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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3879 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 950
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Antonio F. D. Cabral
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act reforming labor rates paid by insurance companies to auto repairers in the
Commonwealth.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Antonio F. D. Cabral13th Bristol1/20/2023Alan Silvia7th Bristol1/26/2023Christopher Hendricks11th Bristol1/26/2023Paul A. Schmid, III8th Bristol2/1/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/1/2023Jacob R. OliveiraHampden, Hampshire and Worcester3/3/2023 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3879 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 950
By Representative Cabral of New Bedford, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 950) of
Antonio F. D. Cabral and others relative to auto body labor rates. Financial Services.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act reforming labor rates paid by insurance companies to auto repairers in the
Commonwealth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 100A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
2Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 14 the following section:
3 Section 15. There shall be, within the division of insurance, an auto body labor rate
4advisory board to address any issues related to auto body labor rates. The advisory board shall
5consist of: 1 member appointed by the commissioner of insurance; 3 members appointed by the
6attorney general: 2 of whom shall be members from the auto repair industry from different
7geographic regions of the commonwealth appointed by the Alliance of Automotive Service
8Providers of Massachusetts, Inc., 1 of whom shall serve as co-chair; 1 member appointed by the
9director of the division of standards; 3 members from the auto insurance industry appointed by
10the Automobile Insurers Bureau of Massachusetts, 1 of whom shall serve as co-chair; 1 member
11appointed by the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, Inc; and 4 members
12appointed by the Governor, 1 of whom shall be from 77 of 113 vocational-technical schools, 2 of 2 of 3
13whom shall be from a consumer advocacy group and 1 of whom shall be an economist with
14expertise on the insurance industry. The members of the board shall be appointed for a term of 4
15years. The advisory board shall meet not less than 2 times in a year. The advisory board shall be
16responsible for creating, implementing, and overseeing a biennial survey. The survey should
17compile data pertaining to contracted hourly labor rates, posted hourly labor rates and prevailing
18hourly labor rates and any additional information the advisory board deems relevant. The
19advisory board shall collect industry data including, but not limited to: (i) labor rates in
20neighboring states, including Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and
21Vermont; (ii) auto body shop costs; (iii) total labor costs; (iv) inflation data; (v) work force data;
22(vi) vocational school trends; (vii) insurance premiums; and (viii) any additional information
23deemed necessary by the advisory board. The results of the survey and the data collected shall be
24reviewed and analyzed by the advisory board biennially and the board shall make a
25recommendation for a fair and equitable labor rate. Biennially, not later than December 31, the
26advisory board shall file a report of its findings, conclusions, and any recommendations with the
27commissioner of the division of insurance, the attorney general’s office, clerks of the senate and
28house of representatives, the joint committee on financial services, and the senate and house
29committees on ways and means.
30 Section 16. Not later an 30 days after receiving the biennial report from the auto body
31labor rate advisory board under section 15, the commissioner of insurance shall set a minimum
32hourly labor rate that insurers shall pay on insured claims for repairs made by registered motor
33vehicle repair shops; provided, however, that the minimum hourly labor rate shall not be less
34than $55. The minimum hourly labor rate shall go into effect 30 days after it is set by the
35commissioner. 3 of 3
36 SECTION 2. Section 113B of chapter 175 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is
37hereby amended by inserting, after the word “commissioner” in line 14, the following: -
38 “; provided, however, that collision repair hourly labor rates, set pursuant to section 15 of
39chapter 100A, shall not be included when considering programs to control costs and expenses
40under this section or section 113H.”.
41