Consumerism

Consumerism Legislation

Consumerism Legislation

SB 91 (Figueroa-D) Vehicle dealers: prohibited activities

Prohibits unlicensed vehicle dealers from bringing action against purchasers to recover money or property.

Chapter 407, Statutes of 2002

SB 169 (Bowen-D) Personal information: facial recognition

Defines biometric identifier and facial recognition technology, as specified.

(Died in Assembly Judiciary Committee)

SB 387 (Johnson-R) Consumer credit reports

Provides that a consumer has the right to request and receive from a consumer credit reporting agency a decoded written version of the consumer's file written in easily understood language and requires a consumer reporting agency to disclose this.

(Died in Senate Judiciary Committee)

SB 628 (Figueroa-D) Consumer warranties

Requires a manufacturer of consumer goods sold in California for which the manufacturer has made an express warranty to set forth in the warranty information, in at least 12-point boldface type, specified provisions regarding repairs and revises provisions of law relative to retailer's obligations to a consumer relative to a service contract.

(Died in Senate Judiciary Committee)

SB 679 (Figueroa-D) Charity fundraiser disclosures

Enhances charity fundraiser disclosure provisions in order that persons solicited by commercial fundraisers are able to ascertain that a significant portion of a contribution may go to the fundraiser rather than to the charity to which they think they are donating.

(Died on Senate Inactive File)

SB 772 (Bowen-D) Electronic mail customers

Requires electronic mail service providers to give customers notice before permanently terminating the customer's mail services.

Chapter 783, Statutes of 2002

Similar legislation was SB 1383 (Bowen-D), which died in Assembly Judiciary Committee.

SB 773 (Bates-R) Financial institutions: confidential information

Enacts the Financial Information Privacy Act of 2002 which requires a financial institution to (1) provide notice to, and obtain the written consent of, a consumer before disclosing any confidential customer information to any third party, including any affiliated company, and (2) take reasonable steps to ensure that any third party providing such information to the financial institution has followed similar notice and consent procedures with regard to that information, as specified.

(Refused passage on the Senate Floor)

Similar legislation was AB 203 (Jackson-D), which died in Assembly Banking and Finance Committee.

SB 1239 (Figueroa-D) Consumer credit reporting agencies

Requires any consumer credit reporting agency to provide a consumer with up to 12 free copies of his or her credit file per year, upon the request of the consumer, if the consumer is a victim of identity theft.

Chapter 860, Statutes of 2002

SB 1240 (Figueroa-D) Advertising

Provides that solicitation by a web site, by e-mail and over the Internet, are governed by the same laws that govern when and how solicitations by mail may use words or symbols that imply a governmental connection with the solicitation.

Chapter 319, Statutes of 2002

SB 1331 (Speier-D) Salvage vehicles

Imposes additional requirements concerning the regulation of "total loss salvage vehicles" and establishes certain new definitions related to these vehicles. Deletes the January 1, 2003 sunset date authorizing a $50 fee for inspected salvage vehicles.

Chapter 670, Statutes of 2002

SB 1332 (Figueroa-D) Home inspectors

Provides title act protection for home inspectors by making it an unfair business practice for an individual to refer to himself or herself as a "certified home inspector" unless he or she has met certain specified requirements, as specified.

(Died in Assembly Business and Professions Committee)

SB 1387 (Peace-D) Consumer credit: class actions

Requires a court, in determining the amount of an award in a class action, under the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act, to also consider the number of violations.

(Died in Senate Judiciary Committee)

SB 1480 (Speier-D) Outdoor advertising

Reverses or extends several provisions of the Outdoor Advertising Act, including those relating to billboard permit procedures and fees, local regulation and penalties for the failure to remove certain nonconforming advertising displays.

Chapter 972, Statutes of 2002

SB 1560 (Figueroa-D) Telephone solicitations

Clarifies what businesses may obtain the "do not call" list free of charge and that businesses may not become "do not call" list brokers. Delays, until April 1, 2003, the requirement that the Attorney General maintain a "do not call" list.

Chapter 698, Statutes of 2002

SB 1610 (Bowen-D) Nutritional label

Requires that the packaging of certain foods, including dietary supplements, include information on the amount of trans fatty acids present in the foods.

(Failed passage in Assembly Agriculture Committee)

SB 1617 (Karnette-D) Credit cards

Modifies the authorization for credit card companies to issue a substitute card to replace an accepted credit card.

Chapter 862, Statutes of 2002

SB 1730 (Bowen-D) Personal information

Modifies provisions relating to security freezes and permissible publications of social security numbers.

Chapter 786, Statutes of 2002

SB 1743 (Speier-D) Salvage vehicles

Enacts consumer protections pertaining to the sale and resale of salvage vehicles.

