Amended in Senate March 28, 2014

Amended in Senate March 17, 2014

Senate Bill No. 994

Introduced by Senator Monning

February 12, 2014

An act to add Section 9957 to the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 994, as amended, Monning. Vehicles: vehicle information: privacy.

Existing law imposes various requirements upon manufacturers of motor vehicles sold or leased in this state with regard to disclosing information and providing equipment. A violation of these provisions is a crime.

This bill would enact the Consumer begin delete Vehicle Information Choice and Control end delete begin insert Car Information and Choice end insert Act. The bill would require a manufacturer of any new motor vehicle sold or leased in this state begin insert that is manufactured end insert on or after January 1, 2016, that generates or collects vehicle information, as defined, to make certain disclosures to the registered owner regarding the generation and collection of that information. The bill would require the manufacturer to provide the registered owner of the vehicle with access to the vehicle information and the ability to securely transmit that information to a 3rd party selected by the registered owner, as specified. The bill would prohibit a manufacturer from limiting, impairing, or otherwise restricting, by any means, the ability of the registered owner to access, use, or transmit his or her vehicle information, and would further prohibit the manufacturer from taking any adverse action against the registered owner for accessing or using or transmitting his or her vehicle information, as specified. The bill would prohibit vehicle information from being downloaded, transmitted, or received by a person other than the registered owner, except as specified.

Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Consumer begin delete Vehicle Information Choice and Control end delete begin insert Car
Information and Choice end insert Act.

SEC. 2.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) Today’s motor vehicles are equipped with sophisticated
computers that control everything from comfort and convenience
features, including air temperature, seat positions, and infotainment,
to critical safety features, such as air bags and antilock brakes, to
complex engine systems, such as transmission, fuel, emissions,
and exhaust systems.

(2) These computers can generate and collect information that
is important to consumers about the condition and performance of
their motor vehicles, including repair, maintenance, and diagnostic
information.

(3) These computers can also generate and collect sensitive
personal information about consumers and their driving behaviors.
For example, motor vehicles can collect precise location
information as well as information about where and when
consumers have driven their motor vehicles. Motor vehicles can
also collect information about how consumers drive, including
information about braking, acceleration, speed, and the number of
passengers carried.

(4) In 2014, approximately one in five new motor vehicles sold
in California will be equipped with systems that can wirelessly
transmit consumer vehicle information outside the motor vehicle.
By 2025, it is expected that all new motor vehicles sold in
California will have wireless data transmission capabilities along
with the capacity to generate vast quantities of information about
consumers, their driving habits, and the condition and performance
of their motor vehicles.

(5) It is unclear who has the right to control the dissemination
of consumer vehicle information, as there are no uniform standards
or policies that address this issue with respect to the broad array
of consumer vehicle information that may be shared. Today,
consumers have limited ability to access their vehicle information
or to transmit their vehicle information from their motor vehicles
to service providers of their choice.

(6) Restricting consumers’ ability to choose who can access
information from their motor vehicles reduces competition and
innovation and negatively affects consumers’ ability to select the
services they prefer and realize the full value of the motor vehicles
they own or lease.

(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to create a uniform
policy that ensures that consumers are clearly informed of the
kinds of information their motor vehicles generate and collect
about them, including information about their driving habits and
the condition of their motor vehicles. It is also the intent of the
Legislature that consumers are given more choice over who can
access and use this information from their motor vehicles as well
as rights to securely transmit this information from their motor
vehicles to service providers of their choice.

SEC. 3.  

Section 9957 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

9957.  

(a) This section applies to begin delete new end delete begin insert all motor end insert vehicles begin delete sold
or leased in this state end delete begin insert manufactured end insert on or after January 1, 2016.

(b) A manufacturer of a new motor vehicle sold or leased in
this state that generates or collects vehicle information shall do all
of the following:

(1) Disclose that the motor vehicle generates or collects vehicle
information and describe the types of vehicle information generated
or collected by the motor vehicle in a plainly written statement
included in the owner’s manual for the motor vehicle.

(2) Provide a copy of the statement described in paragraph (1)
in a separate document printed in no less than 12-point type to the
prospective registered owner of the new motor vehicle prior to the
purchase or lease of the vehicle.

(3)  begin delete The end delete begin insert Include in the end insert statement begin insert included end insert in the owner’s manual
pursuant to paragraph (1) and the statement contained in the
separate document described in paragraph (2) begin delete shall include end delete the
following statement in 14-point bold type:

“THIS MOTOR VEHICLE GENERATES AND COLLECTS
INFORMATION ABOUT YOU, HOW YOU DRIVE, AND THE
CONDITION OF YOUR MOTOR VEHICLE. UNDER
CALIFORNIA LAW, YOU begin delete THE end delete HAVE begin insert THE end insert RIGHT TO
CHOOSE WHO CAN ACCESS THIS INFORMATION FROM
YOUR MOTOR VEHICLE.”

(4) Affix the statement described in paragraph (3) securely in
a clear and conspicuous manner to the side window or windshield
of the new motor vehicle.

