BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2502|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2502
          Author:   Blumenfield (D)
          Amended:  8/20/12 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  4-0, 7/3/12
          AYES:  Evans, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Harman

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 5/14/12 (Consent) - See last page 
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Vehicles:  conditional sale contracts

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill, as of July 1, 2013, revises the 
          automobile conditional sales contract law to allow electric 
          vehicle charging stations to be sold with, and financed as 
          part, of an automobile purchase, with a required disclosure 
          regarding charges.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 8/20/12 clarify disclosure of 
          electric vehicle charging station costs.  Specifically, 
          these amendments revise the proposed disclosure by, 
          instead, requiring the conditional sales contract to 
          contain the total amount charged for the electric vehicle 
          charging station.  The amendments would additionally 
          require the seller, prior to the execution of the 
          conditional sales contract, to provide the buyer with a 
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          written disclosure that includes a description and price of 
          each of the following:  (1) electric vehicle charging 
          station device; (2) any materials and wiring; and (3) any 
          installation services included in the total charge.  That 
          disclosure must be in a separate document, at least 
          12-point type, and be signed by the buyer.  The amendments 
          also delay enactment until July 1, 2013.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law, the Rees-Levering Motor Vehicle 
          Sales and Finance Act, sets forth numerous disclosure 
          requirements to be included in an automobile conditional 
          sale contract, including disclosures regarding finance 
          charges, and sets forth the permissible fees and charges in 
          an automobile conditional sale contract for the sale of a 
          motor vehicle.  (Civil Code Section 2982 et seq.)

          This bill:

          1.Requires, as of July 1, 2013, the disclosure and 
            labeling, as specified, of the total amount charged by 
            the seller for an electric vehicle charging station, 
            which may include only the charges for the station 
            device, any materials and wiring, and any installation 
            services .

          2.Requires a seller, as of July 1, 2013, before executing a 
            conditional sale contract that includes a charge for an 
            electric vehicle charging station, to provide the buyer 
            with, and obtain the buyer's signature on, a written 
            disclosure, in a specified manner, that includes a 
            description and price of the electric vehicle charging 
            station, any materials and wiring, and equipment 
            installation services included in the total charge.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/28/12)

          Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
          California New Car Dealers Association
          Coalition for Clean Air
          CODA Automotive


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           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author:

               We are at the beginning of a new era in car 
               technology:  that of electric vehicles.  Those models 
               currently on the market come with primary chargers 
               which allow the cars to plug in to a normal electric 
               outlet, though they require hours to fully charge the 
               battery.  Level 2 Chargers (so-called secondary 
               chargers) are also available for purchase.  Most of 
               these secondary chargers are charging stations that 
               can be installed in electric vehicle owner's places of 
               residence.  They use 220 to 240V to charge the car 
               battery and thus, can reduce the charge time by more 
               than half.  These secondary chargers costs upwards of 
               $1,000, yet cannot be financed with the car purchase 
               itself because they are not considered accessories 
               under current law.  There is no place on the 
               conditional sales contract to document a charge for 
               such an item.  This provides a barrier to car buyers 
               who are interested in purchasing an electric vehicle, 
               and the secondary charger along with it.  Although 
               they can finance the car, they must find alternative 
               financing to purchase the secondary charger- which, 
               for many, is the feature that would make owning an 
               electric car feasible (due to reducing charging 
               times). 

               AB 2502 creates a line on the conditional sales 
               contract so that secondary chargers may be financed 
               with the vehicle.  Other add on items, such as Lo-Jack 
               and On-Star, already can be financed with the vehicle 
               itself.  This would be a similar such item, except it 
               is not installed in the vehicle itself, but rather in 
               the vehicle owner's residence.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 5/14/12
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Beall, Bill 
            Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, 
            Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, 
            Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth 
            Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, 
            Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger 

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            Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, 
            Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, 
            Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, 
            Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, 
            Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner, 
            Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Atkins, Fletcher, Perea, Valadao


          RJG:nd  8/28/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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