BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 202
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 3, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                SB 202 (Galgiani) - As Introduced:  February 7, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                             Business and  
          Professions  Vote:                            12 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires tire repair and changing businesses to be  
          licensed as an automotive repair dealer (ARD) under the Bureau  
          of Automotive Repair (BAR). 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Registering and overseeing 2,800 new tire facilities (an 8%  
          workload increase for BAR) as ARDs could result in on-going  
          costs in the range of a several hundred thousand dollars.  Those  
          costs should be fully offset by increased licensing revenue.  
          [Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund]

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . The intent of this legislation, sponsored by Les  
            Schwab Tire Center, is to bring tire-only businesses under the  
            jurisdiction of BAR.  According to the author, a number of  
            incidents have occurred where tire sales-only shops advertise  
            tires for a certain price, and then after the tires are  
            mounted present the customer with a final price higher than  
            the advertised price.  The author contends that if the  
            customer refuses to pay this final price, then the shops keep  
            possession of the vehicle until the customer pays. While this  
            practice is clearly illegal, the author notes that customers  
            rarely go to the district attorneys to seek recourse. 

            Placing these types of businesses under the jurisdiction of  
            BAR will require that tire repair and changing businesses be  
            licensed and regulated under BAR.  This bill would authorize  
            BAR to investigate complaints related to tire services and  








                                                                  SB 202
                                                                  Page  2

            take disciplinary action through citation, suspension or  
            revocation of an ARD license.  

           2)Related Legislation  . AB 2065 (Galgiani) of 2012, a  
            substantially similar bill, would have deleted tire repair and  
            changing from the list of services exempt from licensure as an  
            ARD under BAR, as specified.  AB 2065 was held on this  
            committee's Suspense File.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081