BILL NUMBER: AB 281 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gallagher
FEBRUARY 11, 2015
An act to amend Sections 7500.1, 7506.9, and 7507.5 of, and to add
Sections 7509, 7509.1, 7509.2, and 7509.3 to, the Business and
Professions Code, relating to collateral recovery.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 281, as amended, Gallagher. Collateral recovery.
Existing law, the Collateral Recovery Act, provides for the
licensure and regulation of repossession agencies by the Bureau of
Security and Investigative Services under the supervision and control
of the Director of Consumer Affairs. The chief of the bureau serves
under the direction and supervision of the director. Existing law
makes a violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for
the denial of a license for specified violations of the act, and
authorizes the director to assess administrative fines and penalties.
This bill would establish a Collateral Recovery Disciplinary
Review Committee, to consist of 5 members to be appointed by, and to
serve at the pleasure of, the Governor, for purposes of reviewing the
request of a licensee to contest the assessment of an administrative
fine or to appeal a denial of a license, except as specified. The
bill would set forth the duties of the Collateral Recovery
Disciplinary Review Committee in that regard, and would authorize the
members of the committee to be paid per diem and reimbursed for
actual travel expenses.
Existing law prohibits a person from performing the duties of a
registrant for a licensed repossession agency unless the person has
in his or her possession a valid repossessor registration card or
evidence of a valid temporary registration or registration renewal.
Existing law authorizes a person to perform the duties of a
registrant for a licensee pending receipt of a registration card if
the person has been approved by the bureau and carries on his or her
person a hardcopy printout of the bureau's approval from the bureau's
Internet Web site.
This bill would authorize a person performing the duties
of a registrant to alternatively display a exempt from
that prohibition a person who has in his or her possession a
hardcopy printout or electronic copy of the bureau's approval from
the bureau's Internet Web site or an electronic screenshot
display of this information directly from the bureau's Internet Web
site. The bill would also authorize a person
performing the duties of a registrant for a licensee pending receipt
of a registration card if the person has been approved by the bureau
and carries on his or her person an specify for the
above-described purposes that an electronic copy of the bureau's
approval may include an electronic screenshot display of
this information directly from the bureau's Internet Web
site. that information.
The Collateral Recovery Act authorizes licensed repossessors to
perform repair work upon vehicles and charge owners if expressly
authorized to do so.
This bill would prohibit licensed repossessors from performing, or
charging for, repair work.
This bill would also make technical changes.
Because a violation of the bill's provisions under the Collateral
Recovery Act would be a crime, the bill would impose 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 7500.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
7500.1. The following terms as used in this chapter have the
meaning expressed in this section:
(a) "Advertisement" means any written or printed communication,
including a directory listing, except a free telephone directory
listing that does not allow space for a license number.
(b) "Assignment" means any written authorization by the legal
owner, lienholder, lessor or lessee, or the agent of any of them, to
skip trace, locate, or repossess, including, but not limited to,
collateral registered under the Vehicle Code that is subject to a
security agreement that contains a repossession clause. "Assignment"
also means any written authorization by an employer to recover any
collateral entrusted to an employee or former employee in possession
of the collateral. A photocopy of an assignment, facsimile copy of an
assignment, or electronic format of an assignment shall have the
same force and effect as an original written assignment.
(c) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Security and Investigative
Services.
(d) "Chief" means the Chief of the Bureau of Security and
Investigative Services.
(e) "Collateral" means any specific vehicle, trailer, boat,
recreational vehicle, motor home, appliance, or other property that
is subject to a security agreement.
(f) "Combustibles" means any substance or article that is capable
of undergoing combustion or catching fire, or that is flammable, if
retained.
(g) "Dangerous drugs" means any controlled substances as defined
in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(h) "Deadly weapon" means and includes any instrument or weapon of
the kind commonly known as a blackjack, slungshot, billy, sandclub,
sandbag, metal knuckles, dirk, dagger, pistol, or revolver, or any
other firearm, any knife having a blade longer than five inches, any
razor with an unguarded blade, and any metal pipe or bar used or
intended to be used as a club.
