IOWA: TAKING ON ILLEGAL ACTIVITY ARMED WITH PROOF

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owa has been proactive in attacking the illegal activity issue and has seen some recent success in the passing of a Department of Transportation (DOT) bill that was changed to prohibit advertising without a recyclers license. The bill was passed in a joint effort to combat the illegal trade in salvage title vehicles, and passed unanimously in both the Iowa State Senate and House.

“The issue of non-licensed operators obtaining sal- vage is a growing problem and we were seeing more and more illegal roadside signs, ads in Craigslist, newspapers and Yellow Pages for people scrapping cars,” said Mike Swift, ARA First Vice President and Past President and member of the Iowa Automotive Recyclers (IAR). “These operators were selling the scrap, but didn’t have a business address or a recyclers license in the state. It became evident that professional auto recyclers needed to take action to

“The issue of non-licensed operators obtaining salvage is a growing problem and we were seeing more and more illegal roadside signs, ads in Craigslist, newspapers and Yellow Pages for people scrapping cars.” –Mike Swift, ARA First Vice President

thwart their efforts and to protect our industry and to address safety and environmental concerns.” The Iowa Automotive Recyclers (IAR) and Iowa Independent Automobile Dealers Association (IIADA) worked with the DOT to move the legisla- tion through the legislative process. The law now reads as such; if you advertise that you are in the business, you need to be licensed. Swift says they had a lot of opposition especially with the “scrapping definition.” A change in the wording was key to the success of the bill being passed.

“It took a little over a month to introduce the bill and for it to pass through the Senate and the House,” said Swift. “We had much opposition and

January-February 2015 | Automotive Recycling 49