Californians for the past 54 years have relied on the state’s “lemon law” to fight back against car makers that sell them defective vehicles.Now, critics say Californians’ ability to recoup their money after buying a clunker could become more difficult, due to a hastily passed bill that lobbyists representing U.S. auto manufacturers and powerful attorneys groups drafted in secret.

Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t signed or vetoed Assembly Bill 1755. His spokesperson, Brandon Richards, on Friday said “the measure will be evaluated on its merits” before Newsom’s Sept. 30 bill-signing deadline.

But how the bill came to end up on his desk is the latest example of how influential lobbying groups write laws impacting millions of Californians behind closed doors — and how the measures are often passed with little time for public input or legislative debate.

“There wasn’t a single person who represents the people of California who knew about this and was a part of those conversations – for months,” Democratic San Ramon Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan told her colleagues on the Assembly Judiciary Committee last month in the final days of the legislative session.

“They dropped this in our lap, and they expect us to buy an argument related to the urgency that feels, to be honest, not real. And we’re supposed to move this in a week’s time.”

The bill seeks to address a massive uptick in lemon law lawsuits clogging the state’s court system, but it started out earlier in the session as a measure dealing with child support.

Then on August 20, with less than two weeks left in the session, the bill was stripped through the secretive “gut-and-amend” process. Its language was replaced with a 4,200-word bill that seeks to reform how lemon law disputes are resolved. The bill is so complicated its legislative analysis, which lawmakers should read to fully understand a measure’s consequences, was more than 10,000 words.

Former Los Angeles Democratic Assemblymember Mike Gatto said it’s unlikely that lawmakers actually read all that in those final chaotic days of the session with hundreds of other consequential bills still pending.

“Unfortunately, when the Legislature makes complex policy like that with great haste, it increases the reliance on non-elected personnel,” Gatto said. “And it increases the reliance on special interest groups who tell the legislators what the legislation contains. It’s very hard during that chaotic last week of session to, you know, be able to review things of great length like that.”

Downey Democratic Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, an attorney, told her Judiciary Committee colleagues she wasn’t comfortable voting for the bill because she wasn’t sure what it would do.“I want to make sure that consumers are protected as well,” she said. “Those are our constituents. And so that is what we really should be caring about. And I don’t know if consumers are really protected.”

Lawmakers acknowledge secret negotiations

The bill by two Democrats, Santa Ana Sen. Tom Umberg and San Jose Assemblymember Ash Kalra, nonetheless easily passed the Assembly committee, as well as the full Assembly and Senate.

Umberg’s office declined to answer CalMatters’ questions about the bill. Kalra’s office replied to an interview request with an emailed statement.

“AB 1755 went through the full legislative process with two robust committee hearings, consideration of amendments and all procedural steps,” Kalra said. “Despite concerns over process, the vast majority of members in both houses concluded this was a better policy for consumers and we could build upon the policy framework in subsequent years.”

Kalra acknowledged in his testimony that the measure was a product of negotiations between the groups behind the bill.

“AB 1755 represents a compromise between the consumer attorneys, (civil) defense attorneys, and some auto manufacturers, most notably General Motors,” Kalra told the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Opposing the bill were Tesla and foreign auto companies including Volkswagen and Toyota as well as consumer groups such as the Consumer Federation of America, the Center for Auto Safety, and Consumers For Auto Reliability and Safety, according to the Digital Democracy database.

Sen. Roger Niello, a Republican whose family owns car dealerships in the Sacramento area, said he was troubled that the bill split groups that are typically aligned on legislation.“My concern about this bill is the process by which it was developed,” Niello told his colleagues on the Senate floor. “And all you have to look at to question that is the support and opposition. This is very unusual. We don’t see this very often. … We have people, organizations from similar sources with opposite views on this. There’s something wrong with that.”

Assemblymember Ash Kalra at the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 13, 2023. Photo by Semantha Norris, CalMatters.

The alliances were unpredictable. Consumer attorneys fed up with clogged courts backed the bill, while consumer advocates opposed it. And while U.S. carmakers lobbied for it, foreign automakers argued it didn’t go far enough and was too friendly toward trial attorneys.

As Kalra and Umberg pitched their bill to lawmakers in those frantic, waning days of the session, they said AB 1755 would address a growing backlog of lemon law cases that have been increasingly causing havoc in the state’s civil court system.

