California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Senate Bill 427, the
legislation introduced to crack down on airbag fraud, on Sept. 24.
The bill, proposed by California State Sen. Negrete McLeod, D- Chino, included language that condemns perpetrators of airbag fraud, stating that those who "fail to repair and fully restore the airbag to original operating condition where the customer has paid for the airbag repair as provided in the estimate" can receive up to a $5,000 fine and up to a year in prison.
The language of the bill also included restrictions for invoices, including the following requirements:- All work done by an automotive repair dealer, including
all warranty work, must be recorded on an invoice and must
describe all service work done, parts supplied and crash parts
installed.
- Service work and parts must be listed separately on the
repair invoice, which must also state separately the subtotal
prices for service work and for parts, not including sales tax,
and must state separately the sales tax, if any, applicable to
each.
- If any used, rebuilt or reconditioned parts are
installed, the invoice must clearly state that fact.
- If a part of a component system is composed of new and
used, rebuilt or reconditioned parts, that invoice must clearly
state that fact.
- The invoice must include a statement indicating whether
any crash parts are original equipment manufacturer crash parts
or non-original equipment manufacturer aftermarket crash parts.
- One copy of the invoice must be given to the customer and one copy must be retained by the automotive repair dealer.
