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Lawmakers introduce bill to strengthen consumer protections for service members, veterans KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOU.S. Navy veterans stand up to be recognized for their service during the Gold Coast Pipe Band’s playing of the “Service Medley” during last year’s Independence Day Celebration by the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation at the Santa Barbara Cemetery. Supporters of a new bill in the state Legislature say it’s designed to strengthen consumer protections for military service members and veterans.
Attorney General Rob Bonta touted a new bill this week aimed at increasing consumer protections for California’s military members and veterans.
SB 1311 from Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton, and President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, contains a bevy of protections.
“Military life and deployment place unique demands on service members and their families,” Attorney General Bonta said. “With SB 1311, we are looking to shore up California’s military consumer protection laws to better serve our military community. … Our brave service members and their families deserve nothing but our unwavering support, which is why I am honored to announce my sponsorship of this important legislation.”
The bill prohibits military discounts offered on the condition the military member or veteran waives any right under state and federal law.
It would allow military members to appear remotely or through a representative in small claims cases regarding improperly withheld security deposits. It clarifies existing law to ensure members of the National Guard and Reserves who defer payments on mortgages during deployment are not accruing interest during that deferment.
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOAttorney General Rob BontaThe bill would also make it illegal for businesses to access certain personal information from military ID cards, including sensitive military pay and personnel information.
Additionally, it would allow military members to terminate a motor vehicle lease, if it was agreed to during a period of military service and if they’re reassigned or deployed somewhere more than 100 miles from the prior station for at least 90 days.
COURTESY PHOTOSen. Susan Talamantes Eggman“As a veteran myself, and coming from a family with a long history of service, I am familiar with how the very nature of serving in the military creates vulnerabilities to consumer scams and unfair business practices,” Sen. Eggman said. “This legislation will provide service members with the consumer protections they need and deserve.”
The bill has already been referred to the Judiciary Committee and the Military and Veteran Affairs Committee.
COURTESY PHOTOSen. Toni Atkins“Given the extraordinary sacrifices veterans, active duty service members, and their families make in service to our nation, they should have confidence that they are protected from unfair and exploitative business practices and have consumer protections benefitting the unique circumstances of their service,” Sen. Atkins said in a statement. “This bill will go a long way toward strengthening that assurance.”
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the legislation follows a successful Assembly Bill in 2018 from Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, that strengthened consumer protections for military members.
email: kschallhorn@newspress.com
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