ACRA 2022 D.C. Car Rental Conference – Operations and Policy “Boot Camp”
Planning for ACRA’s expanded 2022 D.C. Car Rental Conference – which will include “Boot Camps” on Operations and Policy on consecutive days – is being finalized. The Boot Camp starts on Sunday evening, September 18th and concludes on Wednesday afternoon, September 21st. For ACRA regular and associate members, here’s what you need to do to get involved:
- Register for the “Boot Camp” at www.acraorg.com. Registration is free for ACRA regular and associate members.
- Reserve your room at the “Boot Camp’s” headquarters hotel, the Westin Arlington Gateway either by phone (1-888-627-7076 and ask for ACRA D.C. Conference room block) or on the web at ACRA Rate Westin Arlington. Be sure that your reservation is included in the ACRA room block!
- Make your travel reservations for the Boot Camp. Plan to arrive in D.C. (Reagan and Dulles Airports are roughly equidistant from the hotel) by 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, 9/18 and plan to depart after 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, 9/21.
Attendance is limited to 75 people due to hotel and Capitol Hill meeting room space limitations, so register, get your room, and start planning your travel now!
ACRA Boot Camp — Full Schedule
Attached is the “at a glance” schedule for the Boot Camp (2022 ACRA Boot Camp Schedule). Details on the speakers and panels at the Operations (Monday) and Policy (Tuesday) Boot Camps will be forthcoming. But the basic schedule is set, contracts are being signed, and it is time for ACRA members to step up to plan to attend the 2022 ACRA D.C. Car Rental Conference. Strap your boots on!!
ACRA Boot Camp — Operations
The first day of the 2022 ACRA D.C. Car Rental Conference is the Boot Camp for Operations. ACRA has gathered the best experts in their fields to share their knowledge with you. The lifecycle of a car rental company’s operations is fully explored. Whether you are a brand-new operator or a seasoned larger company, there is something for everyone to learn. Starting with the acquisition and financing of your fleet, going on to legal issues and software needs, insurance procurement and marketing of ancillary products, fleet management and telematics, damage collections and auto recovery, to the end of the cycle – the disposal of your fleet.
ACRA Boot Camp – Policy
The second day of the 2022 ACRA D.C. Car Rental Conference is the Boot Camp for Policy. ACRA will give you the opportunity to attend legislative policy educational sessions hosted by our Government Relations Experts in the Capital Visitors’ Center in the U.S. Capitol. On the agenda will be presentations on ACRA’s key federal policy priorities (privacy legislation, full expensing, vehicle data access and electric vehicles) by legislators and their staff as well as allied (and opposing) stakeholders. This day will show you how important understanding legislation can be to your business.
Department of Labor Overtime Rule Revisions
ACRA participated on a U.S. Department of Labor “employer forum” on June 24, 2022 that outlined DOL’s plans to revised federal overtime rules – rules that were just overhauled during the last administration. DOL plans to issue the proposed revisions by October 2022 with a goal of finalizing them by early 2023. Based on the employer statements during the forum, it is anticipated that DOL will propose a new rule modeled on California’s AB5 law on overtime, which incorporates the “ABC Test” for determining whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor. As the details of DOL’s proposal become available, ACRA will forward them to you.
Data Privacy Bill Moves in House
The Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously on 9/23 to recommend adoption of a comprehensive data privacy bill to the full E&C Committee. The bill, H.R. 8152 (Subcommittee Approved Data Privacy Bill) generally would require an individual’s informed and affirmative consent before ‘covered data” and in particular “sensitive data”, as defined in the bill, are collected by a company or a company’s representative. While this bill has legislative momentum in the House, it likely will slow down in the Senate due to the concerns of several key stakeholders – most notably the trial bar. ACRA’s leaders are examining the bill for issues of importance of the car rental industry and will be communicating any concerns directly to the bill’s authors.
California P2P Litigation
A California appeals court this week overturned a lower court decision and held that a P2P car rental company is not a “car rental company” under state law. The lawsuit originally was brought by San Francisco government entities to enforce airport fee and tax requirements on a P2P company doing business at SFO. It is not clear at press time whether the government entities will appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court. A copy of the decision is attached here (CA P2P Decision).
State Legislative Activities
- New York – The New York legislators, by wide margins, has sent to the governor legislation would expressly permit rental car companies to separately state and recover costs associated with registering and titling vehicles. This is commonly referred to as VLF recovery. Work continues on securing the governor’s signature on this important bill.
- Massachusetts – The industry remains vigilant on any efforts to repeal the state sales tax exemption for rental car companies when purchasing vehicles exclusively for commercial purposes. You may recall, the industry faced a significant threat on this proposal several years ago. Efforts are still being made this legislative session to repeal the exemption – which would be the first state to implement such an exemption. The industry is engaged to make sure any repeal efforts are defeated.
ACRA Membership Activity
New Regular Operator Members
- Boundaries Auto LLC, Newark, NJ
- Fulton Automotive Group, Kenner, LA
- Holland Transportation, Monticello, MN
- UrDrive, Lakewood, NJ
Renewal Regular Operator
- Cavenaugh Auto Rental, Walnut Ridge, AR
New Associate Supply Member
- TurnOnGreen, Milpitas, CA
