Bill Text: CA AB791 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Collateral recovery: repossessors.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-09-24 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 340, Statutes of 2013. [AB791 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB791-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 791 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 340
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 26, 2013
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 13, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 25, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 13, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hagman
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
An act to amend Sections 7505.2, 7506.9, 7507.4, 7507.12, and
7508.2 of, and to add Sections 7508.7 and 7508.8 to, the Business and
Professions Code, relating to repossessors.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 791, Hagman. Collateral recovery: repossessors.
(1) Existing law, the Collateral Recovery Act, provides for the
licensure and regulation of repossession agencies by the Bureau of
Security and Investigative Services under the supervision and control
of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires an
applicant for an initial registration or a reregistration to submit
an application to the bureau and include certain personal information
in the application that is confidential and is prohibited from being
disclosed to the public, except for the registrant's full name, the
licensee's name and address, and the registration number. A violation
of the act is a crime.
This bill would prohibit, except as otherwise provided by law, a
repossession agency from disclosing to the public, without a court
order, the residence address, residence telephone number, cellular
telephone number, driver's license number, work schedule, past,
present, or future location, or any other personal information of any
licensee, registrant, qualified certificate holder, qualified
manager, employee, or independent contractor that it employs. By
creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
(2) Existing law declares that nothing in the act prohibits the
using or taking of personal effects that are connected, adjoined, or
affixed to the collateral through an unbroken sequence, if that use
or taking is reasonably necessary to effectuate the recovery in a
safe manner or to protect the collateral or personal effects.
The bill would additionally declare that the act does not prohibit
the removal of a locking mechanism or security device on the
collateral, before, during, or after a repossession.
(3) Existing law allows a licensed repossession agency or its
registrants to make demand for payment in lieu of repossession, if
the demand is made pursuant to an assignment for repossession.
Existing law permits the director to assess an administrative fine
for specified violations of the act.
This bill would prohibit a licensed repossession agency or its
registrants from making a demand for payment in lieu of repossession.
The bill would also prohibit a repossession agency from selling
collateral recovered under the provisions of the act. The bill would
modify the director's authority to assess administrative fines for
specified violations of the act and would increase those fines. By
creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program. The bill would make conforming changes.
The bill would also allow a person affiliated with a repossession
agency to wear an oval, shield, round, square, or non-7-point badge,
cap insignia, or jacket patch if it bears on its face all or a
substantial part of the repossession agency's name, the repossession
agency license number issued by the Director of Consumer Affairs to
that individual or agency, and the word "repossessor." The bill would
require all badges, cap insignias, and jacket patches worn by a
repossessor to be a standard design approved by the director and to
be clearly visible. The bill would prohibit a repossessor from
wearing a badge on his or her belt and from hanging a badge around
his or her neck. The bill would make these provisions inapplicable to
a holder of a temporary registration, as specified. The bill would
authorize the director to assess a fine of $100 for the first
violation, $175 for the second violation, and $250 for each violation
thereafter. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(4) "Collateral" is defined, for purposes of the act, as any
specific vehicle, trailer, boat, recreational vehicle, motor home,
appliance, or other property that is subject to a security agreement.
Existing law provides, with regard to collateral subject to
registration under the Vehicle Code, that a repossession is complete
when the repossessor gains entry to the collateral, or when the
collateral becomes connected to a tow truck or the repossessor's tow
vehicle.
This bill additionally would declare that repossession is complete
when the repossessor moves the entire collateral present or the
repossessor gains control of the collateral.
(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 7505.2 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
7505.2. Nothing in this chapter prohibits the using or taking of
personal effects that are connected, adjoined, or affixed to the
collateral through an unbroken sequence, if that use or taking is
reasonably necessary to effectuate the recovery in a safe manner or
to protect the collateral or personal effects. Nothing in this
chapter prohibits the removal of a locking mechanism or security
device on the collateral, before, during, or after a repossession. No
storage fee shall be charged for the first week on any personal
effects used to effectuate a recovery pursuant to this section. Any
personal effects used or taken pursuant to this section shall be
processed in a reasonably expedient manner pursuant to Sections
7507.9 and 7507.10.
SEC. 2. Section 7506.9 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
7506.9. (a) Upon the issuance of the initial registration,
reregistration, or renewal, the chief shall issue to the registrant a
suitable pocket identification card. At the request of the
registrant, the identification card may include a photograph of the
registrant. The photograph shall be of a size prescribed by the
bureau. The card shall contain the name of the licensee with whom the
registrant is registered. The applicant may request to be issued an
enhanced pocket card that shall be composed of durable material and
may incorporate technologically advanced security features. The
bureau may charge a fee sufficient to reimburse the department for
costs for furnishing the enhanced pocket card. The fee charged may
not exceed the actual cost for system development, maintenance, and
processing necessary to provide the service, and may not exceed six
dollars ($6). If the applicant does not request an enhanced card, the
department shall issue a standard card at no cost to the applicant.
(b) Until the registration certificate is issued or denied, a
person may be assigned to work with a temporary registration on a
secure form prescribed by the chief, and issued by the qualified
certificate holder, for a period not to exceed 120 days from the date
the employment or contract commenced, provided the person signs a
declaration under penalty of perjury that he or she has not been
convicted of a felony or committed any other act constituting grounds
for denial of a registration pursuant to Section 7506.8 (unless he
or she declares that the conviction of a felony or the commission of
a specified act or acts occurred prior to the issuance of a
registration by the chief and the conduct was not the cause of any
subsequent suspension or termination of a registration), and that he
or she has read and understands the provisions of this chapter.
