BILL NUMBER: SB 1542 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 433
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 23, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 23, 2006
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2006
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 7, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 24, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Senator Migden
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas)
(Coauthor: Senator Kuehl)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Mountjoy)
FEBRUARY 23, 2006
An act to add Section 9954 to the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1542, Migden Vehicles: key information access.
(1) Existing law imposes various requirements upon manufacturers
of motor vehicles sold or leased in this state with regard to
disclosing information and providing equipment. A violation of the
laws regulating motor vehicles is a crime.
This bill would require a motor vehicle manufacturer of a new
motor vehicle sold or leased in this state on or after January 1,
2008, except as specified, to provide a means whereby the registered
owner of that motor vehicle or a family member, through a registered
locksmith, can access information, and only that information, that is
necessary to permit the production of a replacement key or other
functionally similar device, by a registered locksmith, that will
allow the registered vehicle's owner or family member to enter,
start, and operate the vehicle. The bill would require a vehicle
manufacturer to retain and make the information available for at
least 25 years from the date of manufacture. The bill would exempt a
make that sold fewer than 2,500 vehicles in the prior calendar year
in the state from this requirement. The bill would exempt, until
January 1, 2013, a vehicle line of a motor vehicle manufacturer that
sold between 2,500 and 5,000 vehicles in the prior calendar year from
this requirement.
This bill would require the registered locksmith to follow certain
identity and vehicle verification procedures before he or she could
request the information from the manufacturer, to turn over certain
information to the registered owner or family member, and to destroy
all information accessed from the manufacturer after completing the
reproduction of the key or other functionally similar device. A
manufacturer would be required to make this information available by
telephone or electronically 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and to
retain this information for at least 25 years from the date of
manufacture. A manufacturer would also be required to include a
security process to verify the identity of the registered locksmith.
Since a violation of the bill's requirements would be a crime, the
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) There are over 28 million registered motor vehicles in
California, and those vehicles are an essential part of California
residents' work and mobility.
(b) A key or functionally similar device that will allow a
registered vehicle's owner to enter, start, and operate his or her
vehicle is a critical and necessary part of motor vehicle ownership,
without which a person cannot perform the basic functions of gaining
entry to a motor vehicle or starting its engine.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this act, to
give motorists better access to this necessary information, while at
the same time protecting the security of that information and the
vehicle. This act is intended to allow appropriate vehicle security
while providing essential and necessary consumer access.
SEC. 2. Section 9954 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
9954. (a) This section applies only to new vehicles sold or
leased in this state on or after January 1, 2008, except as provided
in subdivision (d) or (e).
(b) A motor vehicle manufacturer of a motor vehicle sold or leased
in this state shall provide the means whereby the registered owner
of that motor vehicle, through a registered locksmith, can access the
information, and only that information, that is necessary to permit
the production of a replacement key or other functionally similar
device by the registered locksmith that will allow the registered
vehicle's owner to enter, start, and operate his or her vehicle. The
means to access this information shall be available by telephone or
electronically 24 hours a day and seven days a week, as follows:
(1) When a registered locksmith is requested by the motor vehicle'
s registered owner or the registered owner's family member, to
produce a replacement key or other functionally similar device that
will allow the vehicle to be entered, started, and operated, and the
information is needed from the vehicle manufacturer in order to
produce the requested key or other functionally similar device, in
addition to the requirement in Section 466.6 of the Penal Code, the
registered locksmith shall visually verify the identity of the
requesting party through that party's driver's license; shall
visually verify that the registration of the vehicle matches the
requesting party's identity and address (or last name and address if
the requesting party is a family member of the registered owner); and
shall visually verify that the vehicle identification number of the
vehicle matches with the vehicle identification number on the
registration. Upon satisfactory verification of all three
requirements, the registered locksmith shall sign an affidavit that
he or she has visually verified the information and file the
affidavit along with, and for the same time period as, the work order
required by Section 466.6 of the Penal Code, and proceed to access
the needed information from the vehicle manufacturer.
