BILL NUMBER: SB 1444	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 23, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 11, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Anderson
    (   Coauthors:   Senators  
Correa,   Negrete McLeod,   and Strickland 
 ) 

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to  add Section 2530.7 to the Business and
Professions   amend Section 1793.02 of the Civil 
Code, relating to assistive devices.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1444, as amended, Anderson. Assistive devices: 
warranty: regulations.  warranty.  
   Existing law provides that all new and used assistive devices sold
at retail in this state shall be accompanied by the retail seller's
written warranty which is required to contain specified language
including that the assistive device is warranted to be specifically
fit for the particular needs of the buyers.  
   This bill would, with respect to hearing aids, delete the warranty
requirement that the devices be specifically fit for the particular
needs of the buyer.  
   Existing law creates the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board in the Department of Consumer
Affairs with various powers and duties. Existing law requires all new
and used assistive devices sold at retail, with specified
exceptions, to be accompanied by a written warranty. 

   This bill would authorize the board to adopt regulations that
define the express terms that must be provided in a purchase
agreement for a hearing aid, notwithstanding the existing provisions
otherwise applicable to a warranty for a hearing aid. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  yes
  no  . State-mandated local program: no.


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

   SECTION 1.    Section 1793.02 of the   Civil
Code   is amended to read: 
   1793.02.  (a) All new and used assistive devices  , with the
exception of hearing aids,  sold at retail in this state shall
be accompanied by the retail seller's written warranty which shall
contain the following language: "This assistive device is warranted
to be specifically fit for the particular needs of you, the buyer. If
the device is not specifically fit for your particular needs, it may
be returned to the seller within 30 days of the date of actual
receipt by you or completion of fitting by the seller, whichever
occurs later. If you return the device, the seller will either adjust
or replace the device or promptly refund the total amount paid. This
warranty does not affect the protections and remedies you have under
other laws." In lieu of the words "30 days" the retail seller may
specify any longer period.
   (b) The language prescribed in subdivision (a) shall appear on the
first page of the warranty in at least 10-point bold type. The
warranty shall be delivered to the buyer at the time of the sale of
the device.
   (c) If the buyer returns the device within the period specified in
the written warranty, the seller shall, without charge and within a
reasonable time, adjust the device or, if appropriate, replace it
with a device that is specifically fit for the particular needs of
the buyer. If the seller does not adjust or replace the device so
that it is specifically fit for the particular needs of the buyer,
the seller shall promptly refund to the buyer the total amount paid,
the transaction shall be deemed rescinded, and the seller shall
promptly return to the buyer all payments and any assistive device or
other consideration exchanged as part of the transaction and shall
promptly cancel or cause to be canceled all contracts, instruments,
and security agreements executed by the buyer in connection with the
sale. When a sale is rescinded under this section, no charge,
penalty, or other fee may be imposed in connection with the purchase,
fitting, financing, or return of the device.
   (d) With respect to the retail sale of an assistive device to an
individual, organization, or agency known by the seller to be
purchasing for the ultimate user of the device, this section and
subdivision (b) of Section 1792.2 shall be construed to require that
the device be specifically fit for the particular needs of the
ultimate user.
   (e) This section and subdivision (b) of Section 1792.2 shall not
apply to any of the following sales of assistive devices:
   (1) A catalog or similar sale, as defined in subdivision (q) of
Section 1791, except a sale of a hearing aid.
   (2) A sale which involves a retail sale price of less than fifteen
dollars ($15).
   (3) A surgical implant performed by a physician and surgeon, or a
restoration or dental prosthesis provided by a dentist.
   (f) The rights and remedies of the buyer under this section and
subdivision (b) of Section 1792.2 are not subject to waiver under
Section 1792.3. The rights and remedies of the buyer under this
section and subdivision (b) of Section 1792.2 are cumulative, and
shall not be construed to affect the obligations of the retail seller
or any other party or to supplant the rights or remedies of the
buyer under any other section of this chapter or under any other law
or instrument.
   (g) Section 1795.5 shall not apply to a sale of used assistive
devices, and for the purposes of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty
Act the buyer of a used assistive device shall have the same rights
and remedies as the buyer of a new assistive device.
   (h) The language in  subdivision  
subdivisions  (a)  and (i)  shall not constitute an
express warranty for purposes of Sections 1793.2 and 1793.3. 
   (i) (1) (A) All new and used hearing aids sold in this state shall
be accompanied by the retail seller's written warranty, which shall
appear on the first page of the warranty in at least 10-point bold
type, delivered to the buyer at the time of the sale of the device,
and shall contain the following language: 

   This assistive device may be returned to the seller within 30 days
from the date you are fitted with the assistive device and take
possession of the device. If you return the device, the seller will
either adjust or replace the device, or promptly refund the total
amount paid. This warranty does not affect the protections and
remedies you have under other laws. 

   (B) In lieu of the words "30 days" the retail seller may specify
any longer period.  
   (2) If the buyer returns a hearing aid within the period specified
in the written warranty, the seller shall, without charge and within
a reasonable time, adjust the device or, if appropriate, replace it.
If the seller does not adjust or replace the device, the seller
shall promptly refund to the buyer the total amount paid. The
transaction shall be deemed rescinded, and the seller shall promptly
return to the buyer all payments and any assistive device or other
consideration exchanged as part of the transaction. The seller shall
promptly cancel or cause to be canceled all contracts, instruments,
and security agreements executed by the buyer in connection with the
sale. When a sale is rescinded under this section, no charge,
penalty, or other fee may be imposed in connection with the purchase,
fitting, financing, or return of the device.  
   (3) If the hearing aid must be repaired, remade, or adjusted
during the 30-day warranty period, or longer period if specified by
the seller, the warranty period is suspended for one day for each
24-hour period that the hearing aid is not in the buyer's possession.
The warranty period shall resume on the day the buyer reclaims the
repaired, remade, or adjusted hearing aid or five working days after
notification of availability, whichever is earlier.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 2530.7 is added to the
Business and Professions Code, to read:
   2530.7.  Notwithstanding Section 1793.02 of the Civil Code, the
board may adopt regulations that define the express terms that must
be provided in a purchase agreement for a hearing aid.