(c) A manufacturer of a new motor vehicle sold or leased in this
state that generates or collects vehicle information shall provide
the registered owner of the motor vehicle with all of the following:

(1) Access from the motor vehicle to the vehicle information.

(2) Fair and reasonable access to tools and information
reasonably necessary to use the vehicle information.

(3) The ability to securely transmit the vehicle information
outside the motor vehicle to any person selected by the registered
owner of the motor vehicle.

(A) The manufacturer shall not impose any fees or charges on
a registered owner to make transmissions of vehicle information
pursuant to this paragraph.

(B) The manufacturer shall provide fair, nondiscriminatory, and
reasonable means for persons selected by the registered owner in
accordance with this paragraph to receive the vehicle information
in a standard, usable format.

(C) If the motor vehicle is equipped with a telematics system,
the manufacturer shall provide the registered owner with the ability
to use the telematics system to securely transmit vehicle
information in accordance with this paragraph and shall provide
fair, nondiscriminatory, and reasonable means for persons selected
by the registered owner in accordance with this paragraph to
securely access the telematics system to provide remote services
that are requested by the registered owner.

(d) A manufacturer shall not limit, impair, or otherwise restrict,
by any means, the ability of a registered owner to access, use, or
transmit his or her vehicle information. A manufacturer shall not
take any adverse action against a registered owner for accessing
or using his or her vehicle information or transmitting his or her
vehicle information outside the motor vehicle to a person other
than the manufacturer or obtaining services that use vehicle
information from a person other than the manufacturer.

(e) Vehicle information shall not be downloaded or transmitted
outside the motor vehicle or otherwise retrieved from the motor
vehicle by a person other than the registered owner of the motor
vehicle, except under one of the following circumstances:

(1) A registered owner of the motor vehicle consents to the
download, transmission, or retrieval of his or her vehicle
information.

(2) The vehicle information is downloaded, transmitted, or
retrieved by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle. The
manufacturer shall not release or otherwise disclose the vehicle
information received pursuant to this paragraph to any person other
than the registered owner of the motor vehicle, unless that vehicle
information is in a form that cannot be used to identify the
registered owner or driver of the motor vehicle.

(3) The vehicle information is downloaded, transmitted, or
retrieved for the purpose of diagnosing, servicing, or repairing a
motor vehicle at the request of the registered owner or driver of
that motor vehicle.

(4) For purposes of improving motor vehicle safety, including
for medical research of the human body’s reaction to motor vehicle
accidents, provided that the identity of the registered owner or
driver is not disclosed in connection with that retrieved information.
The disclosure of the vehicle identification number (VIN) for
purposes of improving vehicle safety, including for medical
research of the human body’s reaction to motor vehicle accidents,
does not constitute the disclosure of the identity of a registered
owner or driver for purposes of this paragraph. A person authorized
to download or otherwise retrieve vehicle information pursuant to
this paragraph shall not release that vehicle information, except to
share that information among the motor vehicle safety and medical
research communities to advance motor vehicle safety, and only
if the identity of the registered owner or driver is not disclosed.

(5) In response to an order of a court having jurisdiction to issue
the order.

(f) A registered owner of a motor vehicle shall not be compelled
to access, download, or retrieve vehicle information from the motor
vehicle or transmit vehicle information outside the motor vehicle
except pursuant to an order of a court having jurisdiction to issue
the order or as otherwise required by law.

(g) This section shall not be construed to require a manufacturer
of a motor vehicle to disclose any trade secret.

(h) This section does not relieve manufacturers of the duty to
create secure telematics, computer, and other electronic systems
in the motor vehicles they manufacture, including the duty to
prevent unauthorized access into these systems.

begin insert

(i) This section does not supersede or modify the provisions of
Section 2632.5 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations
concerning automobile insurance rating factors.

end insert begin delete

(i)

end delete

begin insert (j) end insert  For purposes of this section, “vehicle information” means
any and all data that is generated or collected by a motor vehicle
through a computer or other device embedded or integrated into
a motor vehicle that can be used, either alone or with other
information, to distinguish or individually identify the registered
owner of a motor vehicle, the driver of a motor vehicle, or the
operation, use, or condition of a motor vehicle. “Vehicle
information” includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(1) The name, address, email address, and telephone number of
the registered owner or driver of the motor vehicle and the motor
vehicle’s vehicle identification number.

(2) Speed, distance, braking, acceleration, steering, seat-belt
use, air bag deployment, collision, accident, geolocation,
time-of-day driven, miles driven, duration driven, driving style,
fuel, tire pressure, passenger, battery, door lock, and odometer
information, sensor data, subsystem data, and diagnostic trouble
codes.

begin delete

(j)

end delete

begin insert (k) end insert  For purposes of this section, “registered owner” means a
registered owner as defined in Section 505 and, in the case of a
leased vehicle, the lessee as shown on the registration card for the
leased vehicle.

begin delete

(k)

end delete

begin insert (l) end insert  For purposes of this section, the term “telematics system”
means a system that allows the transmission of data to and from
the motor vehicle using one or more embedded or mobile
communication devices that connect to telecommunications
networks, including, but not limited to, wireless and landline
communication networks and global positioning system satellites.

SEC. 4.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.