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Vehicle Sales Regulation Initiatives Enter Circulation

SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Debra Bowen today announced the proponent of four new initiatives may begin collecting petition signatures for her measures.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials.

The Attorney General's official title and summary for the first measure is as follows:

USED VEHICLES. BUYER PROTECTION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires auto dealers to repair manufacturer-recalled safety defects on used vehicles before sale or lease to consumer. Prohibits dealers from using certain high-pressure tactics, or cancelling or changing vehicle sale or lease contracts at additional buyer expense, after delivery of vehicle. Requires minimum 30-day, 1,000 mile warranty on used vehicles. Limits financial incentives to dealers for arranging vehicle financing. Requires criminal background checks on dealer employees with access to customers' personal information. Imposes liability on dealers for identity theft at dealership. Eliminates New Motor Vehicle Board administrative review of consumer protection violations. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown but potentially significant net effect on state and local government revenues resulting from changes affecting the sale and financing of vehicles. (13-0033.)

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 1620 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 13-0033.

The Attorney General's official title and summary for the second measure is as follows:

USED VEHICLES. BUYER PROTECTION. INITIATIVE STATUTE.Requires auto dealers to repair manufacturer-recalled safety defects on used vehicles before sale or lease to consumer. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown but probably not significant net effect on overall state and local government revenues resulting from changes affecting the sale of vehicles. (13-0035.)

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 1622 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 13-0035.

The Attorney General's official title and summary for the third measure is as follows:

USED VEHICLES. BUYER PROTECTION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires auto dealers to repair manufacturer-recalled safety defects on used vehicles before sale or lease to consumer. Requires criminal background checks on dealer employees with access to customers' personal information. Imposes liability on dealers for identity theft at dealership. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown but probably not significant net effect on overall state and local government revenues resulting from changes affecting the sale of vehicles. (13-0036.)

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 1623 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 13-0036.

The Attorney General's official title and summary for the fourth measure is as follows:

USED VEHICLES. BUYER PROTECTION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires auto dealers to repair manufacturer-recalled safety defects on used vehicles before sale or lease to consumer. Prohibits dealers from using certain high-pressure tactics, or cancelling or changing vehicle sale or lease contracts at additional buyer expense, after delivery of vehicle. Requires minimum 30-day, 1,000 mile warranty on used vehicles. Limits financial incentives to dealers for arranging vehicle financing. Requires criminal background checks on dealer employees with access to customers' personal information. Imposes liability on dealers for identity theft at dealership. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown but potentially significant net effect on state and local government revenues resulting from changes affecting the sale and financing of vehicles.(13-0037.)

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 1624 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 13-0037.

The proponent for these measures, Rosemary Shahan, must collect signatures of 504,760 registered voters – the number equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election – for each measure in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponent has 150 days to circulate petitions for the measures, meaning the signatures must be collected by May 27, 2014.

The proponent can be reached at (510) 346-6200.

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