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Monday, April 9, 2007

New law lifts bans on out-of-state RV dealers selling in Wyoming

New law lifts bans on out-of-state RV dealers selling in Wyoming

By JAMIE MATSON, News-Record Writer
Coming soon to an RV rally near you: Sales, sales, sales.



Starting July 1, the ban will be lifted that prohibited out-of-state recreational vehicle dealers from selling RVs at Wyoming rallies.

The new law, passed this winter by the Legislature, would directly benefit Cam-plex, which hopes to attract more RV rallies because of it, and Campbell County and Wyoming, which benefit from increased taxes on those sales.

The bill was sponsored by state Sen. John Hines, R-Campbell County, at the request of Cam-plex, a frequent host of RV rallies in the summer. The new law provides temporary seven-day sales permits to out-of-state dealers.

“The benefit locally and statewide is in the tax revenue generated by those attending,” said state Sen. Michael Von Flatern, R-Campbell County. “The sales tax in the local area rises dramatically for that week, but equally important is that the whole state sees a boost in sales tax through campground use, groceries and fuel purchase, etc., and admission to our state and national parks.”

Hines echoed the sentiment.

“RV rallies bring a lot of people into the state,” he said. “There is a lot of benefit to the tourism and travel industry. The tourism business is big business for Wyoming overall.”

Unfortunately, government coffers won’t get that boost this summer. Cam-plex will not be hosting a rally of the size and magnitude usually required to attract out-of-state dealers this summer.

Despite the praise for the idea, the bill failed when it was introduced in the Senate a year ago because of its effect on in-state dealers.

But it was assigned for study to the Transportation Interim Committee, on which Von Flatern served.

“Over the interim, we listened to the opposition and supporters and crafted a bill that was fair to all concerned,” Von Flatern said.

When it went in front of the committees in the House and Senate during this year’s session, there was little to no opposition because of those protections.

The revised bill provides protections for in-state dealers. Provisions include:

- Wyoming dealerships have a first right of refusal. This means they can say “yes” to buying a spot at a rally before the option is given to any out-of-state dealers.

- The permits are good for only seven days and out-of-town dealers may only get three permits a year.

- Dealers must pay $500 for the permit, and $50 for two demonstration license plates and $5 for 10 temporary permits to be issued to buyers.

Not all RV dealers in the area are sure how it will affect their business.

“I don’t know of all the particulars,” said Louise Carroll, owner of Carroll’s Trailerland. “I don’t know if there’s anything anyone can do about it now. But if it’s as limited as they say it is, I don’t think it can hurt any of us.”

Carroll also said that, while the RV rallies are in town, her business gets more work than it can handle and it also sells quite a few RVs.

Phil Stahla, owner of Eastside Motors and RVs Inc., viewed the legislation as both good and bad.

“The negative is that you have out-of-state dealers come in and sell their units in our territory,” he said. “But it is good for the county because it brings in revenue for the county.

“It brings us business, too, because we do a lot of parts business.”

The bigger RV rallies bring in bigger RVs, and Eastside is not a big motorized dealer. Stahla said they mostly deal in non-motorized units like fifth-wheels and pop-up trailers.

Overall, though, Stahla said he was “glad to see the legislation go through” even though it “helps our parts business but hurts our sales.”

Patrick Utecht, camper manager at Great Western Auto Brokers, was skeptical at first, but now doesn’t think the law will be too bad.

“I don’t know that it’s going to have a great deal of impact on our business,” he said. “I kind of don’t think it will affect us all that much.”

DID YOU KNOW?

- Wyoming is one of five or six states that has legislation allowing out-of-state dealers to obtain temporary sales permits to sell in their RVs in Wyoming. “That puts us high on the list that larger rallies will look at to go to,” said Cam-plex General Manager Dan Barks,

- In 2000, Cam-plex hosted 5,406 RVs during a rally in an area that was 2 1/4 miles by one-half mile. “We felt we could’ve handled more,” Barks said.

- This year, Cam-plex will host about 1,200 units at one rally, while next year about 1,500 units are expected during a single rally.

