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