BILL NUMBER: SB 778 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 9, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 4, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Allen
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 9880.1 of, and to add Article
12 (commencing with Section 9890) to Chapter 20.3 of Division 3
of of, the Business and Professions
Code, relating to professions and vocations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 778, as amended, Allen. Automotive repair: oil changes:
notification to customers.
Existing law, the Automotive Repair Act, provides for the
registration and regulation of automotive repair dealers by the
Bureau of Automotive Repair, which is under the supervision and
control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires
repair dealers to give the customer a written estimated price for
labor and parts necessary for a specific job. Existing law
defines terms for purposes of these provisions. Existing law
makes a violation of that act, except as specified, punishable as a
misdemeanor.
This bill would require an automotive repair dealer
performing oil change services to notify a customer,
who is purchasing an oil change, of the recommended oil drain
interval, oil grade, and viscosity specified in the maintenance
schedule of the vehicle's owner's manual. The bill would also
require, except as specified, an automotive repair dealer to use the
oil drain interval specified in the maintenance schedule of the
vehicle's owner's manual if the automotive repair dealer is
recommending the date or mileage for the next oil change, as
described. use the manufacturer's published oil drain
schedule, except as specified, when recommending an oil change to a
customer. The bill would require that an automotive repair dealer
include a written explanation for any recommendation for oil change
at an interval other than the interval recommended by the
manufacturer, and to include a specified notice to the customer with
regard to the manufacturer's published oil change recommendations.
The bill would permit a customer to choose any oil drain interval
that he or she chooses and have that interval reflected in any future
recommendations by the automotive repair dealer. The bill
would expand the definition of "repair of motor vehicles" to include
lubricating vehicles and replacing oil filters and would specify
that a person who performs these services is an "automotive
technician." The bill would also define other terms for purposes of
these provisions. The bill would expand the definition of an
existing crime by placing new requirements on automotive repair
dealers, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Used automotive oil is one of the largest sources of hazardous
waste generated in California. While California has a robust
recycling program in place, about 40 percent of automotive oil can
never be collected for recycling because it is lost in use, either
burned in the combustion chamber or dripped onto streets and parking
lots. Of the oil that is collected, only a small percentage is
actually rerefined into new automotive oil.
(b) Oil quality and engine technology have evolved significantly
in recent years. New motor oil formulations reduce repairs, prolong
engine life, improve fuel economy, and enable significantly longer
oil change intervals than outdated 3,000-mile-oil-change marketing
campaigns.
(c) Most automakers currently specify oil change intervals at
either 7,500 or 10,000 miles, with intervals as high as 15,000 miles
in some cars. Motor oils that meet current American Petroleum
Institute (API) standards will have the capability to meet
the current automaker oil change interval recommendations.
(d) Changing oil more often than what is specified by the
automaker in the vehicle's owner's manual wastes oil and money and
compounds the environmental impact, especially to water.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that the oil
drain interval recommended by an automotive repair dealer be in
accordance with the maintenance schedule of the vehicle's owner's
manual and with the recommended oil grade and viscosity in order to
prevent deceiving or misleading consumers with unnecessary and costly
oil changes.
(f) It is further the intent of the Legislature to source-reduce
the amount of used automotive oil that is generated in California in
order to reduce our dependence on petroleum products, avoid damage to
the environment and threats to public health, and be consistent with
the state's hierarchy for waste management practices pursuant to
Section 40051 of the Public Resources Code.
SEC. 2. Section 9880.1 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
9880.1. The following definitions apply for the purposes of this
chapter:
(a) "Automotive repair dealer" means a person who, for
compensation, engages in the business of repairing or diagnosing
malfunctions of motor vehicles.
(b) "Chief" means the Chief of the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
(c) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
(d) "Motor vehicle" means a passenger vehicle required to be
registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles and all motorcycles
whether or not required to be registered by the Department of Motor
Vehicles.
(e) "Repair of motor vehicles" means all maintenance of and
repairs to motor vehicles performed by an automotive repair dealer
including automotive body repair work, but excluding those repairs
made pursuant to a commercial business agreement and also excluding
repairing tires, changing tires, lubricating vehicles,
installing light bulbs, batteries, windshield wiper blades
and other minor accessories, cleaning, adjusting, and replacing spark
plugs, replacing fan belts, oil, and air filters,
and other minor services, which the director, by regulation,
determines are customarily performed by gasoline service stations.
