AB 1174, as amended, Bonilla. Automotive Repair Act: violations: regulations: reports.
The Automotive Repair Act provides for the licensure and regulation of automotive repair dealers, among others, by the Chief of the Bureau of Automotive Repair under the supervision and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. The act requires the director, on the director’s initiative or in response to a complaint, to investigate a violation of the act, or of any regulation adopted pursuant to the act, by any automotive repair dealer, automotive technician, or employee, partner, officer, or member of any automotive repair dealer. The act authorizes the director to adopt and enforce the rules and regulations that the director determines are reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of the act and declaring the policy of the bureau, including a system for the issuance of citations pursuant to a specified law. The act, except as specified, makes a violation of any requirement of the act by any person punishable as a misdemeanor.
This bill would clarify that the specified law under which the director may adopt and enforce rules and regulations under the Automotive Repair Act authorizes any board, bureau, or commission within the Department of Consumer Affairs to establish, by regulation, a system for the issuance to a licensee of a citation when the licensee is in violation of the applicable licensing act or any regulation adopted pursuant thereto.
This bill would require the bureau to adopt regulations regarding the bureau’s policies and procedures for handling complaints, investigations, andbegin delete mediation,end deletebegin insert all the bureau’s methods of resolution,end insert as specified.begin insert
The bill would require the bureau to post on its Internet Web site the regulations adopted.end insert The bill would require the bureau to track and retain data on everybegin delete mediationend deletebegin insert method of resolutionend insert attempted and completed by the bureau for each automotive repair dealer, including, but not limited to, the type of complaint beingbegin delete mediated.end deletebegin insert resolved.end insert The bill would require the bureau to submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, that details the bureau’sbegin delete mediation proceedings,end deletebegin insert
resolution efforts,end insert as specified.
This bill would require the bureau to post on its Internet Web site the name of an automotive repair dealer that has more than a certain number of complaints, which the bureau has determined are the fault of the automotive repair dealer, filed with the bureau within a certain number of months and would require the bureau to determine by regulation the certain number of complaints and months that are the threshold amount for posting on the bureau’s Internet Web site.
end deleteThis bill would require the bureau to conduct a study on the feasibility, effectiveness, and impact of requiring all service workers who are employed by an automotive repair dealer to be licensed or certified by the bureau and would require the bureau to submit that report to the Legislature by July 1, 2018.
end deleteThis bill would require the bureau to adopt regulations that require the bureau to issue a citation and administrative fine to an automotive repair dealer that has had more than a certain number of complaints filed against it within a certain number of months or has agreed to pay more than a certain amount in mediation within a certain number of months and would require the bureau to determine by regulation the certain number of complaints, dollar amounts, and months that will be the threshold for that citation and administrative fine. The bill would provide that a violation of those regulations shall not be punished as a misdemeanor.
end deleteVote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 9882 of the Business and Professions
2Code is amended to read:
(a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a
4Bureau of Automotive Repair under the supervision and control
5of the director. The duty of enforcing and administering this chapter
6is vested in the chief who is responsible to the director. The director
7may adopt and enforce those rules and regulations that he or she
8determines are reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of
9this chapter and declaring the policy of the bureau, including a
10system for the issuance of citations for violations of this chapter
11as specified in Section 125.9, which authorizes any board, bureau,
12or commission within the department to establish, by regulation,
13a system for the issuance to a licensee of a citation when the
14licensee is in violation of the applicable
licensing act or any
15regulation adopted pursuant thereto. These rules and regulations
16shall be adopted pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
1711340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
18(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the powers and duties of the
19bureau, as set forth in this article and under the Automotive Repair
20Act, shall be subject to review by the appropriate policy committees
21of the Legislature. In that review, the bureau shall have the burden
22of demonstrating a compelling public need for the continued
23existence of the bureau and its regulatory program, and that its
24function is the least restrictive regulation consistent with the public
25health, safety, and welfare. The review shall be performed as if
26this chapter were scheduled to be repealed as of January 1, 2019.
