CA Governor Newsom Signs Bill Restricting Certain Auto Storage Fees
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has signed Assembly Bill (AB) 987 into law following its unanimous passage in the State Assembly and State Senate.
AB 987 will allow insurers to waive responsibility for “unreasonable” storage fees, which the bill defines as including administrative or filing fees, security fees, dolly fees, pull-out fees, gate fees (except when the owner requests the vehicle be released outside of normal business hours), and storage fees charged for state holidays that exceed the posted standard daily storage rate.
Previous versions of AB 987 also defined “unreasonable” to include non-hourly storage fees for vehicles stored fewer than 24 hours, storage fees for vehicles in emergency situations where the owner or insurer was not at fault, and storage fees assessed on days the facility is not open. The bill’s author removed these provisions from the definition after receiving feedback from industry stakeholders.