No service shall be designated as minor, for purposes of this
section, if the director finds that performance of the service
requires mechanical expertise, has given rise to a high incidence of
fraud or deceptive practices, or involves a part of the vehicle
essential to its safe operation.
(f) "Person" includes firm, partnership, association, limited
liability company, or corporation.
(g) An "automotive technician" is an employee of an automotive
repair dealer or is that dealer, if the employer or dealer repairs
motor vehicles and who for salary or wage performs maintenance,
diagnostics, repair, removal, or installation of any integral
component parts of an engine, driveline, chassis or body of any
vehicle, but excluding repairing tires, changing tires,
lubricating vehicles, installing light bulbs, batteries,
windshield wiper blades, and other minor accessories; cleaning,
replacing fan belts, oil and air filters; and
other minor services which the director, by regulation, determines
are customarily performed by a gasoline service station.
(h) "Director" means the Director of Consumer Affairs.
(i) "Commercial business agreement" means an agreement, whether in
writing or oral, entered into between a business or commercial
enterprise and an automobile repair dealer, prior to the repair which
is requested being made, which agreement contemplates a continuing
business arrangement under which the automobile repair dealer is to
repair any vehicle covered by the agreement, but does not mean any
warranty or extended service agreement normally given by an
automobile repair facility to its customers.
(j) "Customer" means the person presenting a motor vehicle for
repair and authorizing the repairs to that motor vehicle. "Customer"
shall not mean the automotive repair dealer providing the repair
services or an insurer involved in a claim that includes the motor
vehicle being repaired or an employee or agent or a person acting on
behalf of the dealer or insurer.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Article 12
(commencing with Section 9890) is added to Chapter 20.3 of Division 3
of the Business and Professions Code, to read:
Article 12. Oil Change
9890. (a) Prior to performing any work, an automotive repair
dealer shall notify a customer purchasing an oil change of the
recommended oil drain interval, oil grade, and viscosity specified in
the maintenance schedule of the vehicle's owner's manual.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), if the automotive
repair dealer recommends the date or mileage for the next oil change,
the automotive repair dealer shall follow the oil drain interval
specified in the maintenance schedule of the vehicle's owner's manual
when making that recommendation to the customer verbally, in the
form of a window sticker, thorough settings in a vehicle's oil
sensor, or any other means.
(c) If a customer chooses an oil for the oil change that has a
recommended drain interval different from the oil drain interval
specified in the maintenance schedule of the vehicle's owner manual,
the customer may choose to have that different drain interval used
for purposes of subdivision (b).
9890. (a) Except as indicated in subdivision (b), if an
automotive repair dealer performing oil change services recommends a
date or mileage for an oil drain interval, the recommended date or
mileage shall follow the vehicle manufacturer published maintenance
schedule.
(b) If an automotive repair dealer recommends a date or mileage
for an oil drain interval that deviates from the vehicle manufacturer'
s published maintenance schedule for reasons, including, but not
limited to, compliance with paragraph (c), the basis for the date or
mileage recommendation shall be noted on the final invoice or on a
document attached to the final invoice.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the
customer from selecting any date or mileage for an oil drain interval
of his or her choice and having that choice reflected on future
recommendations from an automotive repair dealer.
(d) For purposes of this section, "recommended" or "recommendation"
shall mean any written recommendation, including, but not limited
to, a recommendation of an oil drain interval in the form of a window
sticker or a key tag, or through programmable settings in the
vehicle's oil life indicator.
(e) For purposes of this section, "recommended" or "recommendation"
shall not mean resetting a preset or nonprogrammable oil life
indicator or an oil life monitor based on a mathematical algorithm of
the vehicle's usage.
(f) When an automotive repair dealer performs an oil change
service, the dealer shall include the following oil change disclosure
statement on the final invoice or on a document attached to the
final invoice:
"It is important to change your oil at the proper intervals. Your
vehicle manufacturer publishes oil change intervals in your owner's
manual and on the manufacturer's Web site.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred
by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this
act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII
B of the California Constitution.