(c) The chief shall issue an additional temporary registration for
not less than 60 days nor more than 120 days, if the chief
determines that the investigation of the applicant will take longer
to complete than the initial temporary registration time period.
(d) No person shall perform the duties of a registrant for a
licensee unless the person has in his or her possession a valid
repossessor registration card or evidence of a valid temporary
registration or registration renewal as described in subdivision (b)
or (e) of this section or subdivision (c) of Section 7506.10. Every
person, while engaged in any activity for which licensure is
required, shall display his or her valid pocket card as provided by
regulation.
(e) A person may work as a registrant pending receipt of the
registration card if he or she has been approved by the bureau and
carries on his or her person a hardcopy printout or electronic copy
of the bureau's approval from the bureau's Internet Web site and a
valid picture identification.
SEC. 3. Section 7507.4 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
7507.4. A licensed repossession agency or its registrants shall
not make demand for payment in lieu of repossession and shall not
sell collateral recovered under this chapter.
SEC. 4. Section 7507.12 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
7507.12. (a) With regard to collateral subject to registration
under the Vehicle Code, a repossession is complete if any of the
following occurs:
(1) The repossessor gains entry to the collateral.
(2) The collateral becomes connected to a tow truck or the
repossessor's tow vehicle, as those terms are defined in Section 615
of the Vehicle Code.
(3) The repossessor moves the entire collateral present.
(4) The repossessor gains control of the collateral.
(b) No person other than the legal owner may direct a repossessor
to release a vehicle without legal authority to do so.
SEC. 5. Section 7508.2 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
7508.2. The director may assess administrative fines for any of
the following prohibited acts:
(a) Recovering collateral or making any money demand in lieu
thereof, including, but not limited to, collateral registered under
the Vehicle Code, that has been sold under a security agreement
before a signed or telegraphic authorization has been received from
the legal owner, debtor, lienholder, lessor, or repossession agency
acting on behalf of the legal owner, debtor, lienholder, or lessor of
the collateral. A telephonic assignment is acceptable if the legal
owner, debtor, lienholder, lessor, or repossession agency acting on
behalf of the legal owner, debtor, lienholder, or lessor is known to
the licensee and a written authorization from the legal owner,
debtor, lienholder, lessor, or repossession agency acting on behalf
of the legal owner, debtor, lienholder, or lessor is received by the
licensee within 10 working days or a request by the licensee for a
written authorization from the legal owner, debtor, lienholder,
lessor, or repossession agency acting on behalf of the legal owner,
debtor, lienholder, or lessor is made in writing within 10 working
days. Referrals of assignments from one licensee to another licensee
are acceptable. The referral of an assignment shall be made under the
same terms and conditions as in the original assignment. The fine
shall be twenty-five dollars ($25) for each of the first five
violations and one hundred dollars ($100) for each violation
thereafter, per audit.
(b) Using collateral or personal effects, which have been
recovered, for the personal benefit of a licensee, or officer,
partner, manager, registrant, or employee of a licensee. The fine
shall be twenty-five dollars ($25) for the first violation and one
hundred dollars ($100) for each violation thereafter. This
subdivision does not apply to personal effects disposed of pursuant
to subdivision (c) of Section 7507.9. Nothing in this subdivision
prohibits the using or taking of personal property connected,
adjoined, or affixed to the collateral through an unbroken sequence
if that use or taking is reasonably necessary to effectuate the
recovery in a safe manner or to protect the collateral or personal
effects.
(c) Selling collateral recovered under this chapter, or making a
demand for payment in lieu of repossession. The fine shall be two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first violation and one thousand
dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent violation.
(d) Unlawfully entering any private building or secured area
without the consent of the owner, or of the person in legal
possession thereof, at the time of repossession. The fine shall be
five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation.
(e) Committing unlawful assault or battery on another person. The
fine shall be five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation.
(f) Falsification or alteration of an inventory. The fine shall be
twenty-five dollars ($25) for each violation.
(g) Soliciting from the legal owner the recovery of specific
collateral registered under the Vehicle Code or under the motor
vehicle licensing laws of other states after the collateral has been
seen or located on a public street or on public or private property
without divulging the location of the vehicle. The fine shall be one
hundred dollars ($100) for the first violation and two hundred fifty
dollars ($250) for each violation thereafter.
SEC. 6. Section 7508.7 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
7508.7. Except as otherwise provided by law, a repossession
agency shall not disclose to the public, without a court order, the
residence address, residence telephone number, cellular telephone
number, driver's license number, work schedule, past, present, or
future location, or any other personal information of any licensee,
registrant, qualified certificate holder, qualified manager,
employee, or independent contractor that it employs.
SEC. 7. Section 7508.8 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
7508.8. (a) Notwithstanding Section 7508.3, an oval, shield,
round, square, or non-seven-point badge, cap insignia, or jacket
patch may be worn by a licensee, officer, director, partner, manager,
independent contractor, qualified certificate holder, qualified
manager, or employee of a repossession agency. If a badge, cap
insignia, or jacket patch is worn, it shall bear on its face all of
the following:
(1) All or a substantial part of the repossession agency's name.
(2) The repossession agency license number issued by the director
to that individual or agency.
(3) The word "repossessor."
(b) A repossessor shall not wear a badge on his or her belt or
hang a badge around his or her neck.
(c) All badges, cap insignias, and jacket patches worn by a
repossessor shall be a standard design approved by the director and
shall be clearly visible.
(d) This section shall not apply to a holder of a temporary
registration pursuant to Section 7506.9.
(e) The director may assess a fine of one hundred dollars ($100)
for the first violation, one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175) for
the second violation, and two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each
subsequent violation.
SEC. 8. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