Vetoed by the Governor

SB 1765 (Bowen-D) Consumer warranties

Requires that warranty or product registration forms disclose that they are for product registration and that failure to return the form does not diminish the purchaser's warranty rights.

Chapter 306, Statutes of 2002

AB 40 (Vargas-D) Amusement machines

Requires video arcade facilities to require each amusement machine in the facility to be labeled with a rating category indicating the nature of its content, as specified.

(Died in Assembly Appropriations Committee)

AB 269 (Correa-D) Professional and vocational licensing boards

States that the highest priority for the State Department of Consumer Affairs licensing boards, commissions and bureaus, in performing their licensing, regulating, and disciplinary functions, is the protection of the public.

Chapter 107, Statutes of 2002

AB 371 (Koretz-D) Consumer credit reporting agencies

Requires a consumer credit reporting agency to notify a consumer when, within a 60-day period, the agency has received five prior credit inquiries about the consumer, as specified.

(Died in Assembly Business and Professions Committee)

AB 372 (Nation-D) Appliance and repair dealers

Makes substantive changes to existing law pertaining to the regulation of service contracts and home warranty contracts.

(Died in Assembly Insurance Committee)

AB 623 (Runner-R) Flooring industry

Prohibits a flooring manufacturer from requiring a California flooring industry retailer to file a grievance claiming payments in any court other than this State. Makes void and unenforceable any waiver of this bill's requirement.

(Died in Senate Judiciary Committee)

AB 791 (Strom-Martin-D) Transgenic seafood

Requires that the retail sale of any unpackaged seafood, other than by a restaurateur, containing any transgenic fish or transgenic shellfish, including, but not limited to, any species of salmon, shall be accompanied by a notice that clearly discloses that fact to the consumer, and defines transgenic fish and shellfish for that purpose.

(Died in Assembly Agriculture Committee)

AB 839 (Lowenthal-D) Advertising: facsimile machine

Prohibits the use of facsimile machine to disseminate unsolicited advertising and promotional materials.

(Died in Senate Business and Professions Committee)

AB 1068* (Wright-D) Consumer credit

Revises the Consumer Credit Report Agencies Act by (1) revising the process by which persons using consumer credit reports verify information in the report, (2) modifying requirements imposed upon users of investigative consumer reports, (3) extending, by one year, the deadline by which financial institutions must stop using social security numbers for access to products and services, and (4) making related changes.

Chapter 1030, Statutes of 2002

AB 1531* (Kehoe-D) Consumer credit

Corrects the implementation date of AB 488 (Kehoe-D), Chapter 236, Statutes of 2001, which requires the consumer credit reporting agency files to include the telephone number of a source of information included in the consumer report and a recipient of a consumer credit report of the consumer and others making certain inquiries of the credit report of the consumer, if provided. Specifically delays the date until January 1, 2003.

Chapter 9, Statutes of 2002

AB 1753 (Migden-D) Magazine distributors

Requires magazine mailing labels to disclose the subscription expiration date and magazine distributors to put the magazine subscription expiration date on all magazine renewal notices or direct subscribers to refer to the magazine mailing label.

Chapter 191, Statutes of 2002

AB 1769 (Leslie-R) Advertising

Prohibits a person or entity conducting business in the state from transmitting a text message advertisement to a cellular telephone or pager equipped with short message capability or any similar capability allowing the transmission of that message, subject to certain exceptions.

Chapter 699, Statutes of 2002

AB 1805 (Kehoe-D) Consumer credit reporting

Revises the statute of limitations to provide that a plaintiff may bring an action within two years after "actual," as opposed to "how or should have known" discovery of the violation.

(Failed passage in Assembly Judiciary Committee)

AB 1814 (Reyes-D) Internet service providers

Requires a 30-day notice, by an Internet service provider, to a customer, of service termination or service to another Internet service provider.

Vetoed by the Governor

AB 1856 (Nation-D) Unsolicited fax advertisements

Expands existing law regulating unsolicited fax advertisements and e-mails by making the provisions of that law applicable to unsolicited mail sent via the U.S. Postal Service, as specified.

(Died on Assembly Inactive File)

AB 1876 (Lowenthal-D) Unsolicited checks

Provides that a solicitation for an extension of credit for a consumer loan may not be made through the use of an unsolicited check, unsolicited convenience check, or other unsolicited negotiable instrument sent by a charge card issuer, financial institution, or other lender to a consumer who resides in this state.

(Failed passage in Assembly Banking and Finance Committee)

AB 1951 (Vargas-D) Home solicitation contracts

Extends a timeline purchaser's contract cancellation period, provides a purchaser reimbursement provisions, and requires additional disclosure requirements regarding timeshare transactions.

(Died in Senate Judiciary Committee)

AB 2086 (Bogh-R) Consumer goods: warranties

Allows manufacturers of consumer goods and their designated service and repair facilities greater freedom to negotiate warranty service contracts while clarifying an ambiguity in law that could impair the operation of the contract.

