Lemon law – California 2000 (continued)

"From Lemon Grove to the lemon law Rosemary Shahan fights big automakers on behalf of car owners"

"One of Shahan's latest efforts is the sponsorship of Senate Bill 1718, a new law that will tighten the loopholes in the state's lemon law and make it even easier for auto buyers and small-business owners to get relief when they purchase defective, dangerous vehicles. All of the world's auto manufacturers spoke out against the bill·.The powerful Alliance of Auto Manufacturers hired the lobbying firm of former state Assemblyman and Democratic Party member Phil Isenberg to represent its side in an attempt to kill the consumer bill."

–Sacramento News & Review, April 6, 2000

 

"Bill would expand lemon law Bill aims to help small firms"

"[California's lemon] law requires auto manufacturers and dealers to buy back or replace a vehicle if the same problem can't be corrected after four repairs, but these rights don't extend to businesses

Sher's bill would not only change this, but it also would strengthen the law for consumers. The repair threshold would be reduced to just two times–for both private and business vehicles–if the defect poses a significant safety hazard.

Small businesses are the engine of the sta te's economy. More than 78 percent of California's businesses have 10 or fewer employees·.State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who as a legislator played a key role in making California the second state in the nation to adopt a lemon law, supports the proposed expansion.

'They deserve to be under the same umbrella,' Lockyer said. 'The small businesses don't have the bargaining ability of larger corporations. They are operating at a disadvantage.'

Last year, the DMV branded more than 11,061 vehicles; more than 100,000 have been branded nationally, according to the advocacy group Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety·the nonprofit group is sponsoring the Sher bill."

– Orange County Register, April 2, 2000