(2) Upon completing the services, the registered locksmith shall
give any key code information obtained from the vehicle manufacturer
to the registered owner, or if applicable, the owner's family member,
and shall destroy all information accessed from the vehicle
manufacturer in his or her possession.
(3) Except in cases of fraud or misappropriation, a registered
locksmith who follows these procedures shall incur no liability for
theft of the vehicle related to the locksmith's production of a
replacement key or functionally similar device that will allow the
vehicle to be entered, started, and operated.
(4) When a vehicle manufacturer receives a request from a
registered locksmith for information to enable the locksmith to
produce a replacement key or other functionally similar device that
will allow the vehicle to be entered, started, and operated, and that
request is made at the behest of the vehicle's registered owner or
the registered owner's family member, the vehicle manufacturer shall
require the registered locksmith to confirm the locksmith's
registration with the manufacturer's registry; provide the security
password issued by the manufacturer; and comply with any other
reasonable authentication procedure. The manufacturer shall also
require the registered locksmith to confirm the locksmith's visual
identity and vehicle verifications, pursuant to paragraph (1). Upon
satisfactory verification of these requirements, and upon
presentation of the vehicle identification number and model number,
the vehicle manufacturer shall provide to the registered locksmith,
for the vehicle identified by the vehicle identification number and
model number, the information necessary to enable production of a
replacement key or other functionally similar device that allows the
vehicle to be entered, started, and operated.
(5) A motor vehicle manufacturer subject to this section shall
retain and make the information available in accordance with this
section for at least 25 years from the date of manufacture.
(6) A vehicle manufacturer that follows these procedures shall
incur no liability for theft of the vehicle related to furnishing the
information to a registered locksmith for the production of a
replacement key or functionally similar device that will allow the
vehicle to be entered, started, and operated.
(c) For purposes of this section the following definitions apply:
(1) "Information" includes, but is not limited to, the vehicle's
key code and, if applicable, immobilizer or access code, and its
successor technology and terminology.
(2) "Motor vehicle" is a passenger vehicle as defined in Section
465 and pickup truck as defined in Section 471, and does not include
a housecar, a motorcycle, or other two-wheeled motor vehicle.
(3) A "registered locksmith" means a locksmith licensed and bonded
in California that has registered with a motor vehicle manufacturer,
and has been issued a registry number and security password by the
manufacturer.
(4) A registered owner, as defined in Section 505, also includes a
lessee of the vehicle when the lessee's name appears on the vehicle
registration.
(d) (1) This section does not apply to a vehicle line of a motor
vehicle manufacturer that on January 1, 2006, does not provide for
the production of a replacement key or other functionally similar
device that allows the vehicle to be entered, started, and operated,
by anyone other than the vehicle manufacturer itself and only itself,
provided that the vehicle manufacturer operates a telephone or
electronic request line 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and
upon a request of the registered owner or family member of the
registered owner of the vehicle, a replacement key or other
functionally similar device that will allow the vehicle to be
entered, started, and operated, is furnished to the registered owner
at a reasonable cost within one day of the request or via the next
overnight delivery.
(2) If subsequent to January 1, 2008, a vehicle line of the
manufacturer exempted by this subdivision provides for the production
of a replacement by anyone, other than the vehicle manufacturer
itself, of a key or other functionally similar device that will allow
the vehicle to be entered, started, and operated, this section shall
apply to that vehicle line.
(3) This subdivision shall remain operative until January 1, 2013,
and as of that date shall become inoperative, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends
that date.
(e) (1) This section does not apply to a vehicle line of a motor
vehicle manufacturer that sold between 2,500 and 5,000 vehicles of
that line in the prior calendar year in the state.
(2) This subdivision shall remain operative until January 1, 2013,
and as of that date shall become inoperative, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends
that date.
(f) This section shall not apply to a make that sold fewer than
2,500 vehicles in the prior calendar year in the state.
(g) The duties imposed on a manufacturer pursuant to this section
may be performed either by the manufacturer or by an agent through a
contract.
(h) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.