(i) "Debtor" means any person obligated under a security
agreement.
(j) "Department" means the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(k) "Director" means the Director of Consumer Affairs.
(l) "Electronic format" includes, but is not limited to, a text
message, e-mail, email, or Internet
posting.
(m) "Health hazard" means any personal effects that if retained
would produce an unsanitary or unhealthful condition, or which might
damage other personal effects.
(n) "Legal owner" means a person holding a security interest in
any collateral that is subject to a security agreement, a lien
against any collateral, or an interest in any collateral that is
subject to a lease agreement.
(o) "Licensee" means an individual, partnership, limited liability
company, or corporation licensed under this chapter as a
repossession agency.
(p) "Multiple licensee" means a repossession agency holding more
than one repossession license under this chapter, with one fictitious
trade style and ownership, conducting repossession business from
additional licensed locations other than the location shown on the
original license.
(q) "Person" includes any individual, partnership, limited
liability company, or corporation.
(r) "Personal effects" means any property that is not the property
of the legal owner.
(s) "Private building" means and includes any dwelling,
outbuilding, or other enclosed structure.
(t) "Qualified certificate holder" or "qualified manager" is a
person who possesses a valid qualification certificate in accordance
with the provisions of Article 5 (commencing with Section 7504) and
is in active control or management of, and who is a director of, the
licensee's place of business.
(u) "Registrant" means a person registered under this chapter.
(v) "Secured area" means and includes any fenced and locked area.
(w) "Security agreement" means an obligation, pledge, mortgage,
chattel mortgage, lease agreement, deposit, or lien, given by a
debtor as security for payment or performance of his or her debt, by
furnishing the creditor with a recourse to be used in case of failure
in the principal obligation. "Security agreement" also includes a
bailment where an employer-employee relationship exists or existed
between the bailor and the bailee.
(x) "Services" means any duty or labor to be rendered by one
person for another.
(y) "Violent act" means any act that results in bodily harm or
injury to any party involved.
(z) The amendments made to this section during the 2005-06 Regular
Session shall not be deemed to exempt any person from the provisions
of this chapter.
SEC. 2. Section 7506.9 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
7506.9. (a) Upon the issuance of the initial registration,
reregistration, or renewal, the chief shall issue to the registrant a
suitable pocket identification card. At the request of the
registrant, the identification card may include a photograph of the
registrant. The photograph shall be of a size prescribed by the
bureau. The card shall contain the name of the licensee with whom the
registrant is registered. The applicant may request to be issued an
enhanced pocket card that shall be composed of durable material and
may incorporate technologically advanced security features. The
bureau may charge a fee sufficient to reimburse the department for
costs for furnishing the enhanced pocket card. The fee charged may
not exceed the actual cost for system development, maintenance, and
processing necessary to provide the service, and may not exceed six
dollars ($6). If the applicant does not request an enhanced card, the
department shall issue a standard card at no cost to the applicant.
(b) Until the registration certificate is issued or denied, a
person may be assigned to work with a temporary registration on a
secure form prescribed by the chief, and issued by the qualified
certificate holder, for a period not to exceed 120 days from the date
the employment or contract commenced, provided the person signs a
declaration under penalty of perjury that he or she has not been
convicted of a felony or committed any other act constituting grounds
for denial of a registration pursuant to Section 7506.8 (unless he
or she declares that the conviction of a felony or the commission of
a specified act or acts occurred prior to the issuance of a
registration by the chief and the conduct was not the cause of any
subsequent suspension or termination of a registration), and that he
or she has read and understands the provisions of this chapter.
(c) The chief shall issue an additional temporary registration for
not less than 60 days nor more than 120 days, if the chief
determines that the investigation of the applicant will take longer
to complete than the initial temporary registration time period.
