BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1665 (Jones) - Automotive Repair.
Amended: June 26, 2014 Policy Vote: BP&ED 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1665 would require licensing and regulation of
certain tire shops as automotive repair dealers. Specifically,
this bill would delete tire repair and changing from the list of
exempt services that may be performed by a business without
registering as an automotive repair dealer with the Bureau of
Automotive Repair (BAR).
Fiscal Impact:
Annual license revenue gains of approximately $560,000
(Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund), assuming an estimated
2,800 tire shops would be licensed as automotive repair
dealers under BAR's regulatory jurisdiction.
According to BAR, any additional costs to process new
applications, investigate more complaints, and conduct
enforcement activities would be covered by new license fee
revenues.
BAR indicates that one-time workload related to processing
applications would be accomplished through short-term
redirection of existing staff.
Background: Existing law, the Automotive Repair Act (Act),
requires automotive repair dealers who engage in the business of
repairing or diagnosing malfunctions of motor vehicles to be
licensed and registered with BAR. For purposes of the Act,
"repair of motor vehicles" means any maintenance and repair work
performed by an automotive repair dealer, including body repair
work, but excluding the following: (1) repairs made under a
commercial business agreement; (2) repairing tires and changing
tires; (3) lubricating vehicles; (4) installing light bulbs,
AB 1665 (Jones)
Page 1
batteries, windshield wiper blades and other minor accessories;
(5) cleaning, adjusting, and replacing spark plugs; (6)
replacing fan belts, oil, and air filters; and (7) other minor
services customarily performed by gasoline service stations.
There are currently 33,353 automotive repair dealers licensed in
California, each of which pays an annual $200 fee for licensure.
Proposed Law: AB 1665 would delete "repairing and changing
tires" from the list of services that are excluded from the
definitions of "repair of motor vehicles" and "automotive
technician" for purposes of automotive repair dealer
registration requirements. Tire services performed by or on
behalf of a motor club or tow truck operator would remain as
authorized exemptions to the BAR registration requirements for
automotive repair dealers. The bill would define "tire pressure
monitoring system" (TPMS) as the safety device that warns the
driver that tires are underinflated with a lighted icon on the
onboard diagnostic system, and require an automotive repair
dealer that repairs or changes tires to be capable of diagnosing
and servicing a TPMS, as specified. AB 1665 would also revise
and recast a number of definitions of the Automotive Repair Act
to make technical, clarifying, and conforming changes.
Related Legislation: This bill is substantively similar to AB
2065 (Galgiani, 2012) and SB 202 (Galgiani, 2013), both of which
were held on the Suspense File in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
Staff Comments: This bill is intended to bring tire-only
businesses under the enforcement jurisdiction of BAR. By
requiring licensing and regulation of tire shops as automotive
repair dealers, the bill would authorize BAR to investigate
complaints related to tire services and take disciplinary action
through citation, and suspension or revocation of a license.
Under current law, the only recourse for consumers of tire-only
businesses related to false or misleading advertisements is to
complain to the Better Business Bureau or seek relief in small
claims court.
The following data provided by BAR reflects the number of tire
and wheel complaints received over the previous five years:
3/1/13 - 2/28/14: 191 complaints against licensees and
44 complaints against businesses not subject to licensure.
AB 1665 (Jones)
Page 2
3/1/12 - 2/28/13: 307 complaints against licensees and
60 complaints against businesses not subject to licensure.
3/1/11 - 2/28/12: 331 complaints against licensees and
30 complaints against businesses not subject to licensure.
3/1/10 - 2/28/11: 393 complaints against licensees and
156 complaints against businesses not subject to licensure.
3/1/09 - 2/28/10: 339 complaints against licensees and
185 complaints against businesses not subject to licensure.
BAR estimates that AB 1665 would require an additional 2,800
businesses to register as automotive repair dealers, resulting
in $560,000 in new revenue. Based on experience with existing
licensees, BAR anticipates that 1,489 additional complaints
would be processed annually, with 113 of these leading to
investigation and citation. According to BAR, any new costs
related to workload for processing more applications and
conducting enforcement activities would be covered by new
license fee revenues. Despite anticipating an increase in
workload associated with licensing tire shops as automotive
repair dealers, BAR indicates that these application processing
duties can be accomplished through a short-term redirection of
existing personnel. Staff notes, however, that any redirection
of staff would likely result in the delay or elimination of
other duties within BAR.