Pub. 2 2013 Issue 2

12 San Diego Dealer Senate Bill 155 (Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima) – Dealer Franchise Bill Signed into Law Gove r no r J e r r y B r own ha s s i gned SB 155 and new dealer protec tions will begin star t- ing Januar y 1, 2014. SB 155 has followed in the same broad, bi-par tisan tradition of past CNCDA franchise bills on its way to vic tor y. Overall, SB 155 provides a number of strong protections for dealers and prohibits the worst ac t i ons by manu f ac t u re r s. Spec i f i ca l l y, t he bill ’s provisions prohibit a fixed percentage r e d u c t i o n i n t i me a l l owa n c e f o r wa r r a n t y repairs, requires a 15 day notice for any time or compensation reduction in warranty repairs, mandates new warrant y and incentive audit procedures and timelines, enacts protections against strict liability “expor t ” rules, requires manufacturers to establish reasonable metrics for per formance standards and allows dealers to use local vendors for substantially similar produc ts and contrac tors needed in facilit y updates. Perhaps the most significant and hard fought v i c t o r y i n t he b i l l i s t he s ub s t an t i a l l y na r - r owe r 9 mon t h a ud i t p e r i od s f o r wa r r a n t y re imbu r s emen t s ( cu r ren t l y 12 mon t h s ) and i n c en t i ve p r og r ams ( c u r r en t l y 18 mon t h s ) . With this change (which like the rest of the bill will take effect Januar y 1, 2014), California is among the national leaders with such a shor t t ime f r ame fo r bo t h wa r r an t y and i ncen t i ve program audits. Senate Bill 684 (Jerr y Hill, D-San Mateo) – Digital Adver tising Displays Signed into Law With the dissolution of redevelopment agencies, there is a question about the fate of previously approved adver tising displays – including digital reader boards used to advertise au t o ma l l s and g r oup s o f dea l e r s i n c i t i e s and coun t i e s throughout California. The Governor has signed SB 684, a bill suppor ted by CNCDA. SB 684 protec ts these adver tis- ing displays for the next 10 years, the previously approved authorization period under the redevelopment agencies. Senate Bill 359 (Ellen Corbett, D-Hayward) – Clean Vehicle Tax Incentives Signed into Law We are all familiar with the state’s consumer incentive California New Car Dealers Association Update from Sacramento program of providing rebates for the purchase or lease of an elec tr ic, plug-in hybr id and other clean vehicle. This p r og r am ha s be en e xpe r i en c i ng f und i ng s ho r t f a l l s and the potential rebates would soon be unavailable to your cu s t ome r s. I n re s pon s e, t he Gove r no r s i gned SB 359 , a bill suppor ted by CNCDA, to relieve these shor tfalls and help to continue to reduce the price difference on these alternative fueled vehicles. Although the sun has set on the legislative session for 2013 , we a re a l ready at wo r k prepa r i ng fo r 2014 . I n t he meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. By Cliff Costa, Director of Government Affairs