BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2106


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          Date of Hearing:  May 4, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          2106 (Irwin) - As Amended March 10, 2016


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          |Policy       |Arts, Entertainment, Sports,   |Vote:|7 - 0        |
          |Committee:   |Tourism, and Internet Media    |     |             |
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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill makes several modifications to the Seller of Travel  
          (SOT) Law, in order to increase consumer protections.  
          Specifically, this bill: 


          1)Requires sellers of travel to provide their file number, as  
            issue by the Secretary of State, to the Consumer Law Division  
            of the Attorney General's (AG's) Office, and requires the AG  
            to suspense the registration of a seller of travel who fails  
            to do so.










                                                                    AB 2106


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          2)Prohibits the issuance, approval or renewal of a registration  
            until the seller of travel has paid any outstanding  
            assessments to the Travel Consumer Restitution Fund (TCRF).


          3)Stipulates that any person aggrieved who files a claim for  
            payment from the TCRF waives their right to bring an action  
            against the seller of travel unless the seller of travel has  
            not been a paid-up participant in the TCRF at any time during  
            the 12 months prior to the sale.


          4)Expands the exemptions from registration requirements to  
            include single-member limited liability corporations and "S"  
            corporations who meet specified conditions per current law.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Any costs to the AG for enforcement will be minor and  
          absorbable.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the California Coalition of  
            Travel Organizations (CCT), who argues that it updates the SOT  
            law, first enacted in 1995, to enhance consumer protections of  
            that law. 


          2)Background. Current law establishes the Travel Consumer  
            Restitution Corporation in order to provide restitution to a  
            person aggrieved by the failure of a seller of travel by  
            refunding payments for air or sea transportation or travel  
            services. The Corporation is authorized to assess sellers of  
            travel to fund its operations and to fund the Travel Consumer  








                                                                    AB 2106


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            Restitution Fund.


          Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081