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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Only a signature from the governor
stands in between a bill to significantly change how buy-here, pay-here dealers
operate in California from becoming law.

The state legislature on Tuesday approved Assembly Bill
1447, the measure that would require a written warranty among other mandates.
Gov. Jerry Brown has until the end of September either to sign or veto AB 1447,
written by Assemblyman Mike Feuer.

"Without the protections included in AB 1447, mostly
low-income buy-here pay-here customers can't be sure they are buying dependable
vehicles," Feuer said.

"This bill requires a minimum warranty to help ensure buyers
are paying for reliable transportation and other critical safeguards for
consumers," he continued. "I urge the governor to sign this critical measure."

The main points of AB 1447 include:

—Require BHPH dealers to provide a written warranty that
covers most major components and lasts for at least 30 days or 1,000 miles,
whichever happens first.

—Prohibits BHPH dealers from requiring a buyer to make
regular payments in person.

—Requires BHPH dealers to receive written consent from the
buyer prior to selling a vehicle equipped with electronic tracking technology.

—Requires BHPH dealers to provide notice to the buyer of the
presence of "starter interrupt" technology in the vehicle, ensuring that
advance warnings are provided to the driver — prior to the vehicle being
disabled — in order to help avoid stranding a driver in dangerous
circumstances.

Meanwhile, the author of Senate Bill 956 said through
Twitter that his measure is to be voted on this week. Sen. Ted Lieu indicated
the bill could be sent to Brown before Friday, the legislature's deadline to
get all proposed measures through both the Assembly and Senate.

To recap, SB 956 has three main goals:

—Impose first-ever regulations on dealers offering buy-here,
pay-here installment loans by requiring them to obtain a California Finance Lender's
license.

—Limit used-vehicle installment loans to an interest rate of
no more than 17.25 percent, which would give California the strongest cap in
the nation.

—Change the way BHPH dealers are able to repossess vehicles
to include grace periods and make it easier for buyers to reinstate a
repossessed unit.

Finally, AB 1534 now has been read three times on the
legislative floor and could be heading to a vote this week, as well.

AB 1534 would require a BHPH dealer to display a label on
any used vehicle offered for retail sale that states the "reasonable market
value" of the unit. The bill would require the label to contain specified
information used to determine the vehicle's reasonable market value and the
date the value was determined.

Moreover, AB 1534 would require a BHPH dealer to provide to
a prospective buyer of the used vehicle a copy of any information obtained from
a nationally recognized pricing guide the dealer utilized to determine the
reasonable market value of the vehicle.