(Died in Senate Judiciary Committee)

AB 2087 (Oropeza-D) Outdoor advertising

Expands exemptions for local agencies from the Outdoor Advertising Act.

(Died in Senate Transportation Committee)

AB 2119 (Washington-D) Consumer credit

Requires that, if a credit cardholder provides a payment in excess of the amount currently due, the card issuer is to refund the excess amount to the cardholder, by check, within 60 days.

(Died in Assembly Banking and Finance Committee)

AB 2161 (Maddox-R) Consumer reports

Allows the inclusion of any felony, no matter how old, in an investigative consumer report.

(Died in Senate Public Safety Committee)

AB 2244 (Wayne-D) Prepaid calling cards

Expands the disclosure of prepaid calling card fees or charges, adds restrictions on how fees or charges are imposed and how a prepaid calling card company operates its required customer service telephone number, and requires that mandated disclosures be made in any language that is used on the prepaid card, its packaging, advertising, or promotion.

Chapter 778, Statutes of 2002

AB 2265 (Cardenas-D) Consumer purchases: seniors

Allows a person, who is 65 years of age or older, to rescind a purchase, or an agreement to purchase, the total cost of which, including any taxes or fees, is in excess of $5,000 any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the transaction, without penalty or obligation.

(Died in Assembly Judiciary Committee)

AB 2293 (Liu-D) Consumer credit counseling

Establishes new regulatory provisions exempting nonprofit community service organizations that engage in prorating activities from regulations, as specified.

Chapter 779, Statutes of 2002

AB 2297 (Simitian-D) Web site privacy

Enacts the Online Privacy and Disclosure Act of 2002 relating to the regulation of web site privacy policies.

Vetoed by the Governor

AB 2331 (Wayne-D) Consumers: waivers

Adds anti-waiver provisions to 18 consumer protection laws.

Chapter 815, Statutes of 2002

AB 2397 (Correa-D) Motor vehicle advertisement

Prohibits various acts related to the advertising of motor vehicles by motor vehicle dealers.

Chapter 947, Statutes of 2002

AB 2457 (Frommer-D) Rental car agencies contracts

Modifies the laws requiring written and oral disclosures to rental car customers that the damage waiver policy offered by the rental company may be duplicative of the coverage provided by the renter's car insurance policy, as specified.

Chapter 948, Statutes of 2002

AB 2473 (Simitian-D) Gift certificates: bankruptcy

Requires the issuer of a gift certificate to honor that gift certificate, if the issuer files for bankruptcy.

Chapter 997, Statutes of 2002

AB 2474 (Simitian-D) Automotive products

Requires engine coolant or antifreeze being sold in the state, containing more than 10 percent ethylene glycol, to have denatonium benzoate, or another equivalent battery agent, added to the mixture to render it compatible for human or animals.

Chapter 998, Statutes of 2002

AB 2498 (Jackson-D) Consumer credit

Prohibits a person or entity from calculating a consumer's credit score in a manner that results in an adverse impact based upon the number of inquiries received regarding that consumer's credit status.

(Died in Assembly Business and Professions Committee)

AB 2573 (Runner-R) Investigative consumer reporting agencies

Allows an investigative consumer reporting agency to report to a potential or current employee of a person that the person has committed a theft, if the person voluntarily signed a written statement admitting to the theft, and if other specified conditions are met.

(Died on Senate Public Safety Committee)

AB 2732 (Washington-D) Automatic checkout systems

Requires that any business establishment that uses an automatic checkout system to use a system that conspicuously displays the price to be paid by the consumer, as specified.

Chapter 818, Statutes of 2002

AB 2820 (Cardenas-D) Unsolicited facsimiles

Allows unsolicited advertising faxes to be sent to individuals and businesses, unless the individual or business places their phone number on the Attorney General's "do not call" list.

(Died in Senate Business and Professions Committee)

AB 2868* (Wright-D) Personal information reporting

Makes various revisions in AB 655 (Wright-D), Chapter 1029, Statutes of 2001, regarding investigative consumer reports that are used as a basis for offering employment, housing, and insurers. A companion bill to AB 1068 (Wright-D), Chapter 1030, Statutes of 2001.

Chapter 1029, Statutes of 2002

AB 2944 (Kehoe-D) Unsolicited faxes

Deletes the existing state law prohibiting unsolicited fax advertisements. (This is intended to ensure that federal law will prevail, and federal law prohibits unsolicited fax advertisements.)

Chapter 700, Statutes of 2002

Similar legislation was SB 1358 (Bowen-D), which failed passage in Assembly Business and Professions Committee, and AB 2568 (John Campbell-R), which died in Assembly Business and Professions Committee.

Index (in Bill Order)