Newsbreak. MPTA Members Help Support Toys for Tots. Inside This Issue

Transcription

1 Newsbreak J a n u a r y P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e M i n n e s o t a P r o f e s s i o n a l T o w i n g A s s o c i a t i o n MPTA Members Help Support Toys for Tots Inside This Issue Presidents Letter Minnesota lawmakers say state should pay for vehicle licensing problems Crash Preventability Demonstration Program ELD Transition Information FMCSA to Announce Additional ELD Transition Guidance Impact of Tax Reform on Individuals - What is Exactly Changing? Wreckmaster Training- Level 2/3 Wreckmaster Training Level 4/5 TRAA Legislative Update National TIM Responder Training This past December, MPTA, MSSA and Minnoco members raised over $800 and 750 toys in support this year s U. S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program. It s exciting to see how the members of the MPTA, MSSA and Minnoco came together to support this great annual event. The primary goal of this program is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate children and assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens. The Marines want to play an active role in developing one of our nation s most valuable resources our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future. On December 16th, Jerry Charmoli (Hwy 10 Towing), Ron Gardas Jr. (Twin Cities Towing & Recovery), Bill Feist (Feist Automotive) and Brett Letourneau (Citywide Service) appeared on KARE 11 to present a $800 check to the U. S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Program on behalf of the MPTA, MSSA and Minnoco. A big THANK YOU to everyone who helped to make a child s Christmas and future, a bit brighter.

2 MPTA Board of Directors PRESIDENT Brett Letourneau Citywide Service Corp rd Ave. N. Brooklyn Park, MN DIRECTORS: Jenn Pearson Twin Cities Wrecker Sales 1301 Jackson St St. Paul, MN Kyle Siewert Siewert s Towing 3424 North Service Dr Red Wing, MN LOBBYIST Rob Leighton Nolan, Thompson, & Leighton EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Lance Klatt 2886 Middle Street Little Canada, MN VICE - PRESIDENT Phil Collins Collins Brothers Towing, Inc. PO Box 405 Elk River, MN Lance Burda Burdas Towing PO Box 249 Rogers, MN Lonnie Krackow Borkowski Towing & Salvage PO Box 868 Winona, MN LEGAL COUNSEL Randy Thompson Nolan, Thompson, & Leighton OFFICE STAFF Norie Hennen Nikki Wakefield 2886 Middle Street Little Canada, MN SECRETARY/TREASURER Ron Feist Feist Automotive 1875 N. Lilac Dr. Golden Valley, MN Joe Lomsdal Aggressive Towing th Ave So Moorhead, MN Ron Gardas Jr Twin Cities Transport & Recovery 3760 Flowerfield Rd Blaine, MN MPTA contact information: 2886 Middle Street Little Canada, MN Phone: Fax: admin@mnprotow.org If you would like to make a contribution to help with the legislative efforts, please send your donations to: MPTA 2886 Middle Street Little Canada, MN MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

3 Presidents Letter Written by President, Brett Letourneau Well, the 2017/2018 winter appears to be in full swing throughout the state. I hope this letter finds all of our members blessed with safety and prosperity as we all try to navigate the spike in call volume that comes with winter weather events. As I reflect back on 2017 and look ahead to 2018, the MPTA has many great things happening. We hosted three towing and recovery schools which included a course taught by Wreckmaster. I would like to extend a huge thank you to the MPTA board of directors for their time in teaching and attending the meetings. Additionally, we had several meetings with the Dept. of Public Safety/ DVS trying to help our members with issues due to MNLARS and the inaccurate data we receive. We had a great turn out for our annual picnic and night of racing at Elko Speedway this past summer. Good food, great racing, and invaluable networking and fellowship was enjoyed by all that attended. We are planning this event again this year, stay tuned for details! Looking ahead, 2018 looks very promising for the MPTA. We are working with our lobbyist, Rob Leighton, and our attorney, Randy Thompson, to address the things that effect our industry from a legal standpoint. We hope to have our priorities set at the January meeting. To keep consistent with our mission to promote education, we will be hosting several schools again this year. Watch for details. We have a great group serving on the Board of Directors and an awesome staff supporting us through our partnership with the MSSA. With those items in place, 2018 will allow the MPTA bring great things to all of our members! Happy New Year! Brett MPTA Newsbreak ~ July

