HB 1558-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2008 SESSION
03/05
HOUSE BILL 1558-FN
AN ACT requiring disclosure of fees by automobile dealers.
SPONSORS: Rep. Moran, Hills 18; Rep. Gile, Merr 10; Rep. Walz, Merr 13; Rep. Itse, Rock 9
This bill requires disclosure during negotiations of all fees charged by automobile dealers. The requirement includes disclosing such fees in advertisements and prices affixed to the vehicle.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
08-2499
03/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT requiring disclosure of fees by automobile dealers.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Consumer Protection; Acts Unlawful; Undisclosed Fees of Automobile Dealers. Amend RSA 358-A:2 by inserting after paragraph XIV the following new paragraph:
XV. An automobile dealer requiring a purchaser to pay any fee that was not disclosed to the purchaser during negotiations. For purposes of this paragraph, disclosure means that the dealer informed the purchaser in writing of the exact amount of the fee and the itemized charges included in the fee. Affixing a price that does not disclose all fees on the window or elsewhere on the vehicle or advertising a price that does not disclose all fees shall be considered a violation of this paragraph.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
LBAO
08-2499
12/11/07
HB 1558-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT requiring disclosure of fees by automobile dealers.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch and Judicial Council have determined that state expenditures will increase and the Association of Counties has determined that county expenditures will increase by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or on state, county and local revenues.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch stated this bill would add an unlawful act pursuant to the Consumer Protection Act. The proposed additional unlawful act is for an automobile dealer to require a purchaser to pay any fee that was not disclosed during negotiations for the purchase. The Branch has no information on which to estimate the potential volume of cases that could arise under the proposed new unlawful act. The Branch further states that any Consumer Protection Act case has the potential for fiscal impact. Consumer Protection Act claims are often hard-fought and carries with them the potential for enforcement actions by the attorney general, criminal prosecution, and private actions with the potential of up to treble damages. The Branch believes that even if not many cases arise, the potential exists for an indeterminable increase in costs to the Branch.
The Judicial Council stated penalties for violations of the new unlawful acts reads that any person convicted of violating RSA 358-A:2 hereof shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person. The bill authorizes a violation in certain circumstances. There is no right to counsel for a violation level offense as there is no potential for incarceration which is when the constitutional right counsel attaches. There is a right to counsel for a misdemeanor level offense committed by a natural person. There is no right to counsel for the felony level offense for any other person as this statute reads. The Council is unable to accurately predict the number of cases which may result from this bill. Pursuant to statute in the first instance the case would be assigned to a public defender or a contract attorney either of whom would be compensated at the flat fee rate of $275 for a misdemeanor level offense. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the $60 per hour rate with a fee cap of $1,400 will be charged. The fee cap may be waived. The defendant would also be eligible for “services other than counsel”.
The Department of Corrections stated this bill will have no fiscal impact on the Department.
The Association of Counties stated to the extent any individual is prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to incarceration in a county facility there will be an increase in county expenditures. The statewide annual average cost to incarcerate an individual in a county correctional facility is approximately $29,000.