California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed S.B. 427 on Sept. 24. The legislation, proposed by California State Sen. Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, would increase penalties for failing to repair airbags and require
repairers to disclose whether OEM or non-OEM parts are used in a repair.
The bill’s language condemned perpetrators of airbag fraud, stating that those who “fail 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” can receive up to a $5,000 fine and up to a year in prison.
The language of the bill also included restrictions for invoices, including the following requirements:
• All work done by an automotive repair dealer, including all warranty work, must be recorded on an invoice and must describe all service work done, parts supplied and crash parts installed.
• Service work and parts must be listed separately on the repair invoice, which must also state separately the subtotal prices for service work and for parts, not including sales tax, and must state separately the sales tax, if any, applicable to each.
• If any used, rebuilt or reconditioned parts are installed, the invoice must clearly state that fact.
• If a part of a component system is composed of new and used, rebuilt or reconditioned parts, that invoice must clearly state that fact.
• The invoice must include a statement indicating whether any crash parts are original equipment manufacturer crash parts or non-original equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash parts.
• One copy of the invoice must be given to the customer and one copy must be retained by the automotive repair dealer.
The vetoed bill has been returned to the Senate.
More information:
Read S.B. 427
