SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One of three bills aimed at adding new requirements for the state’s buy-here, pay-here dealers is headed back to its house of origin for one last vote. If approved, the legislation heads to Gov. Jerry Brown’s office. He has has until Sept. 30 to veto the bill or sign it into law.
Assembly Bill 1447, introduced by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Torrance), was approved by the Senate last week by a 22-14 vote. The Assembly now has until Aug. 31 to approval the final version of the bill before it heads to the governor’s office for his signature.
“Without the protections included in AB 1447, mostly low-income buy-here, pay-here customers can’t be sure they are buying dependable vehicles,” Feuer said in an earlier press release regarding the bill. “That’s why my bill requires a minimum warranty and other critical safeguards that help ensure buyers are paying for reliable transportation.”
Under Feuer’s bill, customers of BHPH operations will no longer be obligated to make car payment in person. Dealers will also be required to offer a minimum warranty of at least 30 days or 1,000 miles. They will also be required to disclose to buyers when ignition shutdown technology is present in a vehicle, and must get written consent from buyers prior to purchase when an electronic tracking device is installed in the vehicle.
The bill, along with a second Assembly bill aimed at BHPH dealers, AB 1534, passed out of the Assembly in late May. Several amendments were made to the bill as it traveled through Senate committees before gaining Senate approval last week.
No action has been taken on AB 1534. Introduced by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont), the bill would mandate that dealers display a window sticker disclosing a vehicle’s reasonable market value, among other requirements. A third bill, SB 956, also is making its way through the legislature. It was proposed by Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), and would establish one of the lowest interest rate caps in the nation if passed.
All three bills were introduced in January after a series of articles critical of BHPH dealers was published in the Los Angeles Times late last year.