4 Minnesota lawmakers say state should pay for vehicle licensing problems State's flawed computer system has some registrars operating in the red. By Erin Golden Star Tribune Five months into the problematic rollout of Minnesota s new vehicle licensing system, some state lawmakers are calling for a bailout for licensing offices that have faced major financial losses as they ve tried to keep up with demand for plates, tabs and titles. As legislators heard new testimony about long wait times at licensing offices and months-long processing delays for car titles, there was renewed focus on the surging expenses for the 174 deputy registrars offices run as private businesses or by cities and counties around the state. Some of those offices operators say they re pulling money out of their personal savings accounts or relying on their retirement or Social Security accounts to keep their doors open. While state officials said they are working hard to iron out bugs in the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS), lawmakers are increasingly concerned that the glitches will persist well into 2018 and that licensing offices could be forced to shut down if the state doesn t step in. Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, said he and a handful of other lawmakers will introduce a bill next year that would set aside $10 million to help compensate the deputy registrars offices for lost revenue. He likened the debut of MNLARS to hitting an iceberg and said he s worried the impact will be particularly destructive for local offices that rely on the system. I think it s really important that we make the deputy registrars whole for their costs that have been incurred through no fault of their own, he said in a House committee hearing on MNLARS last week. They got hit by the iceberg, too. Other lawmakers are pondering additional solutions. Rep. Dave Baker, R-Willmar, said he s drawing up a bill that would do more to redistribute to deputy registrars offices the tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees collected by the state. Your voice is loud and clear: you should not have gone through what you are going through, he said after listening to testimony from deputy registrars. For that, the state of Minnesota owes you a great apology. The state spent a decade preparing to replace its 30-year-old licensing system with MNLARS, an upgrade officials said would speed transactions and improve customer service. But almost immediately after the late July rollout, offices around the state were reporting regular system slowdowns and logging a growing list of problems. Deputy registrars found they couldn t help customers transfer specialty license plates or ensure that auto dealers could quickly get paperwork processed after a sale. For months, officials with the state Department of Public Safety and Minnesota IT Services, along with Gov. Mark Dayton, maintained that many of the problems were isolated and that the vast majority of transactions were running smoothly. But by mid- November, still facing a barrage of complaints from residents, deputy registrars, auto dealerships and lawmakers, those leaders began offering apologies and promising change. With one top developer on leave, the state s technology office hired a new director to better connect deputy registrars with the state and decided to work with an outside firm for the second phase of the MNLARS rollout. Under a $26 million contract with Fast Enterprises, much of the work around upgrading the system for driver s licenses including the shift to licenses that comply with the federal Real ID law will be led by that company, rather than state workers. The state has spent almost $84 million on the project so far and has access to a total of $106 million in funds, according to the Department of Public Safety. Speaking at the recent hearing of the House Select Committee on Technology and Responsive Government, the state s top tech official, Minnesota IT Services Commissioner Thomas Baden, said recent system updates have helped resolve some problems, including the inability to transfer specialty plates. But those comments were almost immediately challenged by others at the hearing, including Gaye Smith, a manager at the deputy registrar s office in South St. Paul. (continued on top of page 5) MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

