House Bill 2388, legislation reopening car dealerships under appropriate federal health guidelines, received its third consideration and final passage out of the state House Tuesday, according to bill sponsor Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny/Warminster).
Specifically, House Bill 2388 requires the Department of Community and Economic Development to issue a waiver allowing all car dealerships to resume operations while adhering to health guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now under consideration in the Senate.
“The dealerships big and small across my district and across this Commonwealth have watched their 50,000 workers go without a paycheck and watched their customers cross state lines all while asking for a commonsense solution,” Mihalek said. “This bill is for the people who need safe and reliable transportation and the people who want to provide it, the people who live and work across our Commonwealth.”
On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 841, which included provisions allowing for online vehicle sales to resume in the state. The guidance issued to the auto industry under the legislation states that there can be no “in-person viewing” of the vehicle as well as no test drives and that all negotiations and appraisals must be done virtually. That concession, however, is unclear and confusing, Mihalek said.
“To the consumers, dealers and workers in this industry who have suffered an undue burden with this shutdown, let’s ease their burden and be the government that makes things simpler for our residents instead of standing in the way,” she said.