BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
                              Senator Jim Beall, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:          AB 759            Hearing Date:    7/14/2015
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          |Author:   |Linder                                                |
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          |Version:  |3/26/2015                                             |
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          |Urgency:  |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
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          |Consultant|Randy Chinn                                           |
          |:         |                                                      |
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          SUBJECT:  Recreational vehicles


          DIGEST:  This bill authorizes RV dealers whose franchises have  
          been terminated to continue to sell any new RV inventory that  
          was purchased by the dealer prior to the termination.
            
          ANALYSIS:
          
          Existing law: 

          1)Establishes the New Motor Vehicle Board (NMVB), which is  
            responsible for resolving disputes between franchised dealers  
            and manufacturers of new motor vehicles, including motorcycles  
            and recreational vehicles (RVs).  

          2)Prohibits RV dealers from selling new RVs without a franchise  
            from the RV manufacturer.

          This bill:

          1)Makes a number of technical changes to the statutes dealing  
            with the NMVB, including the creation of separate parallel and  
            nearly identical code sections for RV dealers and auto  
            dealers.

          2)Authorizes RV dealers whose franchises have been terminated to  
            continue to sell any new RV inventory that was purchased by  
            the dealer prior to the termination.








          AB 759 (Linder)                                    Page 2 of ?
          
          
          COMMENTS:

          1)Purpose of the bill.  According to the author, inconsistent  
            and misleading language has crept into the NMVB code sections  
            over the years.  This bill is intended to provide technical  
            and clarifying changes to the statutes.  In addition, the bill  
            authorizes RV dealers to sell their remaining inventory after  
            a franchise agreement has ended, a common industry practice.   
            The bill is sponsored by the Recreational Vehicle Industry  
            Association and the California Recreational Vehicle Dealers  
            Association.  Many of the technical amendments were proposed  
            by the NMVB.

          2)Background.  The NMVB is a small organization with 13  
            positions proposed for FY 2015-2016.  Contrary to its name,  
            the NMVB deals primarily with franchise dealer/manufacturer  
            disputes, though as a secondary duty they offer a non-binding  
            mediation service between consumers and new-car dealers and  
            manufacturers.  The NMVB does not have the authority to  
            enforce California's lemon law.

          3)What's new?  The one substantial provision in the bill  
            authorizes RV dealers who have lost their franchises to sell  
            any new RVs in their inventory as new.  Because RV dealers own  
            their inventory, if their franchises are lost that inventory  
            would have to be sold as used, resulting in a loss to the  
            dealers, according to the sponsors.  Current law is apparently  
            more honored in the breach than the observance under current  
            practice.  This bill legitimizes that practice.

          Assembly Votes

            Floor:    77-0
            Appr:     17-0
            Trans:    15-0
          
          FISCAL EFFECT:  Appropriation:  No    Fiscal Com.:  Yes     
          Local:  Yes


            POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the committee before noon on  
          Wednesday,
                          July 8, 2015.)
          
            SUPPORT:  








          AB 759 (Linder)                                    Page 3 of ?
          
          

          California Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (co-sponsor)
          Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (co-sponsor)

          OPPOSITION:

          None received
          
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