5 (continued from page 4) That is not functioning, Smith said. There are several of the updates that have been done from [recent] so-called fixes that are not working. Losses mount Jeff Lenarz, deputy registrar of the office in St. Paul and president of the Minnesota Deputy Registrar s Association, said a recent survey of his group s members found that more than 80 percent reported having to pay for extra overtime because of the MNLARS problems. About 40 percent had lost business from vehicle dealerships, and more than half were operating at a loss. He provided two examples, without naming the deputy registrars or their specific offices: a southern Minnesota office that spent $12,000 on new equipment to prepare for MNLARS and is now losing up to $3,500 per month; and a northern Minnesota deputy registrar running deficits of $1,700 per month while having to hire additional workers. Lawmakers pushed Baden and Public Safety Commissioner Mona Dohman for a firm estimate of when the problems would be fixed and growing backlogs of work completed. (The state now has a backlog of 374,00 unprocessed vehicle titles, among other delays.) Baden said he s convinced the state is taking the right steps to make faster progress, including bringing in experts from Microsoft to assess the system and hiring outside help for the driver s licensing rollout. But he had no firm dates for when customers and deputy registrars could expect to return to business as usual. It will be next year before we ve got all the functionality we want in place, he said. MPTA continues to monitor this issue with MNLARS and have meetings with the Dept. Of Public Safety/Dept. of Vehicle Services. MPTA will report more on this issue when information becomes available. Crash Preventability Demonstration Program Informational: Since the launch of the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program on August 1, 2017, FMCSA has received over 1,200 Requests for Data Review (RDR s). We have noted that while FMCSA s directions advise submitters specifically to select the Demonstration Program, RDR s are sometimes sent in error to the incorrect location. This can be caused by the submitter selecting that the crash was not reportable or selecting dates outside of the scope of the Demonstration Program. To be eligible for the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program, crashes must have occurred on or after June 1, 2017, and fall under one of the certain crash types. Read more about the program at To submit an RDR for an eligible crash into the Demonstration Program, users must select Crash could not be prevented in DataQs if the crash falls within the eligibility requirements. Submitters can follow the step-by-step instructions from this video at If you need assistance with entering an RDR, please contact DataQs Technical Support at (877) and press option 1. If you have any additional questions, you may contact DataQs at (877) , option 1, or feel free to contact me. Thank you, Matthew Marrin Minnesota Division Administrator U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Desk: (651) Cellular: (651) matthew.marrin@dot.gov MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

6 MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

7 MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

8 Impact of tax reform on individuals What exactly is changing? MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

9 (continued on page 10) MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

10 (continued from page 9) MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

11 MPTA Newsbreak ~ November

12 MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

13 Legislative Update: TRAA and the TRAA LAN continue to monitor potential legislation and work with our Affiliate State Towing Associations. Our most recent activities include: TRAA Submits ELD Exemption Petition Washington, DC, December 15, On December 13, 2017, the Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc. (TRAA) submitted a petition to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for an exemption from electronic logging device requirements for the towing industry. Together the TRAA Cabinet and the TRAA Legislative Advocacy Network (TRAA LAN ) have worked diligently on behalf of the towing industry to present a compelling argument for a much-needed exemption. As part of the process, there will be a comment period. It is vital that the industry provide positive, factual, and informational comments in favor of our request. TRAA will send out a call to action when the comment period opens. If you have any legislative issues in your state that need our attention, please contact the TRAA Legislative Chair and TRAA LAN Chair, Joanne Blyton at joanne@billingstowingandrepair.com or the TRAA Office for assistance. For more information on the TRAA LAN visit National TIM Responder Training Where can I take this training? There are several ways to participate in the National TIM Training. 1. Attend a 4-hour in-person training event. - The in-person training is sponsored by TIM partner agencies throughout the United States. To learn about training opportunities in your state, please contact your state TIM Training point of contact, which can be found here: Documents/Factsheets/ TIM%20Training%20State%20POC%20List.pdf 2. National Traffic Incident Management Responder Training - Web-Based: Respondersafety.com Learning Network/TIM Training: National-TIM-Training-Certificate.aspx MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

