Amended in Senate June 16, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 605

Introduced by Assembly Member Gatto

February 24, 2015

An act to amend Section 4456.5 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 605, as amended, Gatto. Dealer charges: license plates.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish contracts for electronic programs that allow qualified private industry partners to join the department in providing services that include processing and payment programs for vehicle registration and titling transactions. Under existing law, a dealer is authorized to charge the purchaser or lessee of a vehicle certain charges, including an electronic filing charge, not to exceed the actual amount the dealer is charged by a first-line service provider, for providing license plate processing, postage, and other specified fees and services relating to first-line service providers.

This bill would begin delete specify that the filing charge would only be for the fees and services identified, and would not include any direct or indirect costs for unrelated first-line provider services, as specified. end delete begin insert prohibit the electronic filing charge from being used to pay for additional fees, goods, or services not directly related to the electronic registration of a motor vehicle. end insert Because a violation of these provisions would constitute an infraction, this 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 4456.5 of the Vehicle Code is amended
to read:

4456.5.  

(a) A dealer may charge the purchaser or lessee of a
vehicle the following charges:

(1) A document processing charge for the preparation and
processing of documents, disclosures, and titling, registration, and
information security obligations imposed by state and federal law.
The dealer document processing charge shall not be represented
as a governmental fee.

(A) If a dealer has a contractual agreement with the department
to be a private industry partner pursuant to Section 1685, the
document processing charge shall not exceed eighty dollars ($80).

(B) If a dealer does not have a contractual agreement with the
department to be a private industry partner pursuant to Section
1685, the document processing charge shall not exceed sixty-five
dollars ($65).

(2) An electronic filing charge, not to exceed the actual amount
the dealer is charged by a first-line service begin delete provider, only end delete begin insert provider end insert
for providing license plate processing, postage, and the fees and
services authorized pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (d) of Section
1685. The electronic filing charge shall not begin delete include any direct or
indirect costs for first-line provider services unrelated to providing
license plate processing, postage, and the fees and services
authorized pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (d) of Section 1685. end delete
begin insert be used to pay for additional fees, goods, or services not directly
related to the electronic registration of a motor vehicle, including,
but not limited to, the receipt by the dealer of free or discounted
goods, services, or financial incentives. end insert The director may establish,
through the adoption of regulations, the maximum amount that a
first-line service provider may charge a dealer. The electronic
filing charge shall not be represented as a governmental fee.

(b) As used in this section, the term “first-line service provider”
shall have the same meaning as defined in subdivision (b) of
Section 1685.

begin insert

(c) This section does not prohibit a first-line service provider
from entering into contracts with dealers for products and services
unrelated to electronic vehicle registration services.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

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.