BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2065
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 25, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                  AB 2065 (Galgiani) - As Amended:  March 29, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Business and 
          Professions  Vote:                            8 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill deletes tire repair and changing from the list of 
          services exempt from licensure as an automotive repair dealer 
          (ARD) under the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Workload costs associated with adding approximately 3,500 new 
            facilities to the licensing program for 2012-13 would be 
            $248,000 and for 2013-14 would grow to $858,000.  On-going 
            costs after 2013-14 would be $495,000, (Vehicle Inspection and 
            Repair Fund). These costs would be fully covered by the 
            licensing fees, except for the first 18 months, when a loan 
            would presumably be needed from the fund. 

          2)Registering 3,500 new tire facilities as ARDs would result in 
            an annual licensing revenue increase of approximately 
            $700,000. �Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund]

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  . The intent of this legislation is to bring tire-only 
          businesses under the jurisdiction of BAR.  According to the 
          author, a number of incidents have occurred where tire sales 
          only shops advertise tires for a certain price, and then after 
          the tires are mounted present the customer with a final price 
          higher than the advertised price.  The author contends that if 
          the customer refuses to pay this final price, then the shops 
          keep possession of the vehicle until the customer pays. While 
          this practice is clearly illegal, the author notes that 
          customers rarely go to the district attorneys to seek recourse. 








                                                                  AB 2065
                                                                  Page  2


          Placing these types of businesses under the jurisdiction of BAR 
          will require that tire repair and changing businesses be 
          licensed and regulated under BAR.  This bill would authorize BAR 
          to investigate complaints related to tire services and take 
          disciplinary action through citation, suspension or revocation 
          of an ARD license.  

          The sponsor, Les Schwab Tire Centers, notes, "This bill should 
          bring a long-needed remedy to the reported instances where 'tire 
          sales only' stores have allegedly been preying on customers by 
          quoting a price for a replacement set of tires, but charging an 
          inflated amount after the tires have been installed."  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 
          319-2081