Call us.

Donovan Ringo 34:33

Call us, call us, call us, baby. Yeah.

Stacey Miller 34:36

It'd be pretty big, be pretty big. But no, we appreciate your time. Thank you for your passion and everything that you're doing. I really look forward to bringing these updates to everybody. So if there's more that you want to learn from Donovan um on state affairs, other issues, other topics you want us to delve deeper into, let me know. Let Donovan know. You can reach out to your boy anytime. Call me. Call him.

Donovan Ringo 34:57

Call me.

Stacey Miller 34:57

That's it.

Donovan Ringo 34:58

No, no, no. Uh Stacy, I really appreciate it. This is uh this is a unique year. Um, you know, there's a lot going on in our country. So we we need the people to really get involved. It's we've sat on the sidelines too long, and it it's time for us to really stand up and kind of fight for what matters for us. So no, thank you so much for allowing me to talk with you. And yeah, please have me back on when you get on Netflix, you know. Let me so I'll show my mama. Mama ain't gonna listen, but mama will watch Netflix for sure.

Stacey Miller 35:25

Well said. Thanks, Donovan.

Donovan Ringo 35:26

All right, thank you.

Stacey Miller 35:27

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Auto Care on Air. Make sure to subscribe to our podcast so that you never miss an episode.

Closing Thoughts And Subscribe

Stacey Miller 35:34

And don't forget to leave us a rating and review that helps others discover our content. Auto Care on Air is a production of the Autocare Association, dedicated to advancing the autocare industry and supporting professionals like you. To learn more about the association and its initiatives, visit autocare.org.