BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|Hearing Date:April 25, 2011 |Bill No:SB |
| |869 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., Chair
Bill No: SB 869Author:Yee
As Introduced: February 18, 2011 Fiscal: Yes
SUBJECT: Automotive repair dealers: airbags.
SUMMARY: Increases the penalty for a person who, after preparing a
written estimate to repair a deployed airbag, fails to properly repair
and restore that airbag to its original condition.
Existing law, the Business and Professions Code (BPC):
1) Establishes the Bureau of Automotive Repair under the Supervision
and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. (BPC § 9882)
2) Establishes a misdemeanor penalty of up to six months in jail, a
$1,000 fine, or both for a person who fails to comply with the
Automotive Repair Act, except as specified. (BPC § 9889.20)
Existing law, the Vehicle Code (VC):
1)Requires that if a vehicle was originally manufactured with a
"supplemental restraint system" Ýwhich includes airbags] the
reconstructed Ý"salvaged vehicle"] shall also be equipped with a
supplemental restraint system in good working order that meets
applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards and conforms to
the manufacturer's specifications for that vehicle.
(VC § 5505)
2)Establishes a misdemeanor penalty of up to one year in jail, a $5,000
fine, or both for a person who installs or reinstalls for
compensation, distributes, or sells a previously deployed airbag in
a vehicle, if the person knows that the airbag has been previously
deployed.
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(VC § 27317)
This bill: Establishes a misdemeanor penalty of up to one year in
jail, a $5,000 fine, or both for an automotive repair dealer who
prepares for a customer a written estimate that includes replacement
of a deployed airbag and who fails to repair and fully restore the
airbag to original operating condition.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "fiscal" by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the Center for Auto Safety
(Sponsor). Existing law establishes a penalty of up to six months
in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both for a person who fails to comply
with the provisions of the Automotive Repair Act. However, there
is no language that requires an air bag repair to fully restore the
airbag "to its original operating condition." Additionally, the
Sponsor believes that the "current penalty provision is not strong
enough to deter an automotive repair dealer for failing to bring
the airbag back to its pre-loss condition."
2. Recent Events Involving Faulty Airbags. A February 2008 Reader's
Digest article, Airbag Scams: Dashboard Danger, discussed several
accidents where a faulty airbag led to a fatality in an automobile
accident. In one case in San Diego, an 18-year old man died in a
car accident where the airbag compartments were stuffed with paper.
A forensic scientist concluded that although he had not been
wearing a seatbelt, had there been an airbag in the truck, he would
have survived. The article also stated that a consumer is
vulnerable to these types of fraud whenever he or she buys a used
vehicle or sends a wrecked one for repairs. A con artist who
steals a brand new single airbag can make $1,000 or more.
The article also states that customers currently do not have a
reliable method to determine the full history of a used car before
they buy it. It warns that existing databases don't always receive
the most up-to-date information. This happens for a variety of
reasons, but can be attributed to the fact that insurance companies
and some DMV's will not share damage claims data with the database
services. For example in 2006, a potential car buyer ran a Carfax
report before buying a car. After ensuring that everything checked
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out, he purchased the car only to have it break down the next day.
He later found out that it would require $4,000 in repairs.
3. Reestablishment of the BAR Autobody Inspection Program. The
Department of Consumer Affairs' 2006-07 Annual Report states
that the BAR reestablished the Auto Body Inspection Program in
January 2007. This program allows qualified consumers to
receive free inspections to verify the collision repair work
done on their cars. During the 2006-07 fiscal year, the BAR's
Auto Body Inspection Program completed 232 inspections, of
which 81 (35 %) uncovered poor workmanship and/or billing for
parts and services not performed. A total of 86 complaints
were opened as a result. It is unclear how many of these were
related specifically to airbags.
4. Related Legislation. SB 427 (Negrete McLeod) of 2009, would have
established the same misdemeanor with the same penalties for a
violation as the current bill. Additionally, that bill would have
required the parts invoice for any replacement airbag installed as
part of the vehicle repair to be attached to the final repair
invoice given to a consumer. That bill was vetoed by the Governor,
citing that it was duplicative of existing law and, therefore,
added very little additional benefit to consumers.
5. Arguments in Support. The California New Car Dealers Association
(CNCDA) supports this measure. It states that although it is
already fraud to invoice a customer for replaced parts and not do
so, it is difficult to prove that fraud has occurred after the
fact. The CNCDA states that it has had an interest in curbing the
nefarious practice of parts switching and, therefore, support this
bill since it narrowly targets the most egregious example of such
conduct concerning a critical vehicle safety component.
Other supporters agree that the failure to properly replace an airbag
is a serious problem which costs individual customers thousands of
dollars and can even take their lives. They cite studies by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which found
that 20% of all deaths in crashes caused by an airbag failure to
deploy are due to the airbag not having been installed in a repair
prior to the crash. The total absence of an airbag was stated in
these studies to be the most common reason for auto fatalities in
cases where the air bag did not deploy. According to the Center
for Auto Safety, in California, at least 30,000 repairs are
performed each year where a deployed airbag is not replaced .
Additionally, there are no added costs for its implementation;
rather, this law will reduce the costs to society and the state by
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reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries in crashes in
California. Also, supporters feel that this measure will help with
the BAR's continuing efforts to combat auto body fraud.
6. Policy Issue : Should there be a requirement to repair or
replace a deployed airbag? Currently, there are no statutes
requiring that an auto repair shop replace a deployed air bag.
However, it is required for "salvaged vehicles" that the
restraint systems be in good working order which meets
applicable federal vehicle safety standards and conforms to the
manufacturer's specification for that vehicle. It is also
fraud and a violation of the Automotive Repair Act to state on
an invoice that a person or auto repair shop will repair or
replace an item in a vehicle and fail to do so. This bill
strengthens the existing penalties on that violation
specifically for airbags which are being replaced, but possibly
in the future some consideration should be given to assuring
that any vehicles entering an auto repair shop which has a
deployed airbag must leave that repair shop in good working
order similar to salvaged vehicles.
NOTE : Double-referral to Public Safety Committee second. (Because of
legislative deadlines, any amendments that are made to the bill in
this Committee should be processed in the next committee.)
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
Center for Auto Safety (Sponsor)
California Autobody Association (CAA)
California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA)
Consumers Union
Personal Insurance Federation of California (PIFC)
Trauma Foundation
Opposition:
None received as of April 19, 2011.
Consultant:G. V. Ayers/Candace Choe
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