Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
02/07/2024 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB37 | |
| Executive Order 129 - Eliminating the Board of Barbers and Hairdressers | |
| Executive Order 127 - Eliminating the Board of Massage Therapists | |
| Executive Order 130 - Eliminating the Board of Certified Direct Entry Midwives | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 37 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 37-CRIME COUNTERFEIT/NONFUNCTIONING AIRBAG
3:17:48 PM
CHAIR SUMNER announced that the first order of business would be
SENATE BILL NO. 37, "An Act establishing the crime of airbag
fraud."
3:18:16 PM
SENATOR MATT CLAMAN, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor,
presented SB 37. He read the sponsor statement [included in the
committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Senate Bill 37 establishes the crime of airbag fraud
for knowingly selling, installing, or manufacturing a
counterfeit or nonfunctioning airbag. Counterfeit
airbags are highly dangerous as they can be left empty
or filled with sawdust and newspaper and may
improperly deploy or not deploy at all. Currently in
Alaska, there is no law to prohibit the installation
or reinstallation of airbags that do not meet federal
safety standards. By establishing airbag fraud, Senate
Bill 37 prohibits dangerous actors from knowingly
selling, installing, or manufacturing these dangerous
and improper devices.
Similar legislation already exists in 30 states. For
example, the Michigan Penal Code establishes airbag
fraud as a felony punishable by four years of
imprisonment or a fine of $10,000.00. Michigan defines
airbag fraud as knowingly and intentionally importing,
manufacturing, offering for sale, distributing,
installing, or reinstalling counterfeit or
nonfunctioning airbag.
In October 2021, the non-profit corporation Automotive
Anti-Counterfeiting Council (A2C2) called on eBay to
prohibit the sale of all airbags after counterfeit
airbags and related components were shown to be
consistently available for sale on the site.
Senate Bill 37 creates criminal liability for the
crime of airbag fraud. It protects owners and
employees of motor vehicle dealerships if they are
unaware of counterfeit parts in a vehicle. It does not
create a duty for owners and employees to inspect a
vehicle for counterfeit parts before selling it.
3:21:45 PM
CARLY DENNIS, Staff, Senator Matt Claman, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Senator Claman, prime sponsor, read
the sectional analysis [included in the committee packet], which
reads as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Section 1
AS 28.35.248. Airbag fraud
Establishes and defines airbag fraud as knowingly
selling, offering for sale, installing, reinstalling,
or manufacturing a counterfeit or nonfunctioning
airbag or device that is intended to conceal a
counterfeit or nonfunctioning airbag, or intentionally
selling, leasing or trading a vehicle that the person
knows has a counterfeit or nonfunctioning airbag.
Establishes airbag fraud as a class A misdemeanor or a
class C felony if death or serious physical injury to
another person occurs as a result of the counterfeit
or nonfunctioning airbag.
Establishes that the liability of any party in a civil
action is not precluded. Provides that this
legislation does not create a duty to inspect a
vehicle for a counterfeit or nonfunctioning airbag
before its sale.
3:23:07 PM
CRAIG ORLAN, State Relations Specialist, American Honda Motor
Co., shared that typically, when people think of counterfeit
goods, they don't think about the automotive industry; over the
past several years, there have been foreign and domestic
counterfeiters flooding the market with ineffective and cheap
airbags. He explained that the airbags are usually filled with
newspaper and Styrofoam, or are empty, and have resulted in
deaths across the country. He pointed out that this is not an
issue with the automotive supply chain, as these replacement
airbags are being bought over the Internet by unscrupulous
repair shops and installed in unknowing customers' cars after a
car crash. He said Alaska has some consumer protection laws
that would help in prosecuting repair shops that install faulty
airbags, but many prosecutors aren't confident that they have
the authority. Further, existing laws do not address the faulty
airbag manufacturers. This legislation would make knowingly
trafficking counterfeit and non-functioning airbags a crime,
which would do several things: allow people to prosecute repair
shops who do this, allow the targeting of actors who are
trafficking the airbags; promote state and federal cooperation
to keep the products out of customers' cars; and give law
enforcement more leverage over bad actors to get information
about other victims of airbag fraud. He relayed several
examples of people arrested who were connected to the
underground counterfeit market in the U.S.
3:26:34 PM
CHAIR SUMNER asked Senator Claman if he thinks Section 1 (3)(b)
should be excluded.
SENATOR CLAMAN answered that the intent is making it so selling
a parts car would not be liable towards the misdemeanor proposed
in the bill. He said people need to make a distinction as to
whether a car was re-constructed.
3:29:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS referred to page 6, line 1, about repair
shops and the shops buying faulty airbags.
SENATOR CLAMAN deferred the question to Mr. Orlin
3:30:10 PM
MR. ORLIN said that the bill is similar to other state laws. He
explained that airbag replacement is not a "do-it-yourself" job.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked where the airbags are being made.
MR. ORLIN responded that 95 percent are from China; many are
buying airbag covers without logos and then adding them on in
the states.
3:31:59 PM
CHAIR SUMNER announced that SB 37 was held over.