BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2502|
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                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 2502
          Author:   Blumenfield (D)
          Amended:  5/8/12 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  4-0, 7/3/12
          AYES:  Evans, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Harman

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 5/14/12 (Consent) - See last page 
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Vehicles:  conditional sale contracts

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill revise the automobile conditional 
          sales contract law to allow electric vehicle charging 
          stations to be sold with, and financed as part, of an 
          automobile purchase, with a required disclosure regarding 
          charges.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law, the Rees-Levering Motor Vehicle 
          Sales and Finance Act, sets forth numerous disclosure 
          requirements to be included in an automobile conditional 
          sale contract, including disclosures regarding finance 
          charges, and sets forth the permissible fees and charges in 
          an automobile conditional sale contract for the sale of a 
          motor vehicle.  (Civil Code Section 2982 et seq.)

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                                                               AB 2502
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          2

          This bill adds a required disclosure regarding charges for 
          an electric vehicle charging station, which must be labeled 
          "EV Charging Station" and may include materials, wiring, 
          and equipment installation, each of which shall be 
          separately itemized.
          

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/6/12)

          Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
          California New Car Dealers Association

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author:

               We are at the beginning of a new era in car 
               technology:  that of electric vehicles.  Those models 
               currently on the market come with primary chargers 
               which allow the cars to plug in to a normal electric 
               outlet, though they require hours to fully charge the 
               battery.  Level 2 Chargers (so-called secondary 
               chargers) are also available for purchase.  Most of 
               these secondary chargers are charging stations that 
               can be installed in electric vehicle owner's places of 
               residence.  They use 220 to 240V to charge the car 
               battery and thus, can reduce the charge time by more 
               than half.  These secondary chargers costs upwards of 
               $1,000, yet cannot be financed with the car purchase 
               itself because they are not considered accessories 
               under current law.  There is no place on the 
               conditional sales contract to document a charge for 
               such an item.  This provides a barrier to car buyers 
               who are interested in purchasing an electric vehicle, 
               and the secondary charger along with it.  Although 
               they can finance the car, they must find alternative 
               financing to purchase the secondary charger- which, 
               for many, is the feature that would make owning an 
               electric car feasible (due to reducing charging 
               times). 

               AB 2502 creates a line on the conditional sales 
               contract so that secondary chargers may be financed 

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                                                               AB 2502
                                                                Page 
          3

               with the vehicle.  Other add on items, such as Lo-Jack 
               and On-Star, already can be financed with the vehicle 
               itself.  This would be a similar such item, except it 
               is not installed in the vehicle itself, but rather in 
               the vehicle owner's residence.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 76-0, 05/14/12
          AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Beall, Bill 
            Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, 
            Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, 
            Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth 
            Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, 
            Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger 
            Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, 
            Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, 
            Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, 
            Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, 
            Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner, 
            Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Atkins, Fletcher, Perea, Valadao


          RJG:n  7/6/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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