BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 869
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 17, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                      SB 869 (Yee) - As Amended:  July 11, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Business and 
          Professions  Vote:                            9 - 0 

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

           SUMMARY  

          This bill makes it a misdemeanor for an automotive repair dealer 
          to fail to repair and fully restore a deployed airbag to its 
          original operating condition after the dealer prepares a written 
          estimate for repairs that includes replacement of a deployed 
          airbag and the customer has paid for the airbag as provided in 
          the estimate.  The offense is punishable by a fine of $5,000 
          and/or up to one year in county jail.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Potential nonreimbursable costs to local government for 
          additional enforcement, offset to some extent by additional fine 
          revenues.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . The intent of this legislation is to address airbag 
            fraud in which automotive repair shops fail to fully install 
            functioning, replacement airbags. The bill provides that an 
            automotive repair dealer who prepares a written estimate for 
            repairs that includes replacement of a deployed airbag that is 
            part of an inflatable restraint system, and who fails to fully 
            restore the airbag that is part of an inflatable restraint 
            system to its original operating condition, where the customer 
            has paid for the replacement of the deployed airbag as 
            provided in the estimate, is guilty of a misdemeanor.  
           
          2)Related Legislation  . SB 427 (Negrete McLeod) of 2009 would 
            have established the same misdemeanor with the same penalties 
            for a violation as the current bill.  Additionally, that bill 








                                                                  SB 869
                                                                  Page  2

            would have required the parts invoice for any replacement 
            airbag installed as part of the vehicle repair to be attached 
            to the final repair invoice given to a consumer.  SB 427 was 
            vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, citing that it was 
            duplicative of existing law and, therefore, added very little 
            additional benefit to consumers.



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