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Among those attending the April 21 GALA meeting were (from left) GALA Secretary Marvin Fisher of Cooper Global Transportation, Tony Mehdiof of North Point Transportation Group, GALA President Dennis DeLoatch of Carey Atlanta, Chauffeur Driven Publisher Chris Weiss, and Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments
Atlanta — Roughly 40 members and supporters attended the Greater Atlanta Limousine Association (GALA) meeting April 21. Chauffeur Driven Publisher Chris Weiss was on hand for the meeting.
Both HB-225 and HB-190 have passed in the Georgia House and Senate, and gradually will be signed into law between July of this year and July 2016. HB-225 mandates that all for-hire drivers receive a license endorsement before taking to the road, while HB-190 decrees that TNCs and their drivers are insured enough to cover minimum liability limits.
GALA President Dennis DeLoatch of Carey Atlanta calls the bills’ passing “a mixed bag of emotions.”
“The city didn’t view TNCs as taxis and the state didn’t view them as limousines, so nobody was doing any enforcement,” DeLoatch said. “The legislation was written and adopted so there could be some enforcement. What seemed to be our only option was to get legislation passed that would clear that pathway so state and local municipalities could start providing some enforcement to oversee these operations, because the bottom line is all about safety.”
DeLoatch said that while “legislation is usually black and white—outlining that this is what you do and this is what you don’t do,” the two bills offer more of an either/or approach to regulating TNCs.
“For example, TNCs don’t pay sales taxes here in Georgia and we do—so instead of “You will pay,” there’s an either/or for TNCs: Either you pay sales taxes or you buy a permit or a fee based on the number of vehicles that you’re operating,” he said. “There’s an Option A or Option B, whether it’s for insurance, fingerprinting, vehicle inspection, or sales taxes.”
The Georgia Committee for Transportation Compliance (GCTC)—a council that had been formed by local leaders in both the taxi and chauffeured ground transportation industries, included their lobbyists and attorneys, and in which both DeLoatch and GALA Vice President Jeff Greene of Greene Worldwide Transportation played a role—had a hand in crafting the two bills.
“The efforts for the bill were results of the efforts of the GCTC,” DeLoatch said. “We were very active in writing the legislation, negotiations went back and forth with lobbyists and attorneys, and what we wanted was not exactly what we got. But maybe there’s something to build on, and maybe there’ll be an effort going forward to rewrite some of the legislation and put more bite in the bark.”
GALA is currently looking to grow its membership, and its website, galalimo.org, has “a wealth of knowledge” available for the entire industry—not just GALA members. DeLoatch said that the site is regularly updated to help the association in its mission to make operators “aware of what their obligation is to the public and the industry, and to be fair in their operations and how they conduct their business.”
Both CD’s Chris Weiss and Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments spoke at the meeting, with the former discussing the industry as well as Chauffeur Driven’s 2015 events, and the latter talking about the recent bout of credit card fraud plaguing operators. Weiss raffled off a pass for the Executive Retreat in Nashville, which was won by Tiffany Morman of MARTI Transportation, and a pass to the Miami show, which Clarence Carr of Action Worldwide Transportation won.
The association’s annual charity golf tournament has been scheduled for September 22, and will raise funds both to benefit Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and cover GALA’s legal efforts of the past year.
GALA’s next meeting will be June 16.
Visit galalimo.org for more information.
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LBTOUNY Show Pass Winner Scott Pizzo of Park Place Corporate Transporation
Syracuse, N.Y. — The Limousine, Bus & Taxi Operators of Upstate N.Y. (LBTOUNY) met on April 22 in Syracuse (a new location for the association that spans the entire upstate area) to discuss the situation with Uber and Lyft, an update on the sales tax repeal, and the upcoming Lobby Day in Albany, which is tentatively scheduled for May 20. Chauffeur Driven Managing Editor Susan Rose attended the meeting.
