SECTIONS 472-472.5 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 472-472.5

472. Unless the context requires otherwise, the following
definitions govern the construction of this chapter:
(a) "New motor vehicle" means a new motor vehicle as defined in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 1793.22 of the Civil
Code.
(b) "Manufacturer" means a new motor vehicle manufacturer,
manufacturer branch, distributor, or distributor branch required to
be licensed pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 11700) of
Chapter 4 of Division 5 of the Vehicle Code.
(c) "Qualified third party dispute resolution process" means a
third party dispute resolution process which operates in compliance
with subdivision (d) of Section 1793.22 of the Civil Code and this
chapter and which has been certified by the department pursuant to
this chapter.

472.1. The department shall establish a program for certifying each
third-party dispute resolution process used for the arbitration of
disputes pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1793.22 of the Civil
Code. In establishing the program, the department shall do all of the
following:
(a) Prescribe and provide forms to be used to apply for
certification under this chapter.
(b) Establish a set of minimum standards which shall be used to
determine whether a third-party dispute resolution process is in
substantial compliance with subdivision (d) of Section 1793.22 of the
Civil Code and this chapter.
(c) Prescribe the information which each manufacturer, or other
entity, that operates a third-party dispute resolution process shall
provide the department in the application for certification. In
prescribing the information to accompany the application for
certification, the department shall require the manufacturer, or
other entity, to provide only that information which the department
finds is reasonably necessary to enable the department to determine
whether the third-party dispute resolution process is in substantial
compliance with subdivision (d) of Section 1793.22 of the Civil Code
and this chapter.
(d) Prescribe the information that each qualified third-party
dispute resolution process shall provide the department, and the time
intervals at which the information shall be required, to enable the
department to determine whether the qualified third-party dispute
resolution process continues to operate in substantial compliance
with subdivision (d) of Section 1793.22 of the Civil Code and this
chapter.

472.2. (a) Each manufacturer may establish, or otherwise make
available to buyers or lessees of new motor vehicles, a qualified
third-party dispute resolution process for the resolution of disputes
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1793.22 of the Civil Code. A
manufacturer that itself operates the third-party dispute resolution
process shall apply to the department for certification of that
process. If the manufacturer makes the third-party dispute resolution
process available to buyers or lessees of new motor vehicles through
contract or other arrangement with another entity, that entity shall
apply to the department for certification. An entity that operates a
third-party dispute resolution process for more than one
manufacturer shall make a separate application for certification for
each manufacturer that uses that entity's third-party dispute
resolution process. The application for certification shall be
accompanied by the information prescribed by the department.
(b) The department shall review the application and accompanying
information and, after conducting an onsite inspection, shall
determine whether the third-party dispute resolution process is in
substantial compliance with subdivision (d) of Section 1793.22 of the
Civil Code and this chapter. If the department determines that the
process is in substantial compliance, the department shall certify
the process. If the department determines that the process is not in
substantial compliance, the department shall deny certification and
shall state, in writing, the reasons for denial and the modifications
in the operation of the process that are required in order for the
process to be certified.
(c) The department shall make a final determination whether to
certify a third-party dispute resolution process or to deny
certification not later than 90 calendar days following the date the
department accepts the application for certification as complete.

472.3. (a) The department, in accordance with the time intervals
prescribed pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 472.1, but at least
once annually, shall review the operation and performance of each
qualified third-party dispute resolution process and determine, using
the information provided the department as prescribed pursuant to
subdivision (d) of Section 472.1 and the monitoring and inspection
information described in subdivision (c) of Section 472.4, whether
the process is operating in substantial compliance with subdivision
(d) of Section 1793.22 of the Civil Code and this chapter. If the
department determines that the process is in substantial compliance,
the certification shall remain in effect.
(b) If the department determines that the process is not in
substantial compliance with subdivision (d) of Section 1793.22 of the
Civil Code or this chapter, the department shall issue a notice of
decertification to the entity which operates the process and shall
send a copy of that notice to any manufacturer affected by the
decertification. The notice of decertification shall state the
reasons for the issuance of the notice and prescribe the
modifications in the operation of the process that are required in
order for the process to retain its certification.
(c) A notice of decertification shall take effect 180 calendar
days following the date the notice is served on the manufacturer, or
other entity, which uses the process that the department has
determined is not in substantial compliance with subdivision (d) of
Section 1793.22 of the Civil Code or this chapter. The department
shall withdraw the notice of decertification prior to its effective
date if the department determines, after a public hearing, that the
manufacturer, or other entity, which uses the process has made the
modifications in the operation of the process required in the notice
of decertification and is in substantial compliance with subdivision
(d) of Section 1793.22 of the Civil Code and this chapter.

