General Motors officials argued their case Thursday against a bill in the Colorado legislature that they say would hinder the carmaker’s return to profitability.
The bill would require GM and Chrysler to make special accommodations to Colorado auto dealers that were involuntarily shut down last year following the bankruptcy filings of GM and Chrysler.
“We don’t think our concerns are unreasonable,” said John Montford, a GM senior adviser for government relations. “Our focus remains on getting our taxpayer loans paid back.”
Montford and his lobbying team were scheduled to meet Thursday with state legislators and officials of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, in an effort to modify the bill or diminish its momentum.
The legislation passed in the House earlier this month by a 60-5 vote. It awaits Senate action.
The bill would require automakers to reimburse dealers for upgrades they were required to make and give terminated dealers the option to reopen before manufacturers offered dealerships to new owners in the same area.
GM gave shutdown notices to 25 Colorado dealerships and Chrysler terminated 14 outlets in the state. Several of the dealerships have filed for arbitration in an effort to stay open.
“The majority were underperforming dealerships,” Montford said.
However, Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, said many of the shutdown decisions were “arbitrary and capricious.”
Jackson described the legislation as “not perfect, but it’s better than no remedy at all.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