14 Albert Lea Anoka Austin Baxter Big Lake Blackduck Blaine Allen s Tow & Travel Member Directory North Star Towing Midtown Towing Collins Brothers Towing Of St. Cloud, Inc Bob s Towing Bogart s Towing Twin Cities Transport & Recovery Dan s Complete Auto Care Frovik s Towing Blooming Prairie Darrick s Preferred Auto Bloomington Brooklyn Park Burnsville Cannon Falls Coon Rapids Detroit Lakes Chief s Towing, Inc Cardinal Towing Citywide Service Captain Towing Siewert s Towing Corky s Towing Highway 10 Mobil DL Towing Aggressive Towing & Recovery Duluth Eagan Eden Valley Edina Elk River Excelsior Faribault Fergus Falls Dukes Towing Mrs. Mac s Towing East End Towing Mark s Towing Jack s Towing Walser Automotive Group Collins Brothers Towing Bob s Towing of Elk River Williams Towing Glenn s Service LLC Beyer Towing Forest Lake Dan s Towing Harold s Towing & Recovery Minnetonka Frazee Daggett Wrecker Service, Inc Golden Valley Hutchinson Feist Automotive Modern Towing Inver Grove Heights South East Towing Ironton AutoSmith Service Group Jordan Wrecker Services, Inc Kasson T&K Towing Service Lakeville Marek s Towing & Repair Loretto Mankato Loretto Towing Affordable Towing All American Towing Maple Grove Chase Towing & Transport Marsahll Pulver Towing Meadowlands Mrs. Mac s North Medina Melrose Minneapolis Kelly s Wrecker Services Shaggy s Towing Blaine Brothers Miller Towing Schmit Towing Kustom Karriers Moorhead Aggressive Towing & Recovery Ed s Towing Service New Brighton New Prague Oakdale Freeway Towing Statewide Towing Johnson Towing, Inc Twin Cities Transport & Recovery MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

15 Owatonna Plymouth Ramsey Red Wing Dean s Westside Service Sweet Towing & Repair Plymouth Automotive Frankies Towing Co Member Directory Bee Line Towing Midway Auto Siewerts Garage Rochester CSC Towing Tyler Moody s Towing & Auto Repair Rochester Towing, LLC Pulver Towing Waseca T&K Towing Service Rogers Sauk Centre Savage Scanlon Shakopee Spring Lake Park St. Anthony Burdas Towing Centre Towing Inc Allen s Service Inc Blaine Brothers Shakopee Towing, Inc Citywide Service Twin Cities Transport & Recovery St. Cloud Collins Brothers Towing Of St. Cloud, Inc Andy s Towing St. Francis Gerdin Auto, Tire & Towing St. Paul Twin Cities Transport & Recovery Stewartville Tri-State Towing Stillwater Stillwater Towing Bruender s Corner Mart Virginia Armory Shell Towing & Service Bocks Service Inc Tesch Service Center West Concord T&K Towing Service Willmar Ed s Service Center & Sales Winona Borkowski Towing & Salvage Zumbrota Sioux City Bismarck Bergs Towing & Repair IOWA Meier Towing Inc NORTH DAKOTA Berg s 24 Hour Towing SOUTH DAKOTA Big Stone The Shop, Inc Sioux Falls Ace Towing Inc WISCONSIN Ashland Tomlinson s 24 Hour Towing Baldwin Day & Nite Towing, LLC Balsam Lake Lake Services Unlimited LaCrosse Goldbeck Towing Service Independence Kabus Auto Body & Recovery Roberts Superior ASSOCIATE Jerry s Towing Lake City Towing Auto & Equipment Sales AW Direct Tom Welsh Tom s Auto Sales Ryan Tubbesing Twin Cities Wrecker Sales Rod Pellow Zip s Truck Equipment Paul Rottinghaus Health Insurance Haas Managed Benefits Bill Haas Insurance Midwest Insurance Service John Hall Uniforms Cintas David Marta MPTA Newsbreak ~ January

16