ATLANTA — A bill waiting on the governor’s signature addresses used auto sale brokers, including the requirements for an office.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Sophia Choi spoke with auto brokers who say it will put them and others in jeopardy of closing down.
Used auto brokers say all they need is a desk, chair, and a filing cabinet to meet current state law.
However, House Bill 551 changes that, requiring at least 250 square feet of office space.
One broker told Choi that’s an unnecessary cost many can’t afford.
“It just triples my expenses. Many of my expenses are based on the size of my office, insurance, so forth,” used auto broker Benjamin Franklin Magwood II said.
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Keith Kimbell invested hundreds of thousands in buildings specifically for used auto dealers. Now, the offices are too small to meet the new requirements if the bill is signed into law.
“It’s going to cost us millions of dollars because we will no longer replace when a dealer moves. Replace them with a new dealer,” Kimbell said.
Georgia State Rep. Todd Jones sponsored the bill, which aims to get rid of bad actors in the industry.
“We needed to come up with some sort of metric in terms of are you a legitimate business,” Jones told Choi. “I can’t run my business out of a broom closet, which is essentially what we saw with some of the bad actors.”
But brokers say if the bill becomes law, it’s not only the bad actors who will get run out of business, it’ll hurt legitimate used car dealers too.
“The State of Georgia has probably over 4,000 used car brokers, and this bill is being sponsored by big dealerships that want to eliminate their competition,” Kimbell said.
The bill is on the Governor’s desk awaiting a signature. He still has some time to mull it over. He has until May 14 to make a decision.
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