By: Leach (Senate Sponsor - Middleton) H.B. No. 4218
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 2023;
  May 9, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on State
  Affairs; May 15, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote:  
  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 15, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to liability related to a duty to retrofit certain rented
  or leased motor vehicles with safety devices.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 82, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
  amended by adding Section 82.009 to read as follows:
         Sec. 82.009.  LIMITED LIABILITY FOR FAILURE TO RETROFIT
  CERTAIN RENTED OR LEASED VEHICLES. (a) In this section, "retrofit"
  means to install new equipment or component parts that were not
  included in a motor vehicle when the vehicle was manufactured or
  sold. The term does not include:
               (1)  routine maintenance; or 
               (2)  repairs to the vehicle:
                     (A)  as a result of wear and tear; or
                     (B)  required by damage resulting from an accident
  or other cause.
         (b)  This section applies only to a motor vehicle:
               (1)  that has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross
  vehicle weight of at least 6,000 pounds;
               (2)  that is governed by 49 U.S.C. Section 30106; and
               (3)  that is not a motor vehicle that was manufactured
  primarily for use in the transportation of not more than 10
  individuals.
         (c)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), in any civil
  action, including a products liability action, alleging
  negligence, gross negligence, or strict liability, a seller who
  rents or leases a motor vehicle to which this section applies to
  another person is not liable for failing to retrofit the vehicle
  with component parts or equipment, or for failing to select
  component parts or equipment included in the vehicle, that were not
  required by applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards under
  49 C.F.R. Section 571.1 et seq. in effect at the time the vehicle
  was manufactured or sold.
         (d)  Subsection (c) does not apply if the seller fails to
  comply with a law or regulation, issued after the seller's motor
  vehicle was manufactured or sold, requiring a mandatory recall or
  retrofit of the vehicle.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of
  this Act.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
 
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