BILL NUMBER: AB 2740 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonilla
(Principal coauthor: Senator Lieu)
FEBRUARY 26, 2014
An act to amend Section 9810 of the Business and Professions Code,
relating to consumer affairs.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2740, as amended, Bonilla. Bureau of Electronic and Appliance
Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation.
Existing law establishes the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance
Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation under the
supervision and control of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Existing
law requires the director to administer and enforce those provisions
relating to the licensure and regulation of electronic and appliance
repair service dealers and persons engaged in various businesses
associated with home furnishings. Existing law requires the Governor
to appoint a chief of the bureau to serve under the direction and
supervision of the director, as specified.
This bill would require that the powers and duties of the bureau,
as provided, be subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature as if these provisions were scheduled
to be repealed on January 1, 2019.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home
Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation is within the Department of
Consumer Affairs, its mission is "to protect and serve consumers
while ensuring a competent and fair marketplace," and its mandate
includes making protection of the public its highest priority in
exercising its licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions.
(2) The California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal
Insulation was established in 1911 in Assembly Bill 547 (Ch. 73,
Stats. 1911) in response to unscrupulous manufacturing practices in
the mattress industry, which contributed to the fires following the
1906 San Francisco earthquake.
(3) The California Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair was
established in 1963 under the Electronic and Appliance Repair Dealer
Registration Law in Senate Bill 1292 (Ch. 1492, Stats. 1963) in
response to growing concerns to consumers and law enforcement
agencies about fraud and negligence in the television repair
industry.
(4) In 2009, Assembly Bill 20 (Chapter 18 of the Fourth
Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 2009), officially merged the
Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation with the Bureau of
Electronic and Appliance Repair together to create the Bureau of
Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal
Insulation.
(5) Today, the bureau licenses and regulates over 40,000
businesses, including businesses that engage in the repair of
electronics and appliances, the sale and administration of service
contracts, and the manufacture, sale, or maintenance of upholstered
home furnishings, bedding, and thermal insulation. In addition, the
bureau adopts regulations and ensures compliance with the law;
inspects businesses and conducts investigations; conducts research
on, develops standards for, and tests upholstered furniture, bedding,
and thermal insulation products to confirm they meet specified
standards; handles consumer complaints; and initiates disciplinary
action against businesses that violate statutory or regulatory
requirements.
(6) On March 10, 2014, the Assembly Business, Professions and
Consumer Protection Committee and the Senate Business, Professions
and Economic Development Committee (the committees) held a joint
oversight sunset hearing and prepared a background paper on the
bureau.
(7) While the hearing and the background paper found the bureau in
good standing, it also identified areas for followup and requested
the bureau to report back to the committees on specific issues, which
include all of the following:
(A) While the bureau is in good fiscal standing, its revenues are
projected to stay the same over the next few years and the cost of
doing business is projected to rise over time, potentially leading to
a long-term deficit. The bureau should report to the committees any
planned efforts to increase its revenues and reduce its expenditures,
and whether, or when, it might seek a statutory fee increase in the
future.
(B) For the 2013-14 fiscal year, the Bureau's Electronic and
Appliance Repair Fund and the Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation
Fund are expected to spend roughly 37 percent and 19 percent of
their budgets, respectively, on the pro rata costs to the department.
The bureau should advise the committees about the bases upon which
pro rata costs are calculated, and whether it could achieve cost
savings by dealing with more of its consumer complaints in-house.
(C) Currently, electronic and appliance repair and thermal
insulation licenses are renewed annually, and home furnishings
licenses are renewed biennially. The bureau should examine the pros
and cons of requiring biennial rewards
renewals instead of annual license renewals for all licensees.
(D) In its last sunset review report in 1995, the department
studied both the electronic and appliance repair market and the home
furnishings and thermal insulation market to determine whether
regulatory activities were appropriate, necessary, and should be
continued, and recommended areas of deregulation and areas to monitor
in order to better target resources and evaluate consumer risk and
impact. The bureau should conduct market condition assessments to
study both of these markets and determine if current statutes and
regulations reflect the needs of the markets, where risk to consumers
is the greatest, where resources could be refocused or expanded, and
whether continued regulation is clearly necessary across all
segments of these markets.
(E) The bureau issues a separate furniture retailer license,
bedding retailer license, combination furniture and bedding retailer
license, sanitizer license, and custom upholsterer license. The
bureau may consider whether it should consolidate any of its
licenses, and whether it should continue to regulate, or issue,
stand-alone licenses to sanitizers and custom upholsterers.
(F) The bureau has reported high product failure rates, which are
primarily attributed to technical violations of flammability, product
labeling, and feather and down standards. The bureau should
reexamine its testing protocols to ensure that it has the information
it needs to appropriately identify areas of highest risk to
consumers, and reexamine its standards, especially feather and down
and product labeling standards, to determine if some standards could
be relaxed, presuming there is no appreciable impact on consumer
safety, whether standards should be clarified or better advertised,
or whether penalties for violations are too low to act as a proper
deterrent.
(G) The bureau is scheduled to go live on the department's BreEZe
system in late 2015. The bureau should update the committees on the
status of its implementation of BreEZe, including whether the system
will accommodate the bureau's current and future needs.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the bureau examine
and respond to the issues and recommendations specified in
subparagraphs (A) to (G), inclusive, of paragraph (7) of subdivision
(a) that were identified in the background paper, and report back to
the committees by March 1, 2015, with its findings.
SEC. 2. Section 9810 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
9810. (a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a Bureau
of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal
Insulation, under the supervision and control of the director. The
director shall administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter
and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 19000) of Division 8.
(b) The Governor shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the
Senate, a chief of the bureau at a salary to be fixed and determined
by the director with the approval of the Director of Finance. The
chief shall serve under the direction and supervision of the director
and at the pleasure of the Governor.
(c) Every power granted to or duty imposed upon the director under
this chapter and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 19000) of
Division 8 may be exercised or performed in the name of the director
by a deputy or assistant director or by the chief, subject to
conditions and limitations that the director may prescribe.
(d) Whenever the laws of this state refer to the Bureau of
Electronic Repair Dealer Registration or the Bureau of Electronic and
Appliance Repair, the reference shall be construed to be to the
Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and
Thermal Insulation.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the powers and duties of the
Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and
Thermal Insulation, as set forth in this chapter and Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 19000) of Division 8, shall be subject to
review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. The
review shall be performed as if this chapter and Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 19000) of Division 8 were scheduled to be
repealed on January 1, 2019.