Bill Text: CA SB245 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Contracts.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-07-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 117, Statutes of 2014. [SB245 Detail]

Download: California-2013-SB245-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 245	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JANUARY 22, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JANUARY 6, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 1, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Correa
    (   Principal coauthor: 
 Senator   Calderon   )


                        FEBRUARY 12, 2013

   An act to amend Section 1632 of the Civil Code, relating to
consumer affairs.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 245, as amended, Correa. Contracts.
   Existing law states findings and declarations of the Legislature
relating to consumer information and protections afforded to the
state's diverse population in which the number of Californians who
speak languages other than English as their primary language at home
has increased.
   This bill would revise information contained in those findings and
declarations relating to the languages most widely spoken in
households with limited English proficiency and the percentage of
Californians who speak a language other than English in their homes,
based upon more recent census data.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1632 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   1632.  (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) This section was enacted in 1976 to increase consumer
information and protections for the state's sizeable and growing
Spanish-speaking population.
   (2) Since 1976, the state's population has become increasingly
diverse and the number of Californians who speak languages other than
English as their primary language at home has increased
dramatically.
   (3) According to data from the American Community Survey, which
has replaced the decennial census for detailed socioeconomic
information about United States residents,  the top five
languages other than English, that are most widely spoken in
households with limited English proficiency, are Spanish, Chinese,
Filipino/Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean,  
approximately 15.2 million Californians speak a language other than
English at home,  based on data from combined years 2009 through
2011.  Limited English proficiency includes survey
participants who   This compares to approximately 19.6
million people who speak only English at home. Among the Californians
who speak a language other than   English at home,
approximately 8.4 million speak English ver   y well, and
another 3 million speak English well. The remaining 3.8 million
Californians surveyed  do not speak English well or do not speak
English at all. Among  the 3.8 million households in
California with limited English proficiency, approximately 3.5
million people speak either   this group, the five
languages other than English that are most widely spoken at home are
 Spanish, Chinese, Filipino/Tagalog,  Vietnamese, or
Korean at home. This compares to approximately 19.6 million people,
  Vietnamese, and Korean. These five languages are
spoken at home by approximately 3.5 million of the 3.8 million
Californians with limited or no English proficiency,  who speak
 only   a language other than  English at
home.
   (b) Any person engaged in a trade or business who negotiates
primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean, orally
or in writing, in the course of entering into any of the following,
shall deliver to the other party to the contract or agreement and
prior to the execution thereof, a translation of the contract or
agreement in the language in which the contract or agreement was
negotiated, that includes a translation of every term and condition
in that contract or agreement:
   (1) A contract or agreement subject to the provisions of Title 2
(commencing with Section 1801) of, and Chapter 2b (commencing with
Section 2981) and Chapter 2d (commencing with Section 2985.7) of
Title 14 of, Part 4 of Division 3.
   (2) A loan or extension of credit secured other than by real
property, or unsecured, for use primarily for personal, 
family   family,  or household purposes.
   (3) A lease, sublease, rental contract or agreement, or other term
of tenancy contract or agreement, for a period of longer than one
month, covering a dwelling, an apartment, or mobilehome, or other
dwelling unit normally occupied as a residence.
   (4) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a loan or extension of credit
for use primarily for personal,  family  
family,  or household purposes in which the loan or extension of
credit is subject to the provisions of Article 7 (commencing with
Section 10240) of Chapter 3 of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Business
and Professions Code, or Division 7 (commencing with Section 18000),
or Division 9 (commencing with Section 22000) of the Financial Code.
   (5) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a reverse mortgage as described
in Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 1923) of Title 4 of Part 4 of
Division 3.
   (6) A contract or agreement, containing a statement of fees or
charges, entered into for the purpose of obtaining legal services,
when the person who is engaged in business is currently licensed to
practice law pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 6000) of
Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.
   (7) A foreclosure consulting contract subject to Article 1.5
(commencing with Section 2945) of Chapter 2 of Title 14 of Part 4 of
Division 3.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), for a loan subject to this
part and to Article 7 (commencing with Section 10240) of Chapter 3 of
Part 1 of Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code, the
delivery of a translation of the statement to the borrower required
by Section 10240 of the Business and Professions Code in any of the
languages specified in subdivision (b) in which the contract or
agreement was negotiated, is in compliance with subdivision (b).
   (d) At the time and place where a lease, sublease, or rental
contract or agreement described in subdivision (b) is executed,
notice in any of the languages specified in subdivision (b) in which
the contract or agreement was negotiated shall be provided to the
lessee or tenant.
   (e) Provision by a supervised financial organization of a
translation of the disclosures required by Regulation M or Regulation
