BILL ANALYSIS AB 1373 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1373 (Lieu) As Amended June 29, 2010 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | |(June 3, 2009) |SENATE: |22-9 |(August 12, | | | | | | |2010) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- (vote not relevant) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |COMMITTEE VOTE: |9-0 |(August 24, 2010) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES. SUMMARY : Restricts the activities of grant deed copy services by prohibiting misleading representations about the necessity of obtaining a copy of a grant deed or that the copy service is a governmental entity or affiliated with such an entity, and requiring specific disclosures that informs homeowners that they may obtain a copy of their grant deed directly from the county recorder. The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill, and instead: 1)Make it unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, association, or any other business entity to make any untrue or misleading statements in any manner in connection with the offering or performance of a grant deed copy service. 2)Define "untrue or misleading statement" as including, but not limited to, any representation, with regard to property identified by its address or assessor's parcel number that any of the following is true: a) That due to property foreclosures and loan modifications in the county where the property is located, the property owner should obtain a copy of his or her grand deed or other record of title; AB 1373 Page 2 b) That a governmental entity, or any other entity that includes in its name words that could lead a person to reasonably believe that the entity is affiliated with government, has recommended that a property owner should have a copy of his or her grant deed or other record of title; c) That the offeror of the grant deed copy service is, or is affiliated with, any government entity. Provides that a violation of this provision includes, but is not limited to, the following: i) The misleading use of any governmental seal, emblem, or other similar symbol; ii) The use of a business name including the words "title," "grant deed," or "public record" and the word "agency," "bureau," "department," "division," "federal," "state," "county," "city," or "municipal," or the name of any city, county, city and county, or any governmental entity; iii) The use of an envelope that simulates an envelope containing a government check, tax bill, or government notice or has the capacity to be confused with, or mistaken for, an envelope sent by a governmental entity; or, iv) The use of an envelope or outside cover or wrapper in which a solicitation is mailed that does not bear on its face in capital letters and in conspicuous and legible type the following: "THIS IS NOT A GOVERNMENT APPROVED OR AUTHORIZED DOCUMENT." d) That there is a fee payment deadline to obtain a copy of a property owner's grant deed or other record of title. 3)Make it unlawful to offer to perform a grant deed copy service without making the following disclosure: "THIS SERVICE TO OBTAIN A COPY OF YOUR GRANT DEED OR OTHER RECORD OF TITLE IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY. YOU CAN OBTAIN A COPY OF YOUR GRANT DEED OR OTHER RECORD OF TITLE FROM THE COUNTY RECORDER IN THE COUNTY WHERE YOUR PROPERTY IS LOCATED FOR [AMOUNT OF FEE FOR THE COPY OF A GRANT DEED OR OTHER RECORD OF TITLE IN THAT COUNTY]." 4)Specify that the disclosure outlined in 3) above shall be: AB 1373 Page 3 a) Placed at the top of each page of every advertisement or promotional material disseminated by an offeror of a grant deed copy service, printed in 14-point boldface type enclosed in a box formed by a heavy line, and recited at the beginning of every oral solicitation; and, b) Recited at the beginning of every oral solicitation and broadcast advertisement and delivered in printed form as prescribed above before the time each person who responds to the oral solicitation or broadcast advertisement is obligated to pay for the service. 5)Define "grant deed copy service" to mean a service offered by a person, firm, corporation, association, or any other business entity, through a mailed solicitation to a property owner, to obtain, for compensation, a copy of the property owner's grant deed or other record of title. EXISTING LAW provides that certain advertising-related practices are unlawful and makes a violation of those provisions a crime. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill required the California Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to assess the potential to reduce the use and emissions of high-global warming potential compounds in stationary refrigeration and air-conditioning industry in California. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS : This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is inconsistent with Assembly actions. Subsequently, the Senate-approved version of this bill was heard and passed from the Assembly Business, Profession and Consumer Protection Committee. Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B.,P. & C.P. / (916) 319-3301 FN: 0006731