After some mingling and refreshments, LBTOUNY President Kevin Barwell of Giorgio’s Limousine Service kicked off the meeting with a brief overview of some old association business before turning over the mic to Katie Mitchell of National Interstate Insurance. Mitchell spoke about automatic event recorders and the different types available for the chauffeured transportation industry. She shared about a dozen videos that helped to establish what party was at fault when both claim innocence, and if any injuries occurred to passengers during the collision. The videos also showed if the transportation driver acted properly before, during, and after the accident—or if he should be retrained or dismissed.
It was back to business as Barwell spoke about the sales tax repeal, which the association has been fighting for years but had made tremendous progress on in the last legislative session. LBTOUNY launched a successful grassroots effort to gather support in the state senate, but the bill stalled in the assembly.
“The assembly felt that they would have a $24 million loss in the budget, so it wasn’t doable for them,” said Barwell. “We may not see an outright appeal but an exemption like in other states. The issue isn’t dead, but it’s slowed up a bit. Now that we have a voice, we can get the momentum going again.”
Barwell also noted that sales tax audits have become a little more aggressive and are hitting some transportation companies hard. “Anything is taxable that you charge to a customer, including tolls, water, everything except gratuities,” he said.
Immediate attention, however, is focused on stopping two bills that are currently in both houses that would exempt TNCs from all requirements that limousines, taxis, and buses face. Barwell notes that they were able to fight them aggressively in Buffalo, but Lyft has said it wants to resume operating in the city by July. LBTOUNY is organizing a Lobby Day in Albany; as of press time, the final date was not yet available pending a meeting schedule with state representatives. Other state associations are encouraged to join the event. In the meantime, the association has started an online petition against the state senate to push them to pass legislation that treats TNCs like transportation companies with the same regulations. The petition can be found at chn.ge/1J9EAYk.
Chauffeur Driven raffled off a pass to the Miami show, which will be held at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel this October 11-14. LBTOUNY Chairman Scott Pizzo of Park Place Corporate Transportation won the pass.
The next official meeting is scheduled for July, date to be determined, in Buffalo.
Visit lbtony.com for more information.
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(L to R): Brian Whitaker of Chicagoland Transportation Solutions, ILA Director Travis Latham of Fellowship Fleet Limousine and Bus Company, Muhammad Bhatti of Limo Corp of Chicago, Andrew Armitage of Vintage Chauffeuring, Julian Enescu of Inter-Continental Limo Services, and ILA Vice President Greg Eggan of O’Hare-Midway Limousine Service
Springfield, Ill. — On April 21, six members of the Illinois Limousine Association (ILA) headed to the state capital in Springfield for its first-ever Day on the Hill—which, according to ILA member Brian Whitaker of Chicagoland Transportation Solutions, was a success and had members speaking with “more than 10 representatives and several people in the Secretary of State’s office.”
Those attending the legislative event rode together in a Sprinter supplied by Julian Enescu of Inter-Continental Limo Services, which gave them the opportunity to plan the day and prioritize the representatives they would arrange meetings with.
“The main purpose of this visit was to make introductions to (the representatives) we have not met with in person at their local offices and to refresh our relationships with the ones we had met in office,” Whitaker said. “This was a chance to introduce them to the Illinois Limousine Association, talk about the size of our membership, ask them to use us as a resource tool in deciding on future passenger transportation legislation, and if they asked, make them aware of our stance on TNCs. We succeeded in doing just that.”
ILA members were able to attend both Transportation Committee meetings held during the day and a Tour and Convention Committee meeting, as well as the House General Session that afternoon.
“This was more of an educational trip than anything,” said Whitaker. “We wanted to experience firsthand how our state government operates in Springfield and to make them aware that we are there for them if they have questions about our industry. In this aspect, I feel that we accomplished our goal and we will continue to enhance these relationships as time goes on.”
On the heels of a successful inaugural event, ILA’s plans are to continue making longer visits with legislators at their district offices.
The next ILA event will be its annual spring meeting, which is scheduled for May 20. The meeting will include updates on wage and hour issues, Department of Transportation audits, the Olive-Harvey College chauffeur training program, the operational considerations of employee and independent contractor models, updates from Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection, and a presentation from CD’s Publisher Chris Weiss.
Visit illinoislimousineassociation.com for more information.
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