Car dealers make plea to reopen during COVID-19 pandemic
Some car dealers are complaining that they are at a disadvantage under a state order for them to close to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Mark Baer of Budd Baer Inc. in Washington said people in Southwestern Pennsylvania are still buying new cars, but they are taking their money out of state where dealerships haven’t been shut down.
The situation is unfair, Baer said Tuesday, a day after a House bill left committee that would require the state Department of Community and Economic Develop to permit dealerships to reopen.
“This is a step in the right direction to allow our Pennsylvania dealerships to stay in business while keeping their employees and customers safe,” said state Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-40th District, which represents portions of Washington and Allegheny counties.
Baer said new cars could be sold online and delivered with social distancing. Trade-ins could also be cleaned before arriving at dealerships, where they would be disinfected.
Rachel Wrigley, deputy DCED director, said the Wolf administration monitors mitigation efforts every day to evaluate “what future steps are appropriate and best for the well-being of Pennsylvanians.”
Wolf said he had a conference call Tuesday with leaders of both parties in the state House and Senate, that there was no agreement reached on legislative efforts to reopen the economy.
He said the problem the state will face involves “people feeling if it’s safe to go back to work” without broad COVID-19 testing.
Wolf a day earlier joined governors in five other states in forming a task force of health-care and economic development experts to guide them in how to safely reopen the economy.
“If we don’t do this right the economy is going to be worse,” he said.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Camera Bartolotta said Pennsylvania needs a clearer path to reopening businesses as many of them are struggling.
“Businesses are folding,” said Bartolotta, R-Carroll.
While the Wolf administration is calling for a slow reopening, county-by-county, Bartolotta said she supports blanket waivers that would allow the economy to reopen “business-by-business.”
“We are going to move Pennsylvania forward in a safe and responsible way,” she said.
Wolf said if the Legislature moves a bill forward to his desk, he would take a look at it.
Mihalek’s bill is expected to move to the floor for a vote April 20 or 21.