Just thought some would like to know: (Copy of email)
On Saturday, September 23, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law California Senate Bill 1542, which requires a motor vehicle manufacturers of new motor vehicles sold or leased on and after January
1, 2008, to provide the means whereby registered owners may, through a registered locksmith, access the information that is necessary to permit the production of a replacement key or other functionally similar device by the registered locksmith that will allow the owner to enter, start, and operate the vehicle. The Associated Locksmiths of America, Inc. (ALOA) worked closely with the California Locksmiths Association (CLA), the Automobile Club of Southern California and the California State Automobile Association (AAA) to educate legislators on the need for such a law. Consumers in California who lost the keys to their car would have to wait for hours for the dealerships to replace their keys. Frequently, consumers would have to tow their car to the dealership, or have to go without their car if the incident happened over a weekend when the dealerships were closed. This bill is a big step for California consumers by allowing registered locksmiths key code information 24/7.Special thanks to John Brueggeman, President of CLA, who spent countless hours traveling to Sacramento working with ALOA and AAA to make sure locksmiths were involved at every level. Key provisions of the bill include:
- Makes various findings and declarations regarding the need for vehicle owners to be able to gain entry to and operate their vehicles in a timely, convenient, and reliable manner.
- Requires motor vehicle manufacturers of new motor vehicles sold or leased on and after January 1, 2008, to provide the means whereby registered owners may, through a registered locksmith, access the information that is necessary to permit the production of a replacement key or other functionally similar device by the registered locksmith that will allow the owner to enter, start, and operate the vehicle.
- Requires the means to access this information to be available by telephone or electronically 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
- Specifies security procedures that must be followed by the vehicle's registered owner, the registered locksmith, and the vehicle manufacturer in order for the needed key duplication information to be made available by the manufacturer to the locksmith, and immunizes the manufacturer and locksmith from liability for theft of the vehicle if the statutory procedures are followed. These procedures include having the locksmith verify the identity of the requesting vehicle owner, and that the registration address matches the owner's address, and having the locksmith destroy all information in his or her possession that was accessed from the vehicle manufacturer after giving it to the vehicle owner. Manufacturer responsibilities would include requiring the locksmith to confirm his or her registration, complying with other reasonable authentication procedures, and confirming the verifications described above.
- Defines, for the purposes of this bill, a "registered locksmith" as a locksmith licensed and bonded in California that has registered with a motor vehicle manufacturer and has been issued a registry number and security password by the manufacturer. A registered owner would also include a lessee of the vehicle when the lessee's name appears on the vehicle registration. 6. Defines, for the purposes of this bill, "information" to include the vehicle's key code, immobilizer or access code, and any successor technology or terminology.
- Defines, for the purposes of this bill, "motor vehicle" to mean a passenger vehicle, but not a housecar, motorcycle, or other two-wheeled motor vehicle.
- Exempts from this bill's requirements, until January 1, 2013, a vehicle manufacturer's vehicle line that sold between 2,500 and 5,000 vehicles in the prior calendar year in California.
- Specifies that this bill does not apply to a vehicle line of a motor vehicle manufacturer that on January 1, 2006, does not provide for the reproduction of a key or other functionally similar device that allows the vehicle to be entered, started, and operated, by anyone other than the vehicle manufacturer itself and only itself, provided that the vehicle manufacturer operates a telephone or electronic request line 24 hours a day and seven days a week and, upon the request of the registered owner or his or her family member, furnishes to the registered owner at a reasonable cost within one day of the request or via the next overnight delivery, a replacement key or other functionally similar device that will allow the vehicle to be entered, started, and operated.
- Sunsets the provisions described in #9 above on January 1, 2013.
- Specifies that this bill does not apply to a manufacturer that sold fewer than 2,500 vehicles in California in the prior calendar year.
- Allows vehicle manufacturers to perform the duties assigned to them by this bill either by themselves or through the use of a contract agent.
- Provides that if, subsequent to January 1, 2008, a vehicle line of an exempted manufacturer provides for the reproduction by anyone, other than the vehicle manufacturer itself, of a key or other functionally similar device that will allow the vehicle to be entered, started, and operated, this bill's provisions will apply to that vehicle line.
- Provide that this bill's provisions are severable, so that if any particular provision is held inactive, that invalidity will not affect this bill's other provisions.