BILL NUMBER: AB 1656 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 6, 2001
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 10, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 15, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Goldberg
FEBRUARY 23, 2001
An act to amend Section 21701.1 of, and to add Section 21701.2
to, the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Section 5109 of,
and to add Section 5139.5 to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to
household goods.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1656, Goldberg. Self-service storage facilities: household
goods.
Existing law defines household goods carrier for purposes of
regulation by the Public Utilities Commission. Existing law
authorizes the commission to establish rules for household goods
carriers.
This bill would require the commission to adopt regulations
requiring specified self-service storage facilities to register with
the commission and would require the commission to accept and attempt
to help resolve consumer complaints regarding these self-service
storage facilities.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 21701.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
21701.1. (a) The owner or operator of a self-service storage
facility or a household goods carrier, may, for a fee, transport
individual storage containers to and from a self-service storage
facility that he or she owns or operates. This transportation
activity, whether performed by an owner, operator, or carrier, shall
not be deemed transportation for compensation or hire as a business
of used household goods and is not subject to regulation under
Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 5101) of Division 2 of the Public
Utilities Code, provided that all of the following requirements are
met:
(1) The fee charged (A) to deliver an empty individual storage
container to a customer and to transport the loaded container to a
self-service storage facility or (B) to return a loaded individual
storage container from a self-service storage facility to the
customer does not exceed one hundred dollars ($100).
(2) The owner, operator, or carrier, or any affiliate of the
owner, operator, or carrier, does not load, pack, or otherwise handle
the contents of the container.
(3) The owner, operator, or carrier is registered under Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 34620) of Division 14.85 of the Vehicle Code
or holds a permit under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 5101) of
Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code.
(4) The owner, operator, or carrier has procured and maintained
cargo insurance in the amount of at least twenty thousand dollars
($20,000) per shipment. Proof of cargo insurance coverage shall be
maintained on file and presented to the Department of Motor Vehicles
or Public Utilities Commission upon written request.
(5) The owner, operator, or carrier shall disclose to the customer
in advance the following information regarding the container
transfer service offered, in a written document separate from others
furnished at the time of disclosure:
(A) A detailed description of the transfer service, including a
commitment to use its best efforts to place the container in an
appropriate location designated by the customer.
(B) The dimensions and construction of the individual storage
containers used.
(C) The unit charge, if any, for the container transfer service
that is in addition to the storage charge or any other fees under the
rental agreement.
(D) The availability of delivery or pickup by the customer of his
or her goods at the self-service storage facility.
(E) The maximum allowable distance, measured from the self-service
storage facility, for the initial pickup and final delivery of the
loaded container.
(F) The precise terms of the company's right to move a container
from the initial storage location at its own discretion and a
statement that the customer will not be required to pay additional
charges with respect to that transfer. The storage company shall
obtain the customer's written acknowledgement that this type of move
might occur and provide the customer with at least 30 days advance
notice when this move will occur and the options available to the
customer.
(G) Conspicuous disclosure in bold text of the allocation of
responsibility for the risk of loss or damage to the customer's
goods, including any disclaimer of the company's liability, and the
procedure for presenting any claim regarding loss or damage to the
company.
(H) The ability of the customer to register complaints with the
California Public Utilities Commission.
The disclosure of terms and conditions required by this
subdivision, and the rental agreement, shall be received by the
customer a minimum of 72 hours prior to delivery of the empty
individual storage container; however, the customer may, in writing,
knowingly and voluntarily waive that receipt. The company shall
record in writing, and retain for a period of at least six months
after the end of the rental, the time and method of delivery of the
information, any waiver made by the customer, and the times and dates
of initial pickup and redelivery of the containerized goods.
(6) No later than the time the empty individual storage container
is delivered to the customer, the company shall provide the customer
with an informational brochure containing the following information
about loading the container:
(A) Packing and loading tips to minimize damage in transit.
(B) A suggestion that the customer make an inventory of the items
as they are loaded and keep any other record (for example,
photographs or videotape) that may assist in any subsequent claims
processing.
(C) A list of items that are impermissible to pack in the
container (for example, flammable items).
(D) A list of items that are not recommended to be packed in light
of foreseeable hazards inherent in the company's handling of the
containers and in light of any limitation of liability contained in
the rental agreement.
(b) Pickup and delivery of the individual storage containers shall
be on a date agreed upon between the customer and the company. If
the company requires the customer to be physically present at the
time of pickup, the company shall in fact be at the customer's
premises prepared to perform the service not more than four hours
later than the scheduled time agreed to by the customer and company,
and in the event of a preventable breach of that obligation by the
company, the customer shall be entitled to receive a penalty of fifty
dollars ($50) from the company and to elect rescission of the rental
agreement without liability.
(c) No charge shall be assessed with respect to any movement of
the container between self-service storage facilities by the company
at its own discretion, nor for the delivery of a container to a
customer's premises if the customer advises the company, at least 24
hours before the agreed time of container dropoff, orally or in
writing, that he or she is rescinding the request for service.
(d) For purposes of this chapter, "individual storage container"
means a container that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) It shall be fully enclosed and locked.
(2) It contains not less than 100 and not more than 1,100 cubic
feet.
(3) It is constructed out of a durable material appropriate for
repeated use. A box constructed out of cardboard or a similar
material shall not constitute an individual storage container for
purposes of this section.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
authority of the Public Utilities Commission to investigate and
commence an appropriate enforcement action pursuant to Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 5101) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities
Code against any person transporting household goods in individual
storage containers in a manner other than that described in this
section.
SEC. 2. Section 21701.2 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
21701.2. Every self-service storage facility that engages in the
transportation and storage of individual storage containers pursuant
to Section 21701.1 and from that same facility provides on site,
individual self-service storage space for renting or leasing shall
register with the Public Utilities Commission in accordance with the
regulations established by the commission.
SEC. 3. Section 5109 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
5109. "Household goods carrier" includes every corporation or
person, their lessees, trustee, receivers or trustees appointed by
any court whatsoever, engaged in the transportation for compensation
or hire as a business by means of a motor vehicle or motor vehicles
being used in the transportation of used household goods and personal
effects over any public highway in this state.
SEC. 4. Section 5139.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
5139.5. (a) In order to monitor whether individual storage
containers are transported in violation of Chapter 7 (commencing with
Section 5101) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code, the
commission shall adopt regulations requiring those self-service
storage facilities described in Section 21701.2 of the Business and
Professions Code to register with the commission.
(b) The commission shall accept, tally, and help resolve consumer
complaints regarding self-service storage facilities described in
Section 21701.2 of the Business and Professions Code.