I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2796 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 10, 2009 Mr. LaTourette (for himself, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Latta, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. McCotter, Mr. McHenry, Mr. McKeon, Mr. Nunes, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Tiberi, Mr. Turner, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Young of Florida, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Bachmann) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To restore the economic rights of automobile dealers, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 2009.

2.

Findings

The Congress finds the following: (1)Automobile dealers are an asset to automobile manufacturers that make it possible to penetrate communities and sell automobiles nationally. (2)The manufacturers obtain the benefits from having a national dealer network at no material cost to the manufacturers. (3)Historically, automobile dealers have had franchise agreement protections under State law.

3.

Restoration of economic rights

(a)

Preservation of rights

In order to protect assets of the Federal Government, and better assure the viability of automobile manufacturers in which the Federal Government has an ownership interest, no automobile manufacturer in which the Federal Government has an Federal financial interest or ownership interest may deprive an automobile dealer of its economic rights under a dealer agreement and must assume (or assign to a successor) each dealer agreement which is valid and in existence (and has not been lawfully terminated under applicable State law) before the date of the commencement of a case under title 11 of the United States Code by such automobile manufacturer. (b)

Restoration of franchise agreements

In order to preserve economic rights pursuant to subsection (a), an automobile manufacturer covered under this Act shall to the extent that a valid dealer agreement existing immediately before the date of the commencement of a case under title 11 of the United States Code by such automobile manufacturer is not assumed or assigned to an automobile manufacturer, shall require the new entity created in such case to enter into a new dealer agreement with the dealer whose agreement was not so assumed or assigned, and on the same terms as existed immediately before such date.