Vehicles: licensed dealers and salespersons: credit scores.

(1) Existing law imposes licensing and regulatory requirements on vehicle dealers and vehicle salespersons. Existing law requires a dealer's place of business to have posted the license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to the dealer and to each salesperson employed by the dealer. This bill would instead authorize the dealer to post a true and exact copy of the license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to the dealer and to each salesperson employed by the dealer and would make other conforming changes. (2) Existing law requires the applicant of a dealer's or remanufacturer's license, before the license is issued or renewed by the department, to procure and file with the department a bond, as provided. Existing law authorizes the director of the department, if a deposit is given instead of the bond, to order the deposit returned at the expiration of specified dates. This bill would also authorize the director to order the deposit to be returned at the expiration of 5 years from the date the licensee secured and maintained a dealer bond, after posting a deposit, if the director is satisfied that there are no outstanding claims against the deposit. (3) Existing law requires a dealer that obtains a consumer credit score from a consumer credit reporting agency, for use in connection with an application for credit initiated by a consumer for the purchase or lease of a motor vehicle for specified uses, to provide, prior to the sale, certain information in at least 10-point boldface type on a document separate from the sale or lease contract, that includes, among other things, the credit score obtained and used by the dealer and the name of the credit reporting agency providing the credit score to the dealer. This bill would delete these requirements and instead require a dealer to provide a document, in at least 10-point type, that contains certain information pertaining to credit scores, including each credit score obtained and used by the dealer and a statement that a consumer report or credit report is a record of the consumer's credit history and includes information about whether the consumer pays his or her obligations on time and how much the consumer owes to creditors, among other things. The bill would provide that use of a specified model form, that meets federal requirements for form and content, would be deemed to comply with the above requirements. The bill would also provide that it does not limit or restrict any rights or remedies otherwise available under existing law. (4) Existing law authorizes the department to refuse to issue, to suspend, or to revoke a vehicle salesperson's license when it determines, among other things, that the applicant or licensee has acted as a vehicle salesperson or engaged in that activity for, or on behalf of, more than one licensed dealer whose business does not have identical ownership and structure. Existing law provides that the law does not preclude a vehicle salesperson from working at more than one location of one licensed dealer if the business of that dealer has identical ownership and structure. This bill would authorize the department to refuse to issue, to suspend, or to revoke a vehicle salesperson's license when it determines, among other things, that the applicant or licensee has concurrently acted as a vehicle salesperson and engaged in that activity for, or on behalf of, more than one licensed dealer unless all of the licensed dealers, for whom that salesperson works, have common controlling ownership. The bill would also provide that the law does not preclude a vehicle salesperson from working for more than one dealer provided that all of the licensed dealers for whom that salesperson works have common controlling ownership, as defined. (5) Existing law requires the salesperson's license to be displayed continuously during employment and requires that the license be returned to the salesperson once employment is terminated. A violation of these requirements is a crime. This bill would require the dealer to display the license or a true and exact copy of the license continuously at each location where the salesperson is actually engaged in the selling of vehicles. Once the employment is terminated, this bill would require all copies used by the dealer for posting or display to be destroyed by the dealer. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.