BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2387| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: AB 2387 Author: Mullin (D), et al. Amended: 6/15/16 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 6/14/16 AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/28/16 AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Vehicle equipment: supplemental restraint system components and nonfunctional airbags SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill makes it a crime to sell or install a counterfeit airbag or sell or install any device which causes the vehicle's diagnostic system to fail to warn when the vehicle is equipped with a counterfeit airbag. ANALYSIS: Existing law: AB 2387 Page 2 1)Prohibits tampering with a vehicle's computer system or supplemental restraint system to falsely indicate the systems are in working order. 2)Prohibits selling a previously deployed air bag that no longer functions as originally intended. This bill: 1)Prohibits against knowingly and intentionally manufacturing, importing, installing, distributing, and selling any device intended to replace a supplemental restraint system component (e.g., airbag) if the device is counterfeit or a nonfunctional airbag or does not meet applicable federal safety requirements. 2)Prohibits against knowingly and intentionally selling or installing any device that causes the vehicle's diagnostic systems to fail to warn when the vehicle is equipped with a counterfeit supplemental restraint system component or nonfunctional airbag. 3)Provides that violation of these prohibitions is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 or by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year, or both. Comments 1)Purpose. AB 2387 strengthens existing laws aimed at deterring the fraudulent distribution and installation of counterfeit airbags by more clearly defining key terms and increasing the penalty for knowingly exposing the public to this potentially deadly hazard. AB 2387 Page 3 2)Huge problem. Airbags are an essential component of modern vehicle safety systems, helping ensure that the occupants' heads and upper bodies do not strike the vehicle interior in a crash. Beginning in 2008, airbags made by Takata were recalled because of concerns that airbag deployment could injure the car occupants. Originally limited to Honda, the recall was expanded to 14 car manufacturers and as many as 68.8 million airbags in what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) called the largest and most complex safety recall in history. As these airbags are replaced, problems have arisen with the use of counterfeit airbags which don't provide adequate protection. In October 2012, the NHTSA issued an advisory warning about the dangers of counterfeit airbags. 3)Other states leading. The problem of counterfeit airbags has led 10 states to enact legislation to prohibit the use of counterfeit airbags, including Ohio, Texas, New York, and Florida. The Council of State Governments proposed model legislation to make it a crime to manufacture, import, or install a nonfunctional or counterfeit airbag. 4)Closing a loophole. This bill closes a loophole in current law which does not address counterfeit airbags. Recent reports indicate that several car manufacturers sell new cars with recalled airbags. That circumstance is not addressed in this bill. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes SUPPORT: (Verified8/1/16) Auto Alliance Automobile Association of Southern California AB 2387 Page 4 Automobile Club of Southern California California Association of Highway Patrolmen California Professional Firefighters Coalition Against Insurance Fraud Ford Global Automakers Honda Los Angeles County District Attorney Peace Officers Research Association of California OPPOSITION: (Verified8/1/16) California Public Defenders Association ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon NO VOTE RECORDED: Burke, Jones-Sawyer Prepared by: Randy Chinn / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121 8/3/16 19:33:37 **** END **** AB 2387 Page 5