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AB-238 Unlicensed automobile dismantlers: enforcement and compliance activities. (2019-2020)

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Date Published: 07/09/2020 09:00 PM
AB238:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  July 09, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 238

Introduced by Assembly Member Santiago

January 18, 2019

An act to amend add and repeal Section 11545 of of, and to repeal Section 1662 of, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 238, as amended, Santiago. Unlicensed automobile dismantlers: enforcement and compliance activities.
Under existing law, it is unlawful for any person to act as an automobile dismantler without having an established place of business, meeting specified requirements, and having a current, valid license or temporary permit issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Existing law, until which was repealed on January 1, 2020, requires required the department to collaborate with specified state agencies to review and coordinate enforcement and compliance activity related to unlicensed and unregulated automobile dismantling, including resulting tax evasion, environmental impacts, and public health impacts. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with those agencies, on or before January 1, 2019, to submit a report to the Legislature including specified enforcement and compliance information.
This bill reenacts those provisions, but would extend those provisions relating to the review and coordination requirement to January 1, 2023, and would make related technical changes. January 1, 2024.
Under existing law, the Department of Motor Vehicles is not required to investigate allegations concerning automobile dismantlers absent involvement of the district attorney, county counsel, city attorney, or other law enforcement agency.
This bill would repeal that provision.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 1662 of the Vehicle Code is repealed.
1662.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department shall have no duty to investigate alleged violations of the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 11500) of Division 5 by any person defined as an “automobile dismantler” by subdivision (b) of Section 220 and Section 221, unless notice of such alleged violations has been given the department by the district attorney, county counsel, city attorney, or other duly constituted law enforcement agency.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to continue the work of the Vehicle Dismantling Industry Strike Team to address the problem of unlicensed automobile dismantling and to require state agencies to continue in their collaboration to combat unlicensed and unregulated automobile dismantling for the purposes of investigating environmental impacts, public health impacts, and tax evasion that is occurring as a result of this activity, and to implement strategies to bring unlicensed automobile dismantlers into compliance through compliance assistance, education, training, and other methods.
(b) The Vehicle Dismantling Industry Strike Team was established in 2017, and was composed of the Department of Motor Vehicles, California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxics Substances Control, State Water Resources Control Board, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, State Air Resources Board, and CalRecycle.
(c) The Vehicle Dismantling Industry Strike Team found that unlicensed automobile dismantling occurs not just in private garages and industrial areas, but also in residential neighborhoods, near parks, schools, and vulnerable waterways.
(d) The Vehicle Dismantling Industry Strike Team found that unlicensed automobile dismantlers, unlike licensed automobile dismantlers, harm the environment and public health, have unsafe workplaces, sell defective parts, create a strain on the economy due to millions of dollars lost in uncollected taxes and fees, pay salaries under the table, and put employees at risk by not providing workers’ compensation and insurance.
(e) The Vehicle Dismantling Industry Strike Team as of December 31, 2019, generated 1,105 cases that included identifying 824 unlicensed automobile dismantlers, issued 566 citations, and referred 202 cases to allied state environmental agencies and 81 cases to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration for further investigation and enforcement.
(f) The Vehicle Dismantling Industry Strike Team’s January 21, 2020, report to the Legislature recommended the continuation of the coordinated enforcement and compliance activities of the strike Team.

SEC. 3.

 Section 11545 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

11545.
 (a) The department shall collaborate with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and the State Air Resources Board to review and coordinate enforcement and compliance activity related to unlicensed and unregulated automobile dismantling, including resulting tax evasion, environmental impacts, and public health impacts.
(b) The department, along with the agencies listed in subdivision (a), may collaborate with and solicit information from district attorneys, certified unified program agencies, code enforcement agencies, and any other federal, state, or local agencies with jurisdictions over unlicensed and unregulated automobile dismantlers to achieve the purposes of this section.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2024, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2024, deletes or extends that date.

SECTION 1.Section 11545 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
11545.

(a)The department shall collaborate with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, and the State Air Resources Board to review and coordinate enforcement and compliance activity related to unlicensed and unregulated automobile dismantling, including resulting tax evasion, environmental impacts, and public health impacts.

(b)The department, along with the agencies listed in subdivision (a), may collaborate with and solicit information from district attorneys, certified unified program agencies, code enforcement agencies, and any other federal, state, or local agencies with jurisdictions over unlicensed and unregulated automobile dismantlers to achieve the purposes of this section.

(c)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2023, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2023, deletes or extends that date.