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