BILL NUMBER: SB 869	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Yee

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to add Section 9884.76 to the Business and Professions
Code, relating to automotive repair dealers.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 869, as introduced, Yee. Automotive repair dealers: airbags.
   Existing law, the Automotive Repair Act, establishes the Bureau of
Automotive Repair under the supervision and control of the Director
of Consumer Affairs. Existing law provides that a person who fails to
comply with the act is guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by a
fine not exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment not exceeding 6 months, or
by both that fine and imprisonment, except as specified.
   This bill would provide that an automotive repair dealer who
prepares a written estimate for repairs that includes replacement of
a deployed airbag, as specified, who fails to repair and fully
restore the airbag, as specified, is guilty of a misdemeanor that is
punishable by a $5,000 fine, by one year imprisonment in a county
jail, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
   Because this bill would create a new crime, the bill would create
a state-mandated local program.
   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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 9884.76 is added to the Business and
Professions Code, to read:
   9884.76.  Notwithstanding Section 9889.20, an automotive repair
dealer who prepares a written estimate for repairs pursuant to
Section 9884.9 that includes replacement of a deployed airbag that is
part of an inflatable restraint system, and who fails to repair and
fully restore the airbag to its original operating condition, where
the customer has paid for the airbag as provided in the estimate, is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of five thousand dollars
($5,000) or by imprisonment in a county jail for one year or by both
that fine and imprisonment.
  SEC. 2.  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.