BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 501
Author: Nazarian (D)
Amended: 9/3/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-0, 6/18/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Galgiani, Hueso, Lara, Liu,
Pavley, Roth, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 9-0, 7/3/13
AYES: Hill, Gaines, Calderon, Corbett, Fuller, Hancock,
Jackson, Leno, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/16/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Motor vehicle dealers
SOURCE : California New Car Dealers Association
DIGEST : This bill makes changes to various laws relating to
motor vehicle dealers.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/3/13 add double-jointing language
with AB 529 (Lowenthal) to avoid chapter conflicts.
ANALYSIS :
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1.Existing law prohibits the sale in California of motor vehicle
brake friction materials containing specified constituents in
an amount that exceeds specified concentrations. Motor
vehicle manufacturers and distributors, wholesalers, or
retailers of replacement brake friction materials may continue
to sell brake friction materials non-certified materials "for
the purpose of depletion of inventories" until December 31,
2023.
This bill allows motor vehicle dealers to continue to sell
non-certified brake friction material installed on a vehicle
before the vehicle was acquired by the dealer.
2.Existing law requires every person who engages in the
transportation of waste or used tires to hold a valid waste
and used tire hauler registration. The law defines a "tire
broker" as a person that arranges for the shipment of used or
waste tires to or from a site located within the state, or
through the state.
This bill provides that a "tire broker" does not include a
vehicle dealer or a tire retailer engaged in the retail sale,
service, and installation of new tires on customer vehicles.
3.Existing law requires motor vehicle dealers to maintain a
non-profit corporation known as the Consumer Motor Vehicle
Recovery Corporation (CMVRC) for the purpose of providing
payments to consumers for unsatisfied claims for economic loss
as a result of a licensed dealer's failure to:
A. Remit license or registration fees the dealer has
received or committed to pay to the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV).
B. Pay off the loan on a vehicle taken as a trade-in.
C. Make agreed to payments to the lessor of a vehicle taken
as a trade-in.
D. Make good on a consignment agreement after the sale of a
consigned vehicle.
Motor vehicle dealers support the CMVRC by contributing $1 per
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vehicle sold, up to $2,500 per year through the DMV. DMV ceases
to collect the fee if the balance of the recovery fund exceeds
$5 million and reinstates the fee when the fund balance falls
below $2 million.
This bill allows consumers to qualify for restitution from the
CMVRC for two additional dealer omissions: (1) failure to
provide a consumer with a clean title on a purchased vehicle,
unless clearly and conspicuously agreed to otherwise; and (2)
failure to remit funds the dealer has received or committed to
pay to third parties for insurance, service contracts, or other
goods or services.
1.Existing law, under the Motor Carriers of Property Permit Act
(Act), requires a motor carrier of property to hold a valid
motor carrier permit issued by DMV. Existing law defines a
"motor carrier of property" subject to the act as any person
who operates a specified commercial motor vehicle, including a
motortruck of two or more axles that is more than 10,000
pounds gross vehicle weight rating and any other motor vehicle
used to transport property for compensation. Existing law
exempts certain types of vehicles from the Act, including
motortrucks or two-axle truck tractors with a gross vehicle
weight rating of less than 26,001 pounds when operated solely
to tow a camp trailer, trailer coach, fifth-wheel travel
trailer, or utility trailer.
This bill further exempts motortrucks or two-axle truck tractors
with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 26,001 pounds
when operated solely to tow a trailer designed to transport
watercraft and motortrucks or two-axle truck tractors with a
gross vehicle weight rating of less than 16,001 pounds operated
singly in noncommercial use.
This bill is double-jointed to AB 529 (Lowenthal).
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill is intended to make
several changes to laws relating to car dealerships and the sale
of vehicles. The author's office believes that the provision
exempting larger trucks from the Act is necessary because larger
model pickups now exceed the weight threshold and are subject to
California Highway Patrol enforcement actions, which creates
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problems for both the consumer and the dealer selling the
vehicle. The author's office further believes that by expanding
eligible claims from the CMVRC, consumers will be able to
recover the money they are entitled to but are not now able to
receive.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/4/13)
California New Car Dealers Association (source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/16/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia,
Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Roger Hern�ndez, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue,
Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,
V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Buchanan, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Grove,
Holden, Melendez, Morrell, Stone, Vacancy
JA:ej 9/4/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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