The number of lemon law cases in California courts climbed from nearly 15,000 filings in 2022 to more than 22,000 last year. In Los Angeles County, nearly 10% of all civil filings are now lemon law cases, according to the bill’s analysis.

The growing caseload is driven by a handful of aggressive law firms that file most of the suits, according to the Civil Justice Association of California. The association wasn’t listed as having a position on the bill in the Digital Democracy database.

“What it does is it reduces the number of filings, which I think logically would lead you to believe that it also reduces the amount of money spent on lawyers,” Umberg told the Senate last month.

The California Judges Association also supported the bill.

Will lemon law bill make it harder for vehicle owners?

Under the proposed law, starting next year, auto companies and car buyers would be required to try to settle their disputes through mediation before beginning the “discovery” process that takes place after a lawsuit is filed.

Discovery is when the parties in a lawsuit gather evidence from each other that they think they’ll need to prove their case. The proposed law also sets rules for what evidence can be requested. One of the reasons the courts are so backlogged from lemon law cases is due to tedious discovery hearings, the bill’s advocates say.It also would shorten the window during which a consumer can sue over a detective vehicle.

Umberg, a former federal prosecutor, and Kalra, a former public defender and law professor, told their colleagues that consumers would still be able to get their money back from a defective car. They argued that California’s lemon law, which Gov. Ronald Reagan signed in 1970, still would be stronger than that of any other state.

But Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, said the bill would harm car owners stuck with a lemon vehicle in several ways.

It would limit the amount of “negative equity” refunds consumers could get for their defective car, and it would shorten the period in which consumers can use the lemon law to just six years, even when their warranty lasts longer, she said.

“This is a big deal for folks who pay extra for a vehicle with a warranty from the manufacturer, in order to avoid getting hit with a large unexpected repair bill,” she said in an email.

California State Senator Thomas Umberg speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee about SB1338, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program on April 26, 2022, in Sacramento. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

The bill also would require that consumers notify their manufacturer in writing that their car is a lemon, instead of just taking it into a dealer for repairs and starting the process of getting their money back there, she said.

It also would limit the amount of time a consumer can file a lemon lawsuit from four years after a claim is filed to just a year from the expiration of a vehicle’s warranty, she said.“This would make it easier for unscrupulous auto manufacturers to get away with doing cheap ‘Band-Aid’ type repairs – instead of fixing the underlying problem – until the warranty expires,” leaving consumers on the hook for a massive bill, she said.

The bill’s supporters include General Motors, Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) and Ford Motor Company, as well as RV manufacturers.

Combined, Ford and GM have given sitting lawmakers at least $1.5 million since 2015, according to the Digital Democracy database.The Consumer Attorneys of California has given at least $2.2 million during the same period.

The bill “addresses urgent procedural problems with how lemon law cases are handled in the state of California, while keeping our lemon law the strongest in the nation,” Nancy Drabble, a lobbyist for Consumer Attorneys of California, told lawmakers last month.

She argued that the proposed revision would be an improvement for car buyers since it would shorten the window that auto companies must respond to a consumer complaint to just 30 days, and it would require car companies to fix a defective car or replace it within 30 days after that.“I think you will see an increase in buybacks of vehicles within that 60-day period, which will not even have a lawsuit filed,” lobbyist Michael Belote told lawmakers, saying he represented GM.

‘Transparency suffers’ when lawmakers rush

In an interview Friday, Belote said his lobbying firm also represents other parties involved in the negotiations, and he was speaking to CalMatters on those groups’ behalf – and not GM’s.

Belote said he rejects “the premise that it watered down the lemon law.”

He said the law itself wouldn’t change. All the bill does, he said, is set clear rules for consumers and for auto companies that will reduce time-consuming court hearings, cut down on plaintiffs’ attorney fees and speed up the process of resolving disputes.

“There is a strong reason to believe that this will get consumers what they need more quickly,” he said, “And what they need … is a car to get to work and get their kids to school.”

But why the rush? Why not wait until January when lawmakers reconvene for the new two-year session — when they could fully vet and debate the bill?

One reason was proponents had threatened to take their case to voters. Belote and Shahan said that as part of their proposed ballot initiative, the groups threatened to put a 20% cap on the fees lawyers could collect from lemon law cases, creating a financial incentive for the attorneys’ groups to negotiate with the car makers.

Belote also disputed the suggestion that lawmakers didn’t know what they were voting on.

“There was an enormous lobbying campaign on both sides that hit, I believe, every member of the Legislature repeatedly in a very short time,” he said. “There was, you know, really a tsunami of information for legislators who had lots of questions that were answered.”