(d) No person shall perform the duties of a registrant for a
licensee unless the person has in his or her possession a valid
repossessor registration card card, a
hardcopy printout or electronic copy of the bureau's approval from
the bureau's Internet Web site, which may include an electronic
screenshot of that information, or evidence of a valid
temporary registration or registration renewal as described in
subdivision (b) or (e) of this section or subdivision (c)
(f) of Section 7506.10. Every person, while
engaged in any activity for which licensure is required, shall
display his or her valid pocket card, a hardcopy printout or
electronic copy of the bureau's approval from the bureau's Internet
Web site, or an electronic screenshot display of this information
directly from the bureau's Internet Web site as provided by
regulation.
(e) A person may work as a registrant pending receipt of the
registration card if he or she has been approved by the bureau and
carries on his or her person a hardcopy printout or electronic copy
of the bureau's approval from the bureau's Internet Web site,
or an electronic display of this information directly from
the bureau's Internet Web Site, which may include an
electronic screenshot of that information, and a valid picture
identification.
SEC. 3. Section 7507.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
7507.5. No charge shall be made for services incurred in
connection with the recovery, transportation, and storage of
collateral except under terms agreed to by the legal owner at the
time of the repossession authorization or specifically agreed upon at
a subsequent time. Repair work shall not be performed and shall not
be charged to the legal owner.
SEC. 4. Section 7509 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
7509. (a) A person licensed with the bureau under this chapter
may request a review by the Collateral Recovery Disciplinary Review
Committee, as established in Section 7509.1, to contest the
assessment of an administrative fine or to appeal a denial of a
license, unless the denial is ordered by the director in accordance
with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(b) A request for a review shall be by written notice to the
disciplinary review committee within 30 days of the issuance of the
citation and assessment or denial.
(c) Following a review by the disciplinary review committee, the
appellant shall be notified within 30 days, in writing, by regular
mail, of the committee's decision. At the discretion of the
disciplinary review committee, an appellant may be notified
immediately of the committee's decision once it is made.
(d) If the appellant disagrees with the decision made by the
disciplinary review committee, he or she may request a hearing in
accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. A request for a
hearing following a decision by the disciplinary review committee
shall be by written notice to the bureau within 30 days following
notice of the committee's decision.
(e) If the appellant does not request a hearing within 30 days,
the disciplinary review committee's decision shall become final.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive,
where when a hearing is held under this chapter
to determine whether an application for licensure should be granted,
the proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code, and the director shall have all of the powers
granted therein.
SEC. 5. Section 7509.1 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
7509.1. (a) The Governor shall appoint a Collateral Recovery
Disciplinary Review Committee, and may remove any member of the
committee for misconduct, incompetency, or neglect of duty. The
committee shall consist of five members. Of the five members, three
members shall be actively engaged in the business of owning
licensed repossession agencies business as a licensed
repossession agency and two members shall be public members.
None of the public members shall be licensees, certificate holders,
or registrants, or engaged in any business or profession in which any
part of the fees, compensation, or revenue thereof is derived from
any licensee.
(b) The disciplinary review committee shall meet as frequently as
may be required. The members shall be paid per diem pursuant to
Section 103 and shall be reimbursed for actual travel expenses. The
members shall serve for a term of four years.
SEC. 6. Section 7509.2 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
7509.2. The Collateral Recovery Disciplinary Review Committee
shall perform the following functions:
(a) Affirm, rescind, or modify all appealed decisions concerning
administrative fines assessed by the director or bureau against
repossession agencies or their employees.
(b) Affirm, rescind, or modify all appealed decisions concerning
denial of licenses issued by the director or bureau, except denials
or suspensions ordered by the director in accordance with Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
SEC. 7. Section 7509.3 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
7509.3. The bureau shall provide the Collateral Recovery
Disciplinary Review Committee all evidence used by the bureau in
reaching its decision prior to any review or appeal of that decision
by the committee.
SEC. 8. 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.