Save the Car Salesmen - anybody hear of this one?

[Kali]

From the Tucson Weekly, the Skinny:
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Opinion/Content?oid=oid:80682

By JIM NINTZEL

NO CAR DEALER LEFT BEHIND
Those poor ol' car dealers! It appears that auto brokers are just driving them to the poorhouse. Fortunately, the Arizona Legislature is here to rescue them from the dangers of competition.
Turns out there are some people who don't much like dealing with car salesmen. (We know--it's hard to imagine.) Those nuts contact an auto broker--like the folks at AAA Arizona--to negotiate the deal and deliver the wheels.

That means car dealers don't have a chance to play their fun negotiating games and offer all those little extras like a bumper-to-bumper triple-deluxe Turtle Wax warranty. So lawmakers have stepped into the breach with the House Bill 2386--aka the Jim Click Protection Act--which would ensure the buyer have some sort of contact with a dealer. It's being sold as a safety issue; if buyers don't meet with the sellers, they might not be able to figure out how to work the seatbelts! And besides, car dealers have to fill out all sorts of paperwork in the wake of Sept. 11. If we don't pass this bill, then the terrorists win.

<snip>

Two Republicans on the Transportation Committee--Carolyn Allen and Thayer Verschoor--voted against the bill. You can thank Tucson Democrat Vic Soltero for casting the swing vote to keep it alive.

As of press time, the bill had to pass the Rules Committee before going before the full Senate.