BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 873 (Jones) - Automotive repair
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|Version: May 25, 2016 |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 9 - |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 873 would delete the existing list of "minor
services" that require a business to register with the Bureau of
Automotive Repair. Instead, the bill would require the Director
of Consumer Affairs to adopt regulations defining what
constitutes a minor repair.
Fiscal
Impact:
One-time costs less than $150,000 for the Bureau of Automotive
Repair (under the Director of Consumer Affairs) to develop and
adopt regulations defining minor repairs (Vehicle Inspection
and Repair Fund).
Ongoing costs of about $200,000 per year to register and
regulate about 1,000 additional businesses that would be
required to register under a new definition of minor repairs
(Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund). According to the Bureau,
a revised definition of minor repairs would not likely
AB 873 (Jones) Page 1 of
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continue to exempt tire dealers and oil change shops.
According to the Bureau, there are about 1,000 such businesses
in the state that are not already registered with the Bureau.
The costs to register and take any necessary enforcement
actions against the newly registered businesses would be
offset by the current $200 annual registration fee imposed by
the Bureau.
Background: Existing law, the Automotive Repair Act (the Act), requires
automotive repair dealers who engage in the business of
repairing or diagnosing malfunctions of motor vehicles to be
licensed and registered with the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
For purposes of the Act, "repair of motor vehicles" means any
maintenance and repair work performed by an automotive repair
dealer, including body repair work, but excluding the following:
(1) repairs made under a commercial business agreement; (2)
repairing tires and changing tires; (3) lubricating vehicles;
(4) installing light bulbs, batteries, windshield wiper blades
and other minor accessories; (5) cleaning, adjusting, and
replacing spark plugs; (6) replacing fan belts, oil, and air
filters; and (7) other minor services customarily performed by
gasoline service stations.
There are currently about 34,000 automotive repair dealers
licensed in California, each of which pays an annual $200 fee
for licensure.
Proposed Law:
AB 873 would delete the existing list of "minor services" that
require a business to register with the Bureau of Automotive
Repair. Instead, the bill would require the Director of Consumer
Affairs to adopt regulations defining what constitutes a minor
repair.
Specific provisions of the bill would:
Exclude the installation of propulsive batteries from the
current list of minor services;
Require the Director of Consumer Affairs to adopt regulations
by January 1, 2018 defining "minor services";
Prohibit the changing of propulsive batteries from being
categorized as "minor services";
Delete the current list of "minor services" and require the
regulations adopted by the Director to govern "minor
AB 873 (Jones) Page 2 of
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services";
Revise the definition of "automotive technician";
Define roadside services.
Related
Legislation: There have been several bills in recent years,
including AB 1665 (Jones, 2014), AB 2065 (Galgiani, 2012), and
SB 202 (Galgiani, 2013) that would have required businesses that
change or repair tires to register with the Bureau. AB 1665 was
vetoed by the Governor and AB 2065 and SB 202 were held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Staff
Comments: During the sunset review process, conducted by the
Senate and Assembly Business and Professions Committees, the
Bureau raised issues relating to the current list of "minor
services". According to the Bureau, advances in automotive
technology mean that services such as tire replacements or
changing spark plugs are much more complex than they were in
prior years. The Bureau argued that the more technically complex
nature of these services means that the Bureau should have
regulatory oversight over businesses that provide those
services. According to data provided by the Bureau, it has
received between 50 and 200 complaints per year against
businesses providing tire services that are not registered with
the Bureau.
The only costs that may be incurred by a local agency relate to
crimes and infractions. Under the California Constitution, such
costs are not reimbursable by the state.
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