All future licensed car dealerships in Idaho, new or used, would’ve been required to have a permanent building on a foundation, permanent utilities, an operating restroom and a landline phone, under legislation that came up for a hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee this afternoon. Existing dealers would have been grandfathered in, and the bill, SB 1378, was proposed by the Idaho Transportation Department and backed by the Idaho Independent Auto Dealers Association. Wilke Meyers of the association told the Senate committee, “Our association has taken the stand that the industry needs to uplift itself and be more reputable.” The department noted that it’s received 1,000 complaints about car transactions, mostly about purchasers not receiving appropriate titles. But senators said they didn’t think the proposed requirements would help with that. “Let’s deal with the consumer piece, not the aesthetics – let’s increase the bonding requirements,” said Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint. The bill was killed on a unanimous vote.

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