Z, and, if applicable, Division 7 (commencing with Section 18000) or
Division 9 (commencing with Section 22000) of the Financial Code in
any of the languages specified in subdivision (b) in which the
contract or agreement was negotiated, prior to the execution of the
contract or agreement, shall also be deemed in compliance with the
requirements of subdivision (b) with regard to the original contract
or agreement.
   (1) "Regulation M" and "Regulation Z" mean any rule, regulation,
or interpretation promulgated by the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System and any interpretation or approval issued by
an official or employee duly authorized by the board to issue
interpretations or approvals dealing with, respectively, consumer
leasing or consumer lending, pursuant to the Federal Truth in Lending
Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1601 et seq.).
   (2) As used in this section, "supervised financial organization"
means a bank, savings association as defined in Section 5102 of the
Financial Code, credit union, or holding company, affiliate, or
subsidiary thereof, or any person subject to Article 7 (commencing
with Section 10240) of Chapter 3 of Part 1 of Division 4 of the
Business and Professions Code, or Division 7 (commencing with Section
18000) or Division 9 (commencing with Section 22000) of the
Financial Code.
   (f) At the time and place where a contract or agreement described
in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (b) is executed, a notice in
any of the languages specified in subdivision (b) in which the
contract or agreement was negotiated shall be conspicuously displayed
to the effect that the person described in subdivision (b) is
required to provide a contract or agreement in the language in which
the contract or agreement was negotiated, or a translation of the
disclosures required by law in the language in which the contract or
agreement was negotiated, as the case may be. If a person described
in subdivision (b) does business at more than one location or branch,
the requirements of this section shall apply only with respect to
the location or branch at which the language in which the contract or
agreement was negotiated is used.
   (g) The term "contract" or "agreement," as used in this section,
means the document creating the rights and obligations of the parties
and includes any subsequent document making substantial changes in
the rights and obligations of the parties. The term "contract" or
"agreement" does not include any subsequent documents authorized or
contemplated by the original document such as periodic statements,
sales slips or invoices representing purchases made pursuant to a
credit card agreement, a retail installment contract or account or
other revolving sales or loan account, memoranda of purchases in an
add-on sale, or refinancing of a purchase as provided by, or pursuant
to, the original document.
   The term "contract" or "agreement" does not include a home
improvement contract as defined in Sections 7151.2 and 7159 of the
Business and Professions Code, nor does it include plans,
specifications, description of work to be done and materials to be
used, or collateral security taken or to be taken for the retail
buyer's obligation contained in a contract for the installation of
goods by a contractor licensed pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, if
the home improvement contract or installation contract is otherwise
a part of a contract described in subdivision (b).
   Matters ordinarily incorporated by reference in contracts or
agreements as described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b),
including, but not limited to, rules and regulations governing a
tenancy and inventories of furnishings to be provided by the person
described in subdivision (b), are not included in the term "contract"
or "agreement."
   (h) This section does not apply to any person engaged in a trade
or business who negotiates primarily in a language other than
English, as described by subdivision (b), if the party with whom he
or she is negotiating is a buyer of goods or services, or receives a
loan or extension of credit, or enters an agreement obligating
himself or herself as a tenant, lessee, or sublessee, or similarly
obligates himself or herself by contract or lease, and the party
negotiates the terms of the contract, lease, or other obligation
through his or her own interpreter.
   As used in this subdivision, "his or her own interpreter" means a
person, not a minor, able to speak fluently and read with full
understanding both the English language and any of the languages
specified in subdivision (b) in which the contract or agreement was
negotiated, and who is not employed by, or whose service is made
available through, the person engaged in the trade or business.
   (i) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a translation may retain the
following elements of the executed English-language contract or
agreement without translation: names and titles of individuals and
other persons, addresses, brand names, trade names, trademarks,
registered service marks, full or abbreviated designations of the
make and model of goods or services, alphanumeric codes, numerals,
dollar amounts expressed in numerals, dates, and individual words or
expressions having no generally accepted non-English translation. It
is permissible, but not required, that this translation be signed.
   (j) The terms of the contract or agreement that is executed in the
English language shall determine the rights and obligations of the
parties. However, the translation of the contract or the disclosures
required by subdivision (e) in any of the languages specified in
subdivision (b) in which the contract or agreement was negotiated
shall be admissible in evidence only to show that no contract was
entered into because of a substantial difference in the material
terms and conditions of the contract and the translation.
   (k) Upon a failure to comply with the provisions of this section,
the person aggrieved may rescind the contract or agreement in the
manner provided by this chapter. If the contract for a consumer
credit sale or consumer lease that has been sold and assigned to a
financial institution is rescinded pursuant to this subdivision, the
consumer shall make restitution to and have restitution made by the
person with whom he or she made the contract, and shall give notice
of rescission to the assignee. Notwithstanding that the contract was
assigned without recourse, the assignment shall be deemed rescinded
and the assignor shall promptly repurchase the contract from the
assignee.