News in brief around the country

• At the national Small Business Environmental Assistance Program (SBEAP) conference held in Louisville, Kentucky, June 3, Jerry Richardson, owner of Advanced Collision Repair, Seaside, OR, was awarded the SBEAP’s Small Business Environmental Stewardship Award for his shop’s “exemplary performance in pollution prevention leadership.” The shop recently converted to waterborne basecoats.

Congratulations, Jerry!

• The California State Senate has unanimously approved Assembly Bill 1179 which, if approved by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, would add to the state’s “Consumer Bill of Rights” the right of a claimant to obtain an estimate of repairs independent of the insurer. This legislation was requested by the Collision Repair Association of California (CRA).

“CRA was able to demonstrate to lawmakers how some insurers try to convince the claimant to accept an insurer’s damage assessment as a settlement without obtaining a more accurate estimate of repairs from an automotive repair dealer,” said Allen Wood, CRA executive director. “We are pleased that the State Legislature gave this measure its overwhelming support.”