The bill (A 9490) would prohibit sellers, suppliers and distributors of automotive refinish materials from selling any material labeled "for professional use only" and which contains material that would result in the generation of hazardous waste to anyone that did not meet the requirements of local ordinances, or did not possess a valid New York State tax ID number and federal EPA number.
Violators could face a penalty of up to $1,000.Although such a bill, if passed, would conceivably impact anyone who wanted to paint a car outside of a body shop (including hobbyists), the real targets, according to Edward Kizenberger, executive director of the Long Island Auto Body Repair Association (LIABRA), are backyard shops that repair cars without adhering to state and federal environmental laws. LIABRA has sponsored the bill, and reintroduced it with the Assembly several years in a row.
"Competing against unregistered or illegal facilities is obviously difficult. We want this to address people who operate illegal facilities," Kizenberger says. "These cans are labeled for professional use only. What happens to the hazardous waste from someone using this product in a non- regulated way?"
Suppliers and jobbers, however, think such a bill would place too much responsibility with the paint store, and potentially create an onerous administrative headache.
"They're really asking the jobber to be the watchdog in this scenario," says Jay Sharp, a member of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association's paint, body and equipment specialists committee, and vice president of marketing at National Coatings & Supplies in Raleigh, N.C. "What kind of credentials are they proposing that someone coming into a store to buy would need to have? Would there be additional licensing?"
The issue of illegal body shops has been a sticking point between repairers and suppliers for years. Backyard shops undercut the business of established shops because they operate without the added expense of complying with environmental regulations; in some cases, operators spray cars in the open air.But suppliers counter that there is no practical way for them to track material, or determine exactly who is using their paints. "This would put jobbers in the position of enforcing state law," says Aaron Lowe, vice president of regulatory and government affairs at the AAIA. "It's not really clear that it would have a positive impact on making sure the paints are properly disposed of or used. This type of issue is best enforced by the state at the shop level, and not by forcing independent distributors and jobbers to do the state's job."
"As a jobber, we don't have the ability to identify who is a legitimate body shop and who isn't," Sharp says. "In general, we've seen the walk-in trade trail off over time because the paints are becoming more complex and expensive. The average person is just not willing to attempt to repair their own car given the cost of the paint, plus the primer and sealer and clear."
According to Kizenberger, shops would simply have to present their EPA number as part of a supplier verification process. "And most legitimate suppliers are not only selling these products, they are delivering them and invoicing them," Kizenberger says. "They know where the stuff is going, so there are ways of tracking it."
Lowe says that even if there were a requirement in place, checking a shop's credentials wouldn't necessarily solve the problem of backyard shops.
"A lot of people that have backyard operations are actually employed by shops," Lowe says. "If there is a shop that has a proper license, the technician could walk in, purchase the paint and the jobber wouldn't even know where they were going to use it."The bill was referred to the consumer affairs and protection committee in January, at the beginning of the legislative session, but Kizenberger does not expect much to happen this year. The group plans to reintroduce the bill in the 2011 session. "We have good support in the Assembly," Kizenberger says. "There are a lot of questions about the EPA rules changing, and how strict enforcement will be. We're hopeful we'll get the support of regulators behind us, and there is broad support for the idea of making these purchases more traceable."