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RV Sponsors / Resources

Monday, April 9, 2007

New law lifts bans on out-of-state RV dealers selling in Wyoming

New law lifts bans on out-of-state RV dealers selling in Wyoming

By JAMIE MATSON, News-Record Writer
Coming soon to an RV rally near you: Sales, sales, sales.



Starting July 1, the ban will be lifted that prohibited out-of-state recreational vehicle dealers from selling RVs at Wyoming rallies.

The new law, passed this winter by the Legislature, would directly benefit Cam-plex, which hopes to attract more RV rallies because of it, and Campbell County and Wyoming, which benefit from increased taxes on those sales.

The bill was sponsored by state Sen. John Hines, R-Campbell County, at the request of Cam-plex, a frequent host of RV rallies in the summer. The new law provides temporary seven-day sales permits to out-of-state dealers.

“The benefit locally and statewide is in the tax revenue generated by those attending,” said state Sen. Michael Von Flatern, R-Campbell County. “The sales tax in the local area rises dramatically for that week, but equally important is that the whole state sees a boost in sales tax through campground use, groceries and fuel purchase, etc., and admission to our state and national parks.”

Hines echoed the sentiment.

“RV rallies bring a lot of people into the state,” he said. “There is a lot of benefit to the tourism and travel industry. The tourism business is big business for Wyoming overall.”

Unfortunately, government coffers won’t get that boost this summer. Cam-plex will not be hosting a rally of the size and magnitude usually required to attract out-of-state dealers this summer.

Despite the praise for the idea, the bill failed when it was introduced in the Senate a year ago because of its effect on in-state dealers.

But it was assigned for study to the Transportation Interim Committee, on which Von Flatern served.

“Over the interim, we listened to the opposition and supporters and crafted a bill that was fair to all concerned,” Von Flatern said.

When it went in front of the committees in the House and Senate during this year’s session, there was little to no opposition because of those protections.

The revised bill provides protections for in-state dealers. Provisions include:

- Wyoming dealerships have a first right of refusal. This means they can say “yes” to buying a spot at a rally before the option is given to any out-of-state dealers.

- The permits are good for only seven days and out-of-town dealers may only get three permits a year.

- Dealers must pay $500 for the permit, and $50 for two demonstration license plates and $5 for 10 temporary permits to be issued to buyers.

Not all RV dealers in the area are sure how it will affect their business.

“I don’t know of all the particulars,” said Louise Carroll, owner of Carroll’s Trailerland. “I don’t know if there’s anything anyone can do about it now. But if it’s as limited as they say it is, I don’t think it can hurt any of us.”

Carroll also said that, while the RV rallies are in town, her business gets more work than it can handle and it also sells quite a few RVs.

Phil Stahla, owner of Eastside Motors and RVs Inc., viewed the legislation as both good and bad.

“The negative is that you have out-of-state dealers come in and sell their units in our territory,” he said. “But it is good for the county because it brings in revenue for the county.

“It brings us business, too, because we do a lot of parts business.”

The bigger RV rallies bring in bigger RVs, and Eastside is not a big motorized dealer. Stahla said they mostly deal in non-motorized units like fifth-wheels and pop-up trailers.

Overall, though, Stahla said he was “glad to see the legislation go through” even though it “helps our parts business but hurts our sales.”

Patrick Utecht, camper manager at Great Western Auto Brokers, was skeptical at first, but now doesn’t think the law will be too bad.

“I don’t know that it’s going to have a great deal of impact on our business,” he said. “I kind of don’t think it will affect us all that much.”

DID YOU KNOW?

- Wyoming is one of five or six states that has legislation allowing out-of-state dealers to obtain temporary sales permits to sell in their RVs in Wyoming. “That puts us high on the list that larger rallies will look at to go to,” said Cam-plex General Manager Dan Barks,

- In 2000, Cam-plex hosted 5,406 RVs during a rally in an area that was 2 1/4 miles by one-half mile. “We felt we could’ve handled more,” Barks said.

- This year, Cam-plex will host about 1,200 units at one rally, while next year about 1,500 units are expected during a single rally.

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