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House Bill 1960 |
House Author: Deshotel et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Jackson |
House Bill 1960 amends the Occupations Code to make changes to the terms of a written agreement between a manufacturer or distributor and a dealer for the purchase and sale of new boats or new boat motors, including adding the requirement that the agreement be for a stated term of not less than three years, with certain exceptions. The bill establishes conditions for evaluating the dealer's progress in meeting certain terms of the agreement at the end of the first year to determine whether to enter into a new three-year agreement. The bill requires a manufacturer to make reasonable efforts to provide a dealer with information regarding the dealer's compliance with performance standards and provides for the evaluation and adjustment of those standards. It prohibits a manufacturer from appointing another authorized dealer for the sale of the manufacturer's boats in a dealer's territory during the term of an agreement and prohibits a dealer from advertising or promoting the sale of the manufacturer's boats outside the dealer's territory, with some exceptions, and from using a broker in another dealer's territory to sell a manufacturer's boat.
House Bill 1960 establishes the conditions that constitute a default under an agreement by a boat manufacturer, distributor, or dealer, requires a manufacturer or distributor to give a dealer written notice of a default, and allows the dealer to cure the default within a specified cure period. The bill revises the circumstances under which a manufacturer or distributor is authorized to terminate an agreement with a dealer and under which a former dealer may continue to purchase parts and accessories to service the products covered by the agreement after a nonrenewal and to perform warranty work for the manufacturer's products. It amends provisions relating to a dealer's written claim for compensation from a manufacturer or distrubutor for warranty work; requires a manufacturer, on signing an agreement, to provide a dealer with a written statement of the approximate amount of time the manufacturer takes to deliver a part to the dealer; and changes the deadlines by which a manufacturer or distributor who terminates an agreement is required to repurchase certain items purchased by a dealer from the manufacturer or distributor. A manufacturer or distributor who violates provisions relating to boat manufacturers, distributors, and dealers is liable to the state for a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for each violation, and the attorney general is authorized to sue to collect such a penalty and recover the reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining the penalty.