Section 9882.6 is added to the Business and Professions
28Code, to read:
(a) The bureau shall adopt regulations regarding the
30bureau’s policies and procedures for handling complaints,
31investigations,begin delete and mediation.end deletebegin insert and all the bureau’s methods of
P4 1resolution, including, but not limited to, education, training,
2conferences, and mediation.end insert
3(b) The regulations shall include, but not be limited to, all of
4the following:
5(1) How a complaint is to be filed with the bureau.
6(2) How a complaint is to be investigated by the bureau.
7(3) How mediation is used by the bureau. The regulations
8regarding mediation shall clearly identify when mediation is used,
9how mediation is implemented by the bureau, and how mediation
10data is collected and reported by the bureau.
11
(c) The bureau shall post on its Internet Web site all regulations
12adopted pursuant to the requirements of this section.
Section 9882.7 is added to the Business and Professions
14Code, to read:
(a) The bureau shall track and retain data on every
16begin delete mediationend deletebegin insert method of resolutionend insert attempted and completed by the
17bureau for each automotive repair dealer, including, but not limited
18to, all of the following:
19(1) The type of complaint beingbegin delete mediated.end deletebegin insert resolved.end insert
20(2) The remedy or remedies sought and obtained inbegin delete mediation,end delete
21begin insert resolution,end insert including, but not limited to, restitution, refund, work
22to be redone at no charge, bill adjustments, returns or exchanges,
23and the dollar amount of any remedy, if applicable.
24(3) The number of complaints wherebegin delete mediationend deletebegin insert resolutionend insert was
25attempted but where no remedy was reached and the number of
26complaints wherebegin delete mediationend deletebegin insert
any method of resolutionend insert was
27successful.
28(b) The bureau shall submit a report to the Legislature by
29January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, that details the bureau’s
30begin delete mediation proceedings.end deletebegin insert resolution efforts.end insert The report shall include,
31but not be limited to, the data in subdivision (a).
32(c) The report shall be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of
33the Government Code.
34
(d) “Method of resolution” for purposes of this section includes,
35but is not limited to,
education, training, conferences, and
36mediation.
Section 9882.8 is added to the Business and Professions
38Code, to read:
(a) The bureau shall post on its Internet Web site the
40name of an automotive repair dealer that has more than a certain
P5 1number of complaints, which the bureau has determined are the
2fault of the automotive repair dealer, filed with the bureau within
3a certain number of months.
4(b) The bureau shall determine by regulation the certain number
5of complaints and months that are the threshold amount for posting
6on the bureau’s Internet Web site provided for in subdivision (a).
Section 9882.9 is added to the Business and Professions
8Code, to read:
(a) The bureau and the Department of Consumer
10Affairs shall conduct a study on the feasibility, effectiveness, and
11impact of requiring all service workers who are employed by an
12automotive repair dealer to be licensed or certified by the bureau.
13(b) The bureau and the department shall submit the study
14required by this section to the Legislature by July 1, 2018.
15(c) The study shall be submitted in compliance with Section
169795 of the Government Code.
Section 9889.23 is added to the Business and
18Professions Code, to read:
(a) The bureau shall adopt regulations that require
20the bureau to issue a citation and administrative fine to an
21automotive repair dealer that has had more than a certain number
22of complaints filed against it within a certain number of months
23or has agreed to pay more than a certain amount of dollars in
24mediation within a certain number of months.
25(b) The bureau shall determine by regulation the certain number
26of complaints, dollar amounts, and months that will be the threshold
27for the citation and administrative fine provided for in subdivision
28(a).
29(c) Notwithstanding any law, violation of the regulations adopted
30pursuant to this section shall be punished only by a civil
31
administrative fine and shall not be punished as a misdemeanor
32pursuant to Section 9889.20.
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