472.4. In addition to any other requirements of this chapter, the
department shall do all of the following:
(a) Establish procedures to assist owners or lessees of new motor
vehicles who have complaints regarding the operation of a qualified
third-party dispute resolution process.
(b) Establish methods for measuring customer satisfaction and to
identify violations of this chapter, which shall include an annual
random postcard or telephone survey by the department of the
customers of each qualified third-party dispute resolution process.
(c) Monitor and inspect, on a regular basis, qualified third-party
dispute resolution processes to determine whether they continue to
meet the standards for certification. Monitoring and inspection shall
include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Onsite inspections of each qualified third-party dispute
resolution process not less frequently than twice annually.
(2) Investigation of complaints from consumers regarding the
operation of qualified third-party dispute resolution processes and
analyses of representative samples of complaints against each
process.
(3) Analyses of the annual surveys required by subdivision (b).
(d) Notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of the failure of a
manufacturer to honor a decision of a qualified third-party dispute
resolution process to enable the Department of Motor Vehicles to take
appropriate enforcement action against the manufacturer pursuant to
Section 11705.4 of the Vehicle Code.
(e) Submit a biennial report to the Legislature evaluating the
effectiveness of this chapter, make available to the public summaries
of the statistics and other information supplied by each qualified
third-party dispute resolution process, and publish educational
materials regarding the purposes of this chapter.
(f) Adopt regulations as necessary and appropriate to implement
this chapter and subdivision (d) of Section 1793.22 of the Civil
Code.
(g) Protection of the public shall be the highest priority for the
department in exercising its certification, regulatory, and
disciplinary functions. Whenever the protection of the public is
inconsistent with other interests sought to be promoted, the
protection of the public shall be paramount.

472.5. The New Motor Vehicle Board in the Department of Motor
Vehicles shall, in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this
section, administer the collection of fees for the purposes of fully
funding the administration of this chapter.
(a) Fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in
the Certification Account in the Consumer Affairs Fund and shall be
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, exclusively to pay
the expenses incurred by the department in administering this chapter
and to pay the New Motor Vehicle Board as provided in Section 3016
of the Vehicle Code. If, at the conclusion of any fiscal year, the
amount of fees collected exceeds the amount of expenditures for that
purpose during that fiscal year, the surplus in the Certification
Account shall be carried over into the succeeding fiscal year.
(b) Beginning July 1, 1988, and on or before May 1 of each
calendar year thereafter, every manufacturer shall file with the New
Motor Vehicle Board a statement of the number of motor vehicles sold,
leased, or otherwise distributed by or for the manufacturer in this
state during the preceding calendar year, and shall, upon written
notice delivered to the manufacturer by certified mail, return
receipt requested, pay to the New Motor Vehicle Board a fee, not to
exceed one dollar ($1) for each motor vehicle sold, leased, or
distributed by or for the manufacturer in this state during the
preceding calendar year. The total fee paid by each manufacturer
shall be rounded to the nearest dollar in the manner described in
Section 9559 of the Vehicle Code. Not more than one dollar ($1) shall
be charged, collected, or received from any one or more
manufacturers pursuant to this subdivision with respect to the same
motor vehicle.
(c) (1) The fee required by subdivision (b) is due and payable not
later than 30 days after the manufacturer has received notice of the
amount due and is delinquent after that time. A penalty of 10
percent of the amount delinquent shall be added to that amount, if
the delinquency continues for more than 30 days.
(2) If a manufacturer fails to file the statement required by
subdivision (b) by the date specified, the New Motor Vehicle Board
shall assess the amount due from the manufacturer by using as the
number of motor vehicles sold, leased, or otherwise distributed by or
for the manufacturer in this state during the preceding calendar
year the total number of new registrations of all motor vehicles
sold, leased, or otherwise distributed by or for the manufacturer
during the preceding calendar year.
(d) On or before February 1 of each year, the department shall
notify the New Motor Vehicle Board of the dollar amount necessary to
fully fund the program established by this chapter during the
following fiscal year. The New Motor Vehicle Board shall use this
information in calculating the amounts of the fees to be collected
from manufacturers pursuant to this section.
(e) For purposes of this section, "motor vehicle" means a new
passenger or commercial motor vehicle of a kind that is required to
be registered under the Vehicle Code, but the term does not include a
motorcycle, a motor home, or any vehicle whose gross weight exceeds
10,000 pounds.
(f) The New Motor Vehicle Board may adopt regulations to implement
this section. The regulations shall include, at a minimum, a formula
for calculating the fee, established pursuant to subdivision (b),
for each motor vehicle and the total amount of fees to be collected
from each manufacturer.
(g) Any revenues already received by the Arbitration Certification
Program and deposited in the Vehicle Inspection and Repair Fund for
the 1991-92 fiscal year that have not yet been spent shall be
deposited into the Certification Account in the Consumer Affairs
Fund.