Rental passenger vehicle transactions: third parties.

Subdivision (a) changed from 'additional mandatory charges, charges including mandatory third party service fees' to 'additional mandatory charges including mandatory third party service fees,' clarifying that third-party service fees are a subset of additional mandatory charges rather than a separate prohibited charge category.

Subdivision (h) removed the redundant phrase 'and rate' from 'rental rate and rate, additional mandatory charges information' and removed a duplicated word 'section' from 'this section, section or the rental company fails to provide.'

The bill text was re-presented from a formatted chaptered document (with page numbers, official state headers, and 'AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' markings) to a web page rendering that includes navigation menus, version history links, and site UI elements. The underlying legal provisions of Section 1939.19 Civil Code are identical in both versions.

The list of charges prohibited in addition to the rental rate now explicitly includes 'charges including mandatory third party service fees,' closing a potential loophole where such fees could be charged separately from standard additional mandatory charges.

Subdivision (h) was expanded so that a rental company's safe harbor from liability for a third party's non-compliance now requires the rental company to provide not just rental rate and additional mandatory charges information, but also fuel source information. A new condition was added: if the rental company fails to provide additional mandatory charges information and fuel source information along with the rental rate, the third party is not responsible for the rental company's failure to comply.

The legislative counsel digest was updated to reflect that mandatory third party service fees are now explicitly included in the category of charges that cannot be imposed on top of the rental rate, clarifying the bill's application to online booking platforms and similar intermediaries.

The trigger for providing a total charges estimate was narrowed. Previously it applied once 'potential dates' were provided; now it requires that dates, location, and vehicle type or class (which can include all vehicles) have been provided to the rental company or third party before the estimate is due.

The liability protection for third parties was narrowed. Previously, if a rental company did not provide any rental rate or mandatory charges information to a third party, the third party was not responsible for its own disclosure failures. Now, the third party is only protected if the rental company provided information in a manner that does not comply with the section. This shifts more responsibility onto third parties when no information is provided at all.

Throughout the bill, the phrase 'total cost' was replaced with 'total charges estimate' for consistency and precision in describing what must be disclosed to consumers.

Assembly Member Bauer-Kahan was added as a coauthor of the bill.

Section (a) changes 'shall separately state' to 'shall may separately state,' making the itemized breakdown of rental rate, mandatory charges, and mileage charge optional rather than required when providing a quote or imposing charges.

A new subsection (b)(2) creates a separate set of requirements specifically for third parties that impose additional mandatory charges. Third parties must provide a total charges estimate at the time of quote and provide access to charge information to persons offering quotes, but are not required to disclose totals in the rental contract at the time the rental commences (a requirement that applies only to rental companies under (b)(1)(B)).

Section (f) changes the mileage disclosure obligation from applying only to 'the rental company' to applying to 'the rental company or third party,' so both must clearly disclose mileage terms in advertisements or quotations.

Sections (c), (d), and (e) are expanded from applying only to 'a rental company' to applying to 'a rental company or third party,' meaning third parties can now charge for optional items/services, authorized driver fees, and unauthorized driver penalties under the same conditions as rental companies.

Section (g) expands the rate advertisement disclaimer requirement to reference information displayed on 'the rental company's or third party's internet website' rather than only the rental company's website.

Section (h) is substantially simplified. The old version addressed a broad category of 'person or entity other than a rental company or third party' (including passenger carriers and sellers of travel services) with a complex responsibility-allocation scheme. The new version focuses solely on the relationship between rental companies and third parties: if a rental company provides compliant charge information to a third party, the rental company is not liable for the third party's noncompliance; if the rental company provides non-compliant information, the third party is not liable for the rental company's failure.

Changed 'shall may separately state' to 'may separately state' in subdivision (a), clarifying that rental companies and third parties are permitted but not required to itemize the rental rate, mandatory charges, and mileage charge separately when providing a quote or imposing charges.

New subdivision (k) requires a rental company or third party to clearly indicate the fuel source of the vehicle prior to completion of a reservation. 'Fuel source' is defined by reference to the term 'engine fuel' in Section 13400 of the Business and Professions Code, which covers gasoline, diesel, electric, hybrid, hydrogen, and other engine types.

Subdivision (b)(1) was narrowed from applying to 'the rental company or third party' to applying only to 'the rental company.' The total charges estimate at time of quote, the contract disclosure at rental commencement, and the access-to-information requirements in (b)(1) now bind only rental companies. Third parties remain subject to their own separate requirements under subdivision (b)(2), which are similar but do not include the contract-disclosure obligation.

The trigger for providing the overall cost of a rental was expanded. Previously it only required potential dates to be provided; now it also requires location and vehicle type or class (which can include all vehicles) to be provided before the total cost must be given.

The term 'good faith estimate' was replaced with 'total cost charges estimate' in both the digest and statutory text, though this appears to be a drafting artifact likely intended to read 'total charges estimate.'

A definition was added in subdivision (h) clarifying that 'person or entity' includes a passenger carrier or a seller of travel services.

Subdivision (h) was reworked rather than removed. The introduced version would have deleted the provision requiring non-rental-company entities to disclose mandatory charges. The amended version keeps it but carves out 'third party' from the 'person or entity' requirement, and adds a new mutual-responsibility rule: if a rental company fails to provide rate and charge information to a third party, the third party is not responsible for the rental company's non-compliance.