Bill Text: CA AB1732 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 1732 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Vehicles: manufacturers, distributors, and dealers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 856, Statutes of 2014. [AB1732 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1732-Introduced.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 1732	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Stone

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2014

   An act to amend Section 11713 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1732, as introduced, Stone. Vehicles: manufacturers and
distributors.
   Existing law generally requires a manufacturer, manufacturer
branch, remanufacturer, remanufacturer branch, distributor,
distributor branch, transporter, or dealer of vehicles to be licensed
by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Existing law prohibits these
licensees from engaging in certain practices, including, failing to,
within 48 hours, withdraw in writing an advertisement of a vehicle
that has been sold or withdrawn from sale and advertising or
representing a vehicle as a new vehicle if the vehicle is a used
vehicle. Existing law makes it a crime to violate these provisions.
   This bill would additionally prohibit a licensee from advertising
a vehicle's prior use or ownership history in an inaccurate manner.
By expanding the scope of 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.
   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.  Section 11713 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
   11713.   No   A  holder of  any
  a  license issued under this article shall 
not do any of the following:
   (a) Make or disseminate, or cause to be made or disseminated,
before the public in this state, in  any   a
 newspaper or other publication, or  any  
an  advertising device, or by public outcry or proclamation, or
in any other manner or means whatever,  any   a
 statement  which   that  is untrue or
misleading and  which   that  is known, or
 which   that  by the exercise of
reasonable care should be known, to be untrue or misleading; or to so
make or disseminate, or cause to be so disseminated,  any
  a  statement as part of a plan or scheme with the
intent not to sell  any   a  vehicle or
service so advertised at the price stated therein, or as so
advertised.
   (b) (1) (A) Advertise or offer for sale or exchange in any manner,
 any   a  vehicle not actually for sale at
the premises of the dealer or available to the dealer directly from
the manufacturer or distributor of the vehicle at the time of the
advertisement or offer. However, a dealer who has been issued an
autobroker's endorsement to his or her dealer's license may advertise
his or her service of arranging or negotiating the purchase of a new
motor vehicle from a franchised new motor vehicle dealer and may
specify the line-makes and models of those new vehicles.
Autobrokering service advertisements may not advertise the price or
payment terms of  any   a  vehicle and
shall disclose that the advertiser is an autobroker or auto buying
service, and shall clearly and conspicuously state the following:
"All new cars arranged for sale are subject to price and availability
from the selling franchised new car dealer."
   (B) As to printed advertisements, the disclosure statement
required by subparagraph (A) shall be printed in not less than
10-point bold type size and shall be textually segregated from the
other portions of the printed advertisement.
   (2) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), classified advertisements
for autobrokering services that measure two column inches or less are
exempt from the disclosure statement in subparagraph (A) pertaining
to price and availability.
   (3) Radio advertisements of a duration of less than 11 seconds
that do not reference specific line-makes or models of motor vehicles
are exempt from the disclosure statement required in subparagraph
(A).
   (c) Fail, within 48 hours,  in writing  to
withdraw  any   in writing an 
advertisement of a vehicle that has been sold or withdrawn from sale.

   (d) Advertise or represent a vehicle as a new vehicle if the
vehicle is a used vehicle.
   (e) Engage in the business for which the licensee is licensed
without having in force and effect a bond as required by this
article.
   (f) Engage in the business for which the dealer is licensed
without at all times maintaining an established place of business as
required by this code.
   (g) Include, as an added cost to the selling price of a vehicle,
an amount for licensing or transfer of title of the vehicle, which is
not due to the state unless, prior to the sale, that amount has been
paid by a dealer to the state in order to avoid penalties that would
have accrued because of late payment of the fees. However, a dealer
may collect from the second purchaser of a vehicle a prorated fee
based upon the number of months remaining in the registration year
for that vehicle, if the vehicle had been previously sold by the
dealer and the sale was subsequently rescinded and all the fees that
were paid, as required by this code and Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 10751) of    Part 5 of  Division 2 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code, were returned to the first purchaser of
the vehicle.
   (h) Employ  any   a  person as a
salesperson who has not been licensed pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 11800), and whose license is not displayed
on the premises of the dealer as required by Section 11812, or
willfully fail to notify the department by mail within 10 days of the
employment or termination of employment of a salesperson.
   (i) Deliver, following the sale, a vehicle for operation on
California highways, if the vehicle does not meet all of the
equipment requirements of Division 12 (commencing with Section
24000). This subdivision does not apply to the sale of a leased
vehicle to the lessee if the lessee is in possession of the vehicle
immediately prior to the time of the sale and the vehicle is
registered in this state.
   (j) Use, or permit the use of, the special plates assigned to him
or her for any purpose other than as permitted by Section 11715.
   (k) Advertise or otherwise represent, or knowingly allow to be
advertised or represented on behalf of, or at the place of business
of, the licenseholder that no downpayment is required in connection
with the sale of a vehicle when a downpayment is in fact required and
the buyer is advised or induced to finance the downpayment by a loan
in addition to any other loan financing the remainder of the
purchase price of the vehicle. The terms "no downpayment," "zero down
delivers," or similar terms shall not be advertised unless the
vehicle will be sold to  any   a  qualified
purchaser without a prior payment of any kind or trade-in.
   (  l  ) Participate in the sale of a vehicle required to
be reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles under Section 5900 or
5901 without making the return and payment of the full sales tax due
and required by Section 6451 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
   (m) Permit the use of the dealer's license, supplies, or books by
any other person for the purpose of permitting that person to engage
in the purchase or sale of vehicles required to be registered under
this code, or permit the use of the dealer's license, supplies, or
books to operate a branch location to be used by any other person,
whether or not the licensee has any financial or equitable interest
or investment in the vehicles purchased or sold by, or the business
of, or branch location used by, the other person.
   (n) Violate any provision of Article 10 (commencing with Section
28050) of Chapter 5 of Division 12.
   (o) Sell a previously unregistered vehicle without disclosing in
writing to the purchaser the date on which  any 
 a  manufacturer's or distributor's warranty commenced.
   (p) Accept a purchase deposit relative to the sale of a vehicle,
unless the vehicle is present at the premises of the dealer or
available to the dealer directly from the manufacturer or distributor
of the vehicle at the time the dealer accepts the deposit. Purchase
deposits accepted by an autobroker when brokering a retail sale shall
be governed by Sections 11736 and 11737.
   (q) Consign for sale to another dealer a new vehicle.
   (r) Display a vehicle for sale at a location other than an
established place of business authorized by the department for that
dealer or display a new motor vehicle at the business premises of
another dealer registered as an autobroker. This subdivision does not
apply to the display of a vehicle pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 11709 or the demonstration of the qualities of a motor
vehicle by way of a test drive.
   (s) Use a picture in connection with  any  
an  advertisement of the price of a specific vehicle or class of
vehicles, unless the picture is of the year, make and model being
offered for sale. The picture shall not depict a vehicle with
optional equipment or a design not actually offered at the advertised
price.
   (t) Advertise a vehicle for sale that was used by the selling
licensee in its business as a demonstrator, executive vehicle,
service vehicle, rental, loaner, or lease vehicle, unless the
advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses the previous use
made by that licensee of the vehicle. An advertisement shall not
describe any of those vehicles as "new." 
   (u) Advertise the prior use or ownership history of a vehicle in
an inaccurate manner. 
  SEC. 2.  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.