Regardless of whether lawmakers fully grasped the issue, any time complicated legislation such as AB 1755 gets rushed through at the last minute, it harms the Legislature’s credibility and makes it harder for voters to trust their elected leaders, said Gatto, the former lawmaker.

“Transparency suffers,” he said, “And all the different stakeholders that keep the Legislature honest, whether it’s the electorate or the media, it makes it a lot harder for us to do our jobs.”

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

John (Jack) Robert Foster entered the Kingdom of Heaven on Sept. 10, 2024 surrounded by family at his Fortuna home.

Jack will undoubtedly be glad to reunite with his wife Billie, who he loved dearly for more than 60 years.

Jack is survived, and will be forever missed, by his daughter Suzanne Dedekam and son-in-law Timothy Dedekam, sisters Patsy Foster and Peggy Wifall, brother Sanford Foster, grandson Christopher Dedekam, grandson Jonathan Dedekam and granddaughter-in-law Ayaka Dedekam, granddaughter Michelle Butler and grandson-in-law Andrew Butler, and great-grandchildren Robert Dedekam, Bradyn and Braxton Burlison, Noah, Lucah, and Ayla Dedekam, and Adrian and Rhea Butler.

On Oct. 1, 1940, in Williston, North Dakota, Jack was born to Robert John Foster and Theo (Gillian) Foster.

Jack graduated from Williston High School in 1958.

Jack married Billie, who would be the love of his life, on June 4, 1961. They had two children, Timothy and Suzanne.

Jack and Billie moved to Redway in 1971 and worked 40 years as a radio technician for Contel (later Verizon).

Jack completed an Associate of Science Degree at Allan Hancock College in 1971 while working full time to support his family.

A devout Christian man, Jack enjoyed Sundays at the Nazarene Church in Redway where he and Pastor Jerry Searcy became good friends and went on a mission trip to Australia which Jack recalled fondly.

Jack then spent the following 40 years attending the Weott Christian Church in Redway where he was a welcome sight for all who attended. Jack helped run the sound boards and was a close friend with Pastor Bill Eudy.

Throughout his life, Jack kept two hobbies which he joyfully indulged: Classic cars and HAM Radio operation.

Jack restored a number of timeless rides during his life, including a 1932 Buick, a couple Mercurys from the 1940s, and a few T-Birds from the 1950s and 1960s.

Jack enjoyed letting loose and racing his 260z and 280z Datsuns at the Samoa track as well.

A respected HAM Radio operator, Jack built himself quite the collection of equipment and spent his free time traveling to those Humboldt County roads which see more hooves and paw prints than tires to repair folks’ equipment, and in particular the repeater component on the radio system.

More recently, Jack made himself a wonderful friend group at the Fortuna Senior Center, where he enjoyed eating lunch with Cee Cee, Bob, Jerry, and Phil and playing cards at the Fortuna Resource Center.

In his passing, Jack was what he had been throughout his life – a well respected man by his friends and a beloved pillar of his family.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

All family and friends are invited to his Celebration of Life ceremony on September 28, 2024 starting at 11:30 a.m. at his home in Fortuna. Lunch will be served following the ceremony. Please contact Suzy @ 707-496-8458 if you need the address.

A dear friend, in gloomy despondence, asked me the common, age-old question of what is the point of life. I wish I had an answer that could solve the despair within him. I wish I could remove his pain and alleviate his suffering with a clear remedy.

I harkened back to the wise writer of Ecclesiastes who came to no perfectly determined answer. I imagine him writing those words about nothing being new under the sun, sighing with great defeat while recognizing the simple pleasures in life by enjoying what our senses were created to enjoy: 

     good food, 

     good friendship, 

     good wine, 

     good sex, 

     good experiences with lung burning exercise and boot-shaking risks. 

Jesus took it a step (or two) further by saying that life is summed up in this: to love God and love people really well—which looks like: 

     good food, 

     good friendship, 

     good wine, 

     good sex, 

     good experiences with lung burning exercise and boot-shaking risks 

     BUT in sacrificial love for others and God.

Life isn’t meant to be a sum total of good times for ourselves. When living for ourselves—centered, focused, obsessed—it’s never enough. There’s a deep dissatisfaction that festers and pulsates when one is self-focused, where nothing is enough and nothing truly satisfies and everything wrong is someone else’s fault.

I wish there was a silver-bullet-answer that satisfies and makes the world bright again. I could offer up “Jesus,” or “charity work,” or “loving one’s neighbor,” or “good friends,” or “medication / therapy / psychedelics / nature / oils / nutrition / exercise / sunshine.” And, yes, all of these can be helpful, but none of these will be the cure-all for what you’re experiencing right now. 

I guess I’m finding that when we put all our hope in one basket, we are often left disappointed, discouraged, disillusioned, and a bit despairing. 

We’ve tried it all, we say. 

Nothing works, we lament. 

Doesn’t God care, we desperately ask. 

There’s a story about Winnie the Pooh that helps me sometimes, as Winnie the Pooh does. He’s fully focused on reaching the swarming, honey-filled beehive perched precariously in the tall tree branches. As his small arm stretches towards the hive, the branch he was standing on begins to crack and break, causing him to careen to the ground below. But as gravity pulls him down, he hits this prickly branch here and that stubby branch there—every branch breaking his fall and slowing him down until he hits the ground with a thud.

I’m not sure which branch was the silver bullet that saved Pooh’s life that day. Maybe it wasn’t one branch. Maybe we’re not meant to hope for that one thing to save us, but instead we are to see all of life as full of saving moments. Healing rarely looks linear. Instead there’s an invitation to live and experience life in the midst of suffering. To play in our grief. To sing in our sadness. To hike the woods and splash in the surf and raise a glass in our suffering. And I’ve found with Christ, along with the rest, there’s a perspective shift bringing a bit of relief along the way.

So what is the point of life, you might ask? Oh, it is to live, as my friend Eric reminded me. 

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The Eureka Police Department is investigating a stabbing that occurred at the Del Norte pier this morning. The suspect remains at large. 

Reached for additional information this afternoon, EPD spokesperson Laura Montagna told the Outpost that there was a “violent altercation” at the pier just before 11 a.m. “Detectives are still down there working the scene,” she said. “There was physical violence with some sort of implement, but it was not a knife.”

Montagna could not provide any information about the victim’s condition, only confirming that they were taken to the hospital.

We’ll update this post when we know more.

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Press release from the California Highway Patrol:

On Saturday, September 21, at 0732 hours, the California Highway Patrol’s (CHP) Humboldt Communications Center received a call involving a two-vehicle traffic crash on westbound State Route 299, east of Essex Lane. CHP Humboldt Area units responded to investigate the incident. Upon initial investigation, it was determined that the driver of the Jeep was traveling eastbound State Route 299, east of Essex Lane, approaching a right curve in the roadway. The driver of the Jeep was unable to manipulate the curve and allowed the Jeep to leave the eastbound lanes and enter the westbound lanes of State Route 299. This led to the front end of the Jeep to collide with the front end of a Ram who was traveling westbound State Route 299. Following the crash, the parties in the Ram were transported to Saint Joseph Hospital in Eureka, CA. The driver of the Jeep was declared deceased by medical personnel on the scene. The westbound lanes of State Route 299 were closed for approximately three and a half hours and has since been reopened. The use of alcohol and/or drug(s) is unknown at this time. This incident is still being investigated by the CHP Humboldt Area.

For additional information, contact CHP Humboldt Area Public Informations Officer P. Craft at (707) 822-5981.

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Climate change promises to wreak havoc on Humboldt County. And Humboldt County is responding to this threat … slowly.

A draft of the long-delayed Climate Action Plan is here. Colin Fiske, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, and Matt Simmons, climate attorney at the Environmental Protection Information Center, join the show to review the draft and offer suggestions for how it can be improved.

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Press release from CalFire: 

Professionally controlled prescribed burn planned for the consumption of grass and timber understory on 50 acres of state land.

When: The prescribed burn will take place as conditions allow, Monday, September 23rd, 2024.

Where: Redway, California (Eel River Conservation Camp)

Why: These burns are part of the prescribed fire program for vegetative management and hazardous fuels reduction. The treatment will help to enhance the health of the native plant communities, aid in the control of non-native plant species, protect and enhance grass habitat for animal species, aid in the reduction of hazardous fire fuels and mitigation of uncontrolled wildfire.

Who: CAL FIRE and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

During these prescribed fire operations, residents may see an increase in fire suppression resource traffic, smoke will be visible and traffic control may be in place. Please be cautious for your safety as well as those working on prescribed burns.

Learn more how you can prepare for wildfire by visiting: www.ReadyForWildfire.org.

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