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, |
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |6-0 |(August 25, |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
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(A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M.)
Original Committee Reference: A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M.
SUMMARY: Makes various changes to the Sellers of Travel law.
The Senate amendments:
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1)Provide the existing exemption from the Sellers of Travel Law
(Travel Law) is limited to a natural person:
a) 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
shareholder is an individual that meets specified
conditions.
2)Restructure and clarify the existing fee and fines authorized
under the Travel Law.
3)Make conforming changes to the requirement that the Attorney
General (AG) 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
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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.)
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
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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, negligible
state costs.
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, and the Secretary of States'
Office, in order to provide increased consumer protection in
particular 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: 0004904