Pub. 15 2016-2017 Issue 3

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S I S S U E N O . 4 , 2 0 1 6 12 new jersey auto retailer STATE REGULATORY COMPLIANCE REPORT: NEW YEAR PROMISES MORE OF THE SAME BY PATRICK COX, ESQ. A s 2016 counts down and 2017 looms closer, the New Jersey regulatory situation remains relatively quiet, with few major changes in the current year and no big initiatives seeming to gain any traction in Trenton for the com- ing year. As the Christie Administration transitions toward lame duck status, the battle lines remain as always, with the regulatory agencies and consumer advocates (as plaintiffs’ lawyers like to be known) on one side, and NJ CAR, business advocates, common sense, and sanity on the other. It has been, and is likely to remain, relatively quiet on the regulatory front. This is not to say there hasn’t been significant activity. As usual, issues and proposals are constantly f laring up, and NJ CAR is kept busy stamping out the brushfires that arise regularly. As much as we would like to achieve a major victory, such as a significant rollback of intrusive and unnecessary regulation, sometimes it’s a win just to prevent the proposals for increased regulation from finding their way into law, and from that perspective, 2016 was a pretty good year. The political situation in Trenton, and our Governor’s activities and ambitions on the national stage, may have played a role in this situation. Governor Christie is generally sympathetic to industry and opposes excessive or unnecessary regulation, but his ambitions outside New Jersey and frequent absences seem to have created a cautious atmosphere in Trenton, with the various regulatory agencies avoiding any major initiatives one way or the other which might cause controversy. Following are some of the issues that have been simmering, without ever coming to a boil: Advertising and Doc Fees Both the industry and the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) recognize that New Jersey’s antiquated advertising regulations don’t translate well to the new digital media which have arisen in the decades since their adoption. However, the prospect of a free-for-all, if the entire structure of our advertising regula- tions is put on the table, has kept both sides cautious, with the result that few issues are ever clearly resolved. The issue of