Senate Judiciary committee approves SB 26 to add opt-in and notification rules to California lemon law

The Senate Committee on Judiciary voted 10-1 to pass SB 26 to the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development after a hearing that featured testimony from consumer advocates, lemon-law attorneys and automaker representatives.

SB 26, presented in committee by Senator Redberg, is described in the hearing as a cleanup and compromise measure related to AB 1755 and the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (California’s “lemon law”). Senator Redberg said SB 26 “is a cleanup bill to the critical reforms that were contained in the Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act” and that the bill implements an opt-in process tied to AB 1755 while including a written-notification requirement requested in the governor’s signing message.

The bill’s two principal substantive changes, as described in testimony, are (1) a process allowing manufacturers to affirmatively opt in to the procedural structure created by AB 1755 (often called the 1755 process) and thereby be bound by it for a multi-year period, and (2) a requirement that a consumer who has sought a buyback or who has a pending lemon-law complaint notify a subsequent private-party buyer that a claim is pending. Supporters said the opt-in option…