Bill Text: CA SB427 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Automotive repair: crash parts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2010-09-24 - In Senate. To unfinished business. (Veto) [SB427 Detail]
Download: California-2009-SB427-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 427 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2010
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 9, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 20, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 22, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Negrete McLeod
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to amend Sections 9875, 9880.1, 9884.8, 9884.9, and 9889.20
of, and to add Section 9884.76 to, the Business and Professions
Code, relating to automotive repair.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 427, Negrete McLeod. Automotive repair: crash parts.
Existing law, the Automotive Repair Act, establishes the Bureau of
Automotive Repair under the supervision and control of the Director
of Consumer Affairs. The act provides for the registration and
regulation of automotive repair dealers and authorizes the director
to adopt regulations to implement its provisions. The act requires
all work done by an automotive repair dealer to be recorded on an
invoice that describes all service work done and parts supplied. The
act requires the invoice to include a statement indicating whether
any crash parts are original equipment manufacturer crash parts or
nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash parts. The act
also requires this information to be provided to a customer in an
itemized written estimate when an automotive repair dealer is doing
auto body or collision repairs. Existing law requires the automotive
repair dealer to obtain authorization from the customer before
performing work and imposing charges. A violation of the act is a
crime.
Existing law governing motor vehicle replacement parts prohibits
an insurer from requiring the use of specified parts in the repair of
an insured's motor vehicle unless certain requirements have been
met.
This bill would define and redefine "crash part," "aftermarket
crash part," and "original equipment manufacturer crash part," for
purposes of the act and the motor vehicle replacement part
provisions.
The bill would specify that an automotive repair dealer who
prepares a written estimate that includes replacement of a deployed
airbag and who fails to repair and fully restore the airbag where the
consumer has paid for the repair, as specified, is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both.
The bill would require the invoice for work done by an automotive
repair dealer to describe all service work done, parts supplied, and
crash parts installed. The bill would make a statement of legislative
intent regarding this requirement.
Because a violation of some of the bill's provisions would be a
crime, the 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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 9875 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
9875. As used in this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply:
(a) "Insurer" includes an insurance company and any person
authorized to represent the insurer with respect to a claim.
(b) "Crash part" means any of the nonmechanical sheet metal or
plastic parts which generally constitute the exterior of a motor
vehicle, including inner and outer panels and exterior lighting.
(c) "Aftermarket crash part" means a replacement for any crash
part.
(d) "Nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash part"
means aftermarket crash parts not made for or by the manufacturer of
the motor vehicle.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to the
installation of light bulbs in a motor vehicle.
SEC. 2. Section 9880.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
9880.1. The following definitions apply for the purposes of this
chapter:
(a) "Automotive repair dealer" means a person who, for
compensation, engages in the business of repairing or diagnosing
malfunctions of motor vehicles.
(b) "Chief" means the Chief of the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
(c) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
(d) "Motor vehicle" means a passenger vehicle required to be
registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles and all motorcycles
whether or not required to be registered by the Department of Motor
Vehicles.
(e) "Repair of motor vehicles" means all maintenance of and
repairs to motor vehicles performed by an automotive repair dealer
including automotive body repair work, but excluding those repairs
made pursuant to a commercial business agreement and also excluding
repairing tires, changing tires, lubricating vehicles, installing
light bulbs, batteries, windshield wiper blades and other minor
accessories, cleaning, adjusting, and replacing spark plugs,
replacing fan belts, oil, and air filters, and other minor services,
which the director, by regulation, determines are customarily
performed by gasoline service stations.
No service shall be designated as minor, for purposes of this
section, if the director finds that performance of the service
requires mechanical expertise, has given rise to a high incidence of
fraud or deceptive practices, or involves a part of the vehicle
essential to its safe operation.
(f) "Person" includes firm, partnership, association, limited
liability company, or corporation.
(g) An "automotive technician" is an employee of an automotive
repair dealer or is that dealer, if the employer or dealer repairs
motor vehicles and who for salary or wage performs maintenance,
diagnostics, repair, removal, or installation of any integral
component parts of an engine, driveline, chassis or body of any
vehicle, but excluding repairing tires, changing tires, lubricating
vehicles, installing light bulbs, batteries, windshield wiper blades,
and other minor accessories; cleaning, replacing fan belts, oil and
air filters; and other minor services which the director, by
regulation, determines are customarily performed by a gasoline
service station.
(h) "Director" means the Director of Consumer Affairs.
(i) "Commercial business agreement" means an agreement, whether in
writing or oral, entered into between a business or commercial
enterprise and an automobile repair dealer, prior to the repair which
is requested being made, which agreement contemplates a continuing
business arrangement under which the automobile repair dealer is to
repair any vehicle covered by the agreement, but does not mean any
warranty or extended service agreement normally given by an
automobile repair facility to its customers.
(j) "Customer" means the person presenting a motor vehicle for
repair and authorizing the repairs to that motor vehicle. "Customer"
shall not mean the automotive repair dealer providing the repair
services or an insurer involved in a claim that includes the motor
vehicle being repaired or an employee or agent or a person acting on
behalf of the dealer or insurer.
