HARRISBURG – Legislation sponsored by State Senator Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) that works to alleviate burdens being placed on local motorcycle dealerships and address costly manufacturer mandates was recently signed into law.

House Bill 4925 amends the Motor Vehicle Franchise Act to prevent a vehicle manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler from forcing or requiring any motorcycle dealer to construct improvements to their facility at a substantial cost to the dealer.

“My hope when bringing this proposal before the Senate was to protect our smaller dealers from substantial costs that they could incur due to mandates from manufacturers,” said Senator Fowler. “We should be looking at ways to alleviate the burdens placed on small businesses, not upholding unnecessary and costly mandates that make it harder to operate here in Illinois.”

The new law also prevents manufacturers from having components of the manufacturer/dealer relationship be contingent on the dealer giving into potentially unreasonable demands from the manufacturer.

“By ensuring that our motorcycle dealers aren’t subjected to undue financial burdens, we’re helping them stay competitive and continue serving the people of this state,” said Sen. Fowler.

House Bill 4925 was signed into law on Aug. 9 and will take effect immediately.