Navigating a Changing Landscape: ADALB Tackles Historic Labor Rate Legislation, Parts Safety and Regulatory Enforcement
by Chasidy Rae Sisk
The Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board’s (ADALB) July 14 meeting demonstrated that the active, research-driven tone established by Chairman Donald E. d’Entremont was not a temporary shift, but the new standard for the regulatory body.
Although the Board conducted routine business ranging from licensing examinations to review of complaints, much of the discussion centered on two significant developments with potentially long-term implications for the industry: the Legislature’s creation of a permanent Auto Body Labor Reimbursement Rate Advisory Board and the ADALB’s formal adoption of an advisory ruling clarifying licensed appraiser requirements following recent changes made by the Division of Standards.
The meeting’s most substantive policy discussion began when Attorney Michael Powers introduced an unprecedented legislative development: the formal passage of an amendment to Massachusetts General Law Chapter 175. Included in the recently finalized state budget and signed into law by the governor, the statute establishes a permanent Auto Body Labor Reimbursement Rate Advisory Board.
The new advisory Board will consist of one member appointed by the Commissioner of Insurance (serving as co-chair), one member appointed by the Attorney General (serving as co-chair), and one representative from each of the following three organizations: the Massachusetts Insurance Federation, the Massachusetts Auto Body Association (MABA) and the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association. The law dictates that the newly formed five-member advisory board must issue its first labor reimbursement rate survey no later than January 1, 2027 – less than six months away.
Yet, the new advisory Board does not yet exist. “They’ve got to get to work,” Attorney Michael Powers observed. “The last time we went through this exercise…it took about five months at least to get the names of everybody up, so they’re running right up against the wall.”
The Board next addressed the final approval of Advisory Ruling 2026-X, stemming from a recent shift in requirements made by the Massachusetts Division of Standards which “no longer requires a motor vehicle repair shop to employ a licensed auto damage appraiser as a condition of obtaining or renewing a motor vehicle repair shop registration.”
“All we’re doing is clarifying what the regulations already say,” Board member Bill Johnson (Pleasant Street Auto; South Hadley/Belchertown) reminded the Board before it voted unanimously to adopt the advisory ruling. “We’re not creating any new rules. We’re just saying this is what the rules are. There’s only so much this Board can control; we cannot change what the CMR says. All we’re doing is reiterating what’s already there.”
During the review of 11 complaints, five were dismissed, two will move forward and three were tabled; the Board agreed to request additional information on the final complaint discussed. But the ground-breaking news from that segment of the meeting came when d’Entremont broke ties in favor of the repairers – TWICE!
The ADALB is scheduled to reconvene on September 1 at 11am. Information pertaining to the ADALB’s meeting schedule and planned agenda is typically posted by the Friday prior to the meeting at bit.ly/ADALBagendas. Don’t miss detailed coverage of the meeting, only available MABA’s members-only newsletter, Damage Report.
MABA members are strongly encouraged to listen to the recording of the July 14 meeting in the Members Only portal at the top of the homepage at massautobody.org for a glimpse into the inner workings of the ADALB. View the meeting agenda at bit.ly/ADALB071426.
Want more? Check out the September 2026 issue of New England Automotive Report!