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2019 SESSION

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HB 2143 Air bags; counterfeit or nonfunctional bags prohibited.

Introduced by: Robert B. Bell | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED:

Air bags; manufacture, importation, sale, etc., of counterfeit or nonfunctional air bag prohibited; penalty. Provides that a person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if he knowingly manufactures, imports, sells, installs, or reinstalls a counterfeit air bag or nonfunctional air bag, or any device that is intended to conceal a counterfeit air bag or nonfunctional air bag, in a motor vehicle. The bill provides an exemption for the sale, installation, reinstallation, or replacement of a motor vehicle air bag on a vehicle solely used for police work. The bill also provides that any sale, installation, reinstallation, or replacement of a motor vehicle air bag with a counterfeit, nonfunctional, or otherwise unlawful air bag shall not be construed as a superseding cause that limits the liability of any party in any civil action.

SUMMARY AS PASSED HOUSE:

Air bags; manufacture, importation, sale, etc., of counterfeit or nonfunctional air bag prohibited; penalty. Provides that a person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if he knowingly manufactures, imports, sells, installs, or reinstalls a counterfeit air bag or nonfunctional air bag, or any device that is intended to conceal a counterfeit air bag or nonfunctional air bag, in a motor vehicle. The bill also provides that it shall be an affirmative defense to a prosecution of such violation if the sale, installation, or reinstallation was authorized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Air bags and supplemental restraint systems; counterfeit and nonfunctional components prohibited; penalty. Provides that a person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if he (i) installs or reinstalls any air bag or other component of a motor vehicle's supplemental restraint system that is counterfeit, nonfunctional, or not in accordance with federal safety regulations; (ii) knowingly, without authorization, and not pursuant to guidelines or bulletins from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sells, installs, reinstalls, or replaces any device that causes a motor vehicle's diagnostic system to (a) fail to warn when a counterfeit supplemental restraint system component as defined in the bill or a nonfunctional air bag as defined in the bill is installed in a motor vehicle or (b) inaccurately indicate that the motor vehicle is equipped with a properly functioning air bag; or (iii) knowingly manufactures, imports, distributes, sells, or offers for sale a device intended to replace a supplemental restraint system component in any motor vehicle that is a counterfeit supplemental restraint system component, a nonfunctional air bag, or a device that does not meet federal safety standards.