Assembly Bill No. 522–Committee on Transportation

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to motor vehicles; revising provisions governing short-term leases of passenger cars; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

    Section 1. NRS 482.31535 is hereby amended to read as

follows:

    482.31535  1.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS

482.3154, a short-term lessor and a short-term lessee of a passenger

car may agree that the lessee will be responsible for:

    (a) Physical [or mechanical] damage to the car, up to and

including its fair market value, [resulting from a collision,]

regardless of the cause of the damage.

    (b) Mechanical damage to the car, up to and including its fair

market value, resulting from:

        (1) A collision;

        (2) An impact; or

        (3) Any other type of incident,

that is caused by a deliberate or negligent act or omission on the

part of the lessee.

    (c) Loss resulting from theft of the car, up to and including its

fair market value, except that the lessee is presumed to have no

liability for any loss resulting from theft if an authorized driver:

        (1) Has possession of the ignition key furnished by the lessor

or establishes that the ignition key furnished by the lessor was not in

the car at the time of the theft; and

        (2) Files an official report of the theft with an appropriate

law enforcement agency within 24 hours after learning of the theft

and cooperates with the lessor and the law enforcement agency in

providing information concerning the theft.

The lessor may rebut the presumption set forth in this paragraph by

establishing that an authorized driver committed or aided and

abetted the commission of the theft.

    [(c)](d) Physical damage to the car, up to and including its fair

market value, resulting from vandalism occurring after or in

connection with the theft of the car, except that the lessee has no

liability for any damage resulting from vandalism if the lessee has

no liability for theft pursuant to paragraph [(b).](c).

    [(d)](e) Physical damage to the car and loss of use of the car, up

to $500, resulting from vandalism not related to the theft of the car

and not caused by the [short-term lessee.

    (e)]lessee.

    (f) Loss of use of the car if the lessee is liable for damage or

loss.

    [(f)](g) Actual charges for towing and storage and impound fees

paid by the lessor if the lessee is liable for damage or loss.

    [(g)](h) An administrative charge that includes the cost of

appraisal and other costs incident to the damage, loss, loss of use,

repair or replacement of the car.

    2.  For the purposes of this section, the fair market value must

be determined in the customary market for the sale of the leased

passenger car.

    Sec. 2.  NRS 482.3154 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    482.3154  1.  The total amount of the short-term lessee’s

liability to the short-term lessor resulting from damage to a leased

passenger car must not exceed the sum of the following:

    (a) The estimated cost for parts that the short-term lessor would

have to pay to replace damaged parts. Any discount, price reduction

or adjustment received by the lessor must be subtracted from the

estimate to the extent not already incorporated in the estimate or

promptly credited or refunded to the short-term lessee.

    (b) The estimated cost of labor to replace damaged parts of the

passenger car, which must not exceed the product of:

        (1) The rate of labor usually paid by the lessor to replace

parts of the type that were damaged; and

        (2) The estimated time for replacement.

Any discount, price reduction or adjustment received by the short-