(k) "Crash part" shall have the same meaning as in Section 9875.
(l) "Aftermarket crash part" shall have the same meaning as in
Section 9875.
(m) "Original equipment manufacturer crash part" means a crash
part made for or by the original vehicle manufacturer that
manufactured, fabricated or supplied a vehicle or a component part.
(n) "Nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash part"
shall have the same meaning as in Section 9875.
SEC. 3. Section 9884.76 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
9884.76. Notwithstanding Section 9889.20, an automotive repair
dealer who prepares a written estimate for repairs pursuant to
Section 9884.9 that includes replacement of a deployed airbag that is
part of an inflatable restraint system and who fails to repair and
fully restore the airbag to original operating condition where the
customer has paid for the airbag repair as provided in the estimate
is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of five thousand
dollars ($5,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for one year
or by both that fine and imprisonment.
SEC. 4. Section 9884.8 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
9884.8. All work done by an automotive repair dealer, including
all warranty work, shall be recorded on an invoice and shall describe
all service work done, parts supplied, and crash parts installed.
Service work and parts shall be listed separately on the repair
invoice, which shall also state separately the subtotal prices for
service work and for parts, not including sales tax, and shall state
separately the sales tax, if any, applicable to each. If any used,
rebuilt, or reconditioned parts are installed, the invoice shall
clearly state that fact. If a part of a component system is composed
of new and used, rebuilt or reconditioned parts, that invoice shall
clearly state that fact. The invoice shall include a statement
indicating whether any crash parts are original equipment
manufacturer crash parts or nonoriginal equipment manufacturer
aftermarket crash parts. One copy of the invoice shall be given to
the customer and one copy shall be retained by the automotive repair
dealer.
SEC. 5. Section 9884.9 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
9884.9. (a) The automotive repair dealer shall give to the
customer a written estimated price for labor and parts necessary for
a specific job. No work shall be done and no charges shall accrue
before authorization to proceed is obtained from the customer. No
charge shall be made for work done or parts installed in excess of
the estimated price without the oral or written consent of the
customer that shall be obtained at some time after it is determined
that the estimated price is insufficient and before the work not
estimated is done or the parts not estimated are installed. Written
consent or authorization for an increase in the original estimated
price may be provided by electronic mail or facsimile transmission
from the customer. The bureau may specify in regulation the
procedures to be followed by an automotive repair dealer if an
authorization or consent for an increase in the original estimated
price is provided by electronic mail or facsimile transmission. If
that consent is oral, the dealer shall make a notation on the work
order of the date, time, name of person authorizing the additional
repairs, and telephone number called, if any, together with a
specification of the additional parts and labor and the total
additional cost, and shall do either of the following:
(1) Make a notation on the repair invoice of the same facts set
forth in the notation on the work order.
(2) Upon completion of the repairs, obtain the customer's
signature or initials to an acknowledgment of notice and consent, if
there is an oral consent of the customer to additional repairs, in
the following language:
""I acknowledge notice and oral approval of an
increase in the
original estimated price.
______________________________
(signature or initials)''
Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring an
automotive repair dealer to give a written estimated price if the
dealer does not agree to perform the requested repair.
(b) The automotive repair dealer shall include with the written
estimated price a statement of any automotive repair service that, if
required to be done, will be done by someone other than the dealer
or his or her employees. No service shall be done by anyone other
than the dealer or his or her employees without the consent of the
customer, unless the customer cannot reasonably be notified. The
dealer shall be responsible, in any case, for any service in the same
manner as if the dealer or his or her employees had done the
service.
(c) In addition to subdivisions (a) and (b), an automotive repair
dealer, when doing auto body or collision repairs, shall provide an
itemized written estimate for all parts and labor to the customer.
The written estimate shall describe labor and parts separately and
shall identify each part, indicating whether the replacement part is
new, used, rebuilt, or reconditioned. Each crash part shall be
identified on the written estimate and the written estimate shall
indicate whether the crash part is an original equipment manufacturer
crash part or a nonoriginal equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash
part.
(d) A customer may designate another person to authorize work or
parts supplied in excess of the estimated price, if the designation
is made in writing at the time that the initial authorization to
proceed is signed by the customer. The bureau may specify in
regulation the form and content of a designation and the procedures
to be followed by the automotive repair dealer in recording the
designation. For the purposes of this section, a designee shall not
be the automotive repair dealer providing repair services or an
insurer involved in a claim that includes the motor vehicle being
repaired, or an employee or agent or a person acting on behalf of the
dealer or insurer.
SEC. 6. Section 9889.20 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
9889.20. Except as otherwise provided in Sections 9884.76 and
9889.21, any person who fails to comply in any respect with the
provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable
by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by
imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
SEC. 7. The amendments made by this act to Section 9884.8 of the
Business and Professions Code shall not be construed to require the
replacement of the official automotive repair dealer sign as
described in Section 3351.4 of Title 16 of the California Code of
Regulations. It is the intent of the Legislature that instead of a
replacement sign that another method be employed in order that the
official sign shall accurately reflect the requirements of Section
9884.8 of the Business and Professions Code as amended by this act.
SEC. 8. 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.
