California S.B. 427, which would increase penalties for failing to repair airbags and require repairers to disclose whether OEM or non-OEM parts are used in a repair, passed the California Senate and now awaits a signature from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The bill requires all work done and parts supplied by an automotive repair dealer to be recorded on an invoice. The invoice also has to include a statement indicating whether any crash parts to be used are OEM or non-OEM. Existing law already requires repairers to obtain authorization from the customer before performing work and imposing charges.
In setting forth requirements on crash parts, the bill also redefined "crash part" to include exterior lighting.
The bill would require that deployed airbags must be fully restored when airbag replacement is included in a repair invoice. If not, the repairer could be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined up to $5,000 and/or serve a year in prison.
The legislation was originally introduced in early 2009 and has undergone several revisions since.
More information:
Read the full text of S.B. 427 as passed
