Auto Glass Pricing Bill Awaits Montana Governor's Signature
April 8, 2009

A bill dealing with auto glass pricing has passed the Montana Senate and is now awaiting Gov. Brian Schweitzer's signature. If passed, the bill will replace the phrase "lowest prevailing market price" with simply "market price" in the section of the state's insurance law that deals with how auto glass claims should be handled.

The bill previously had passed the House with the wording "prevailing market price." In late March, the Senate returned an amended version, removing the word "prevailing," to the House. The House read the bill twice before passing with a vote of 94-3 on March 28. On March 30, the Senate passed the bill with a vote of 96-4, before transmitting it to the Governor's office for signature.

Rep. Jon Sonju sponsored the bill, which applies to body shops as well.

Rep. Sonju told AGRR magazine/glassBYTEs.com™ magazine that he became involved with this bill via the Montana Collision Repair Specialists Association, due to his background in that industry.

"In my youth and early business days, my father actually owned a body shop, so I'm familiar with the world of collision repair and glass," he said. "That's why I took this on."

CLICK HERE for full text of bill.

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