2024 GIADA Annual Convention and Trade Show
GIADA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Amy Bennett
Georgia Auto Dealer Continuing Education Classes
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW! The 69th annual GIADA convention and trade show will be at the beautiful Evergreen Resort in Stone Mountain Park July 11-13. This will be one of the last state mandated Continuing Education classes being offered before you have to renew your dealer license in September.
As always, we have a strong and informative line-up of speakers which will include two dealer panels. Stay through the evening for our exciting trade show and enjoy dinner with us! Registration is only $125 for breakfast, lunch, your state mandated Continuing Education class, dinner and the trade show. Plus there are chances to win prizes all evening! Don’t miss out! We will have professionals on site to help you renew your license and navigate through the new GOALS system, which has presented everyone with many challenges that we are trying to work through, as well. The first four CE classes were packed with dealers and several wonderful sponsors with many resources to help dealers with their business.
Georgia Auto Dealer Continuing Education Classes
The online CE class has been a great success and a very convenient option for dealers who cannot attend an in-person class. I hope you have renewed your bond to be current until September 2024 and have successfully uploaded it to the Used Car Board website. Also remember, all dealer licenses must be renewed by September 30, 2024. If you are a current member, we can help you renew your license. That is one of the many member benefits that GIADA offers.
GIADA Legislation Update
The dealer tag and TOPS bill (HB 1234) did not pass the House. The House Motor Vehicles Chairman took out all of the controversial language that GIADA and other stakeholders did or didn’t like. It just addressed DOR housekeeping language, now allowing DOR to better regulate and penalize dealers abusing TOPS and go after individuals illegally driving on out of state plates due to those states not having TAVT or high taxes on vehicles. The Department of Revenue then added the language from HB 1234 onto HB 1239, which passed the House but ended up not passing the Senate. GIADA leadership said they were fine with this language. There is also a House Study Committee coming to study dealer tag and TOPS abuse and how best to address it. This will occur May – December of 2024. The 2024 session has been very busy for our lobbying team and GIADA leadership. We met with the House Motor Vehicles Chairman four times regarding upcoming legislation on dealer licenses, dealer plates, Temporary Operating Permits (TOPs), and more. We’re working to ensure all GIADA members are not harmed.
We worked with Rep. Martin Momtahan out of Paulding County to introduce HB 1385. It says that insurance companies shall list the lien holder on claim checks also, when sending a check for vehicle damage to the driver of the vehicle. The insurance companies and their lobbyists are fighting it very hard. We’ll work on this for the rest of 2024 and have another bill ready to go in the 2025 session. Please send Rep. Momtahan a note or call him and tell him thank you! Thank you all for you continued support of your association.
Please encourage fellow dealers to join GIADA. If you have any issues or questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email us. Don’t forget to get registered today for the convention and trade show! You don’t want to miss it! Sincerely,
