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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2152 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 192 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Mark C. Montigny |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act to protect consumers from hidden car subscription service fees. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Mark C. MontignySecond Bristol and PlymouthSusannah M. Whipps2nd Franklin2/2/2023Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester2/15/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/17/2023Rebecca L. RauschNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex2/23/2023 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2152 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 192 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Montigny, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 192) of Mark C. Montigny, |
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| 19 | 19 | | Susannah M. Whipps, Michael O. Moore, James B. Eldridge and others for legislation to protect |
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| 20 | 20 | | consumers from hidden car subscription service fees. Consumer Protection and Professional |
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| 21 | 21 | | Licensure. |
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| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | An Act to protect consumers from hidden car subscription service fees. |
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| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, |
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| 31 | 31 | | 2is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:- |
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| 32 | 32 | | 3 “Section 64. (1) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the |
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| 33 | 33 | | 4following meanings:- |
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| 34 | 34 | | 5 “Consumer”, a buyer or lessee of a motor vehicle who resides in the commonwealth. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 6 “Dealer ”, any person or entity engaged in the business of selling, offering for sale, |
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| 36 | 36 | | 7leasing, or offering to lease a motor vehicle to a consumer. |
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| 37 | 37 | | 8 “Motor vehicle” or “vehicle”, any vehicle as defined by section 1 that is offered for sale |
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| 38 | 38 | | 9or lease by a dealer to a consumer. 2 of 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 10 “Motor vehicle feature”, any convenience or safety function included on a motor vehicle, |
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| 40 | 40 | | 11including but not limited to, heated seats or driver assistance technology, that is typically offered |
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| 41 | 41 | | 12to a consumer as an upgrade at the time of purchase or lease of a motor vehicle. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 13 “Subscription service”, means a service provided on a subscription basis in exchange for |
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| 43 | 43 | | 14a recurring payment, including but not limited to, a weekly, monthly, or annual payment charged |
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| 44 | 44 | | 15to and made by a consumer. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 16 (2) No dealer of a motor vehicle shall offer or charge to a consumer a subscription service |
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| 46 | 46 | | 17for any motor vehicle feature that: |
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| 47 | 47 | | 18 (i) utilizes components and hardware already installed on the motor vehicle at the time of |
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| 48 | 48 | | 19purchase or lease by the consumer; and |
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| 49 | 49 | | 20 (ii) would function after activation without ongoing expense to the dealer, manufacturer, |
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| 50 | 50 | | 21or any third-party service provider; provided, that routine software maintenance and upgrades |
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| 51 | 51 | | 22shall not constitute an ongoing expense. |
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| 52 | 52 | | 23 (3) A violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 for a |
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| 53 | 53 | | 24first offense and not more than $20,000 for a second or subsequent offense. |
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| 54 | 54 | | 25 (4) The registrar shall promulgate regulations to implement this section. |
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| 55 | 55 | | 26 SECTION 2. The registrar shall promulgate regulations within one year from the |
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| 56 | 56 | | 27effective date of this act. |
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