SENATE, No. 344
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Senator BAER
An Act concerning auto dealers and supplementing P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Auto Purchasers' Bill of Rights Act."
2. As used in this act:
a. "Auto dealer" means any person who, in the ordinary course of business, is engaged in the sale or leasing of motor vehicles at retail to auto purchasers or who in the course of any 12-month period offers more than three motor vehicles for sale or lease at retail.
b. "Auto purchaser" means any individual who purchases or leases a motor vehicle at retail.
c. "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle driven by means other than muscular power, excepting vehicles which run only upon rails or tracks.
3. The Attorney General shall, as soon as practicable, prepare and make available to the public, at cost, a statement in plain language and in a form and size suitable for posting and distributing pursuant to the provisions of this act, outlining deceptive auto advertising and sales practices which are prohibited pursuant to P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.), or any regulations adopted pursuant to that act. The Attorney General shall revise the statement whenever he determines that significant changes have occurred concerning those prohibitions but not more frequently than once during a calendar year. Where practical considerations make it necessary for the Attorney General to limit the extent of the statement, items shall be selected on the basis of the importance of their inclusion in protecting the legal rights of auto purchasers.
4. The Attorney General shall keep a list of auto dealers who have repeatedly committed serious acts of deceptive auto advertising or sales practices. An auto dealer shall be placed on that list if the Attorney General finds that the dealer has repeatedy committed serious violations of the provisions of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.), or any regulations adopted pursuant to that act concerning deceptive auto advertising or sales practices. In determining whether to place an auto dealer on the list, the Attorney General shall consider only those violations for which the auto dealer has been subject to one or more of the following penalties or remedies:
a. A penalty assessed pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of P.L.1967, c.97 (C.56:8-3.1);
b. An injunction issued pursuant to the provisions of section 8 of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-8);
c. A fine imposed pursuant to the provisions of section 1 of P.L.1966, c.39 (C.56:8-13);
d. An order to restore property or money pursuant to the provisions of section 3 of P.L.1971, c.247 (C.56:8-15); or
e. An awarding of damages, fees or costs awarded pursuant to section 7 of P.L.1971, c.247 (C.56:8-19). The identity of the auto dealer and a description of any serious violations by the auto dealer of the provisions of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.), or any regulations adopted pursuant to that act concerning deceptive auto advertising or sales practices shall be included on the list for a period of five years following the auto dealer's most recent serious violation. The Attorney General shall notify each auto dealer who is included on the list that the dealer is on the list and shall make available to the dealer, at cost, a written disclosure of all information from the list pertaining to that dealer.
5. Every auto dealer shall, prior to any sale or leasing of a motor vehicle to an auto purchaser or to accepting a deposit for the sale or leasing, provide the auto purchaser with a current copy of the statement made available pursuant to the provisions of section 3 of this act and a current copy of any written disclosure made available to the auto dealer pursuant to section 4 of this act. The auto dealer shall keep current copies of the statement and written disclosure, if any, posted at one or more locations so that the statement and disclosure are prominent and accessible to any person who enters the auto dealer's premises to purchase or lease a motor vehicle.
6. This act shall take effect immediately, except that section 4 shall remain inoperative until the 180th day following the effective date of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill, designated the "Auto Purchasers' Bill of Rights Act," supplements P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.), and requires each auto dealer to prominently post and provide to any auto purchaser or leasee, prior to a sale or lease, current copies of:
1. A statement prepared by the Attorney General outlining deceptive auto advertising and sales practices prohibited under P.L.1960, c.39; and
2. A written disclosure provided to the dealer by the Attorney General of serious violations by the dealer of P.L.1960, c.39, related to deceptive auto advertising and sales practices if the dealer has repeatedly committed such violations.
This bill is designed to help educate consumers about common deceptive auto advertising and sales practices and to make the consumers aware that the practices are violations of State law. Among these deceptive practices are "bait and switch" tactics, accepting deposits on unavailable autos, tampering with odometers, and misleading advertising related to credit, warranties, trade-in allowances, and false "guaranteed lowest price" and "reduced price" claims. The bill would also insure that a consumer is aware, prior to a transaction with an auto dealer, if the dealer has seriously and repeatedly violated the law concerning deceptive auto sales practices. The bill would strengthen the Attorney General's efforts to curb those abusive practices without a significant additional commitment of manpower.
"Auto Purchasers Bill of Rights Act."