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Better Compliance Starts with Education by TIADA Staff
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equired Pre-Licensing dealer education has been a long-debated issue at the association, some looking at it as governmental interference and some to lift the standards of the industry.” This was Phil Lathrop’s first response when asked about the new law that will require anyone looking to obtain an independent automobile dealers license in Texas to take at least six hours of online education prior to receiving their license. Lathrop should know. He has owned and operated VP Auto Sales in Garland for the last 34 years, participated as an active board member of TIADA and served as its president in 2016. Lathrop also served as the association’s legislative chair for a number of years and has been a voice of reason on this issue giving both sides ample opportunities to vet concerns and tout attributes of a required education course. As for the final bill that passed last year, Lathrop said this: “The version of the bill the association contributed input to, and the law now in place, is an easily accomplished way to make sure dealers have a uniform understanding of the increasing complex rules and regulations our industry faces. This will be another step forward in demonstrating we are professionals, and not
only want to do the right things, but know what those right things are.” The new law Lathrop is referring to is Senate Bill 604. The bill required the TxDMV to set up rules regarding mandatory education requirements for all original applicants for an independent dealer general distinguishing number, and a one-time education requirement for a renewal applicant. Dealers who have held a license for 10 or more years as of September 1, 2019 are exempt from the mandatory education upon renewal. New applicants will be required to take a six-hour online course; for renewing applicants, the course will be three hours. Vanessa Hughes of Dura Motors in Houston knows firsthand some of the frustrations a new dealer can face. She and her husband started their dealership a little less than two years ago. “In addition to being a dealer, I am a public-school teacher and feel that I have a natural skill for finding knowledge. Before starting our dealership, I did my best to self-educate by seeking out the various resources available with the different government agencies that regulate dealers. I was shocked to see how many agencies regulate this business at the state and federal level.”
(cont’d on pg. 16)
T e x a s
D e a l e r
July/Special 2020
