BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2106
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2106 (Irwin)
As Amended August 15, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 12, 2016) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 17, |
| | | | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M.
SUMMARY: Makes various changes to the Sellers of Travel law.
The Senate amendments
1)Provide that the exemption from the Sellers of Travel Law
(Travel Law) is limited to:
a) Person who is an individual,
b) A single-member limited liability company whose sole
member is an individual, or,
c) A single-shareholder "S" corporation whose sole
AB 2106
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shareholder is an individual that meets specified
conditions.
2)Restructure and clarify the fee and fines authorized under the
Travel Law.
3)Require the Attorney General (AG) to suspend the registration
of a Seller of Travel (SOT) who fails to make any required
payment or submits a check in payment of a registration fee or
late fee required by this section that is not honored by the
institution on which it is drawn, or fails to provide the file
number assigned them, as required.
4)Require a SOT to provide the AG the name and contact
information for the sole member or the sole shareholder of a
limited liability company or "S" corporation, as described,
with which the SOT contracts, as well as their file number
issued by the Secretary of State or Franchise Tax Board, in
addition to other requirements in existing law.
5)Extend consumer protections by allowing refund payments to
persons aggrieved by sellers of travel who had been paid-up
participants at any time during the 18 months previous to the
time of sale.
6)Make additional technical, conforming and chaptering out
amendments.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Law which provides a comprehensive scheme for
the regulation of sellers of travel, as defined, and requires
a SOT, unless exempted, to register with the AG and to comply
with various requirements. (Business and Professions Code
Section (BPC) 17550 et. seq.)
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2)Defines a SOT as a person who sells, provides, furnishes,
contracts for, arranges, or advertises that he or she can or
may arrange, or has arranged, at wholesale or retail either of
the following: air or sea transportation either separately or
in conjunction with other travel services, or land or water
vessel transportation, other than sea carriage, either
separately or in conjunction with other travel services if the
total charge to the passenger exceeds $300. (BPC 17550.1(a))
3)Excludes from the definition of a SOT the following: an air
carrier; an ocean carrier; a hotel, motel, or similar lodging
establishment that arranges for transportation for its
registered guests; a motor club; or a motor or rail carrier or
water vessel operator operating from a state, federal, or
other governmental entity. (BPC 17550.1(b))
4)Requires a SOT to register with the AG and file certain
information as part of registration, including the name and
contact information of individuals a SOT contracts with.
Requires the AG to suspend a SOT's registration for failure to
make payment to the Travel Consumer Restitution Fund (TCRF) or
writes a registration fee check that is not honored.
Authorizes the AG to contract for the processing of SOT
registrations. Exempts individuals that conduct their
activities in accordance with specified procedures and
disclosures. (BPC 17550.20, 17550.21)
5)Establishes the Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation (TCRC)
which creates the TCRF as a mechanism for an aggrieved
passenger to be reimbursed when a SOT fails to provide for
travel or in the event that a SOT becomes insolvent. (BPC
17550.38)
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill passed out of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Rule 28.8.
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COMMENTS: According to the author the substantive amendments
came at the request of the AG's office, the state agency tasked
with regulation of the SOTs, in order to provide increased
consumer protection through greater ease of enforcement, in
addition to addressing technical issues and chaptering out
conflicts.
Analysis Prepared by:
Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M. / (916)
319-3450
FN: 0004452