Airports: rental car facility fees.

Existing law governs contracts between rental car companies and their customers. Existing law authorizes a company that rents passenger vehicles to the public to collect a customer facility charge, which means a fee that is required by an airport to be collected for certain purposes, if specified circumstances apply, including, but not limited to, the collection of the fee is required by an airport operated by a city, a county, a city and county, a joint powers district, or a special district, the fee is calculated on a per contract basis, the fee is a user fee and not a tax, as specified, and the fee is $10 per contract, except as specified. This bill would expand the definition of customer facility charge to include a fee that is required by an airport to be collected for the purpose of financing, designing, constructing, and operating any common-use transportation system, as specified, and for acquiring vehicles for use in that system. This bill would also authorize an alternative fee following a hearing and finding by the airport, as provided, that the customer facility charge will not generate sufficient revenue to finance and operate the consolidated rental car facility and common-use transportation system. The bill would provide for the collection of the alternative fee on a per-day basis, as specified. Existing law provides that a statute that imposes a requirement that a state agency submit a periodic report to the Legislature is inoperative on a date 4 years after the date the first report is due. The bill would, notwithstanding that requirement, also require any airport seeking to collect an alternative customer facility charge to provide reports on an annual basis to the Senate and Assembly Committees on Judiciary detailing the total amount of the customer facility charge collected, how the funds are being spent, the amount of and reason for any changes in the airport's budget or financial needs, and whether certain airport concession fees have increased since the prior report, if any. The bill would also require the airport to complete a specified independent audit prior to the initial collection of the customer facility charge, prior to any increase, as specified, and every 3 years after initial collection and any increase, as provided. The bill would require the Controller to review those audits and independently examine and substantiate the necessity for and the amount of the customer facility charge. The bill would require the individual airports being audited to reimburse the Controller's costs. The bill would also require the Controller to report to the Legislature on his or her conclusions, as provided. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1936 of the Civil Code, as proposed by AB 2059, to be operative only if AB 2059 and this bill are both enacted, each bill amends Section 1936 of the Civil Code, and this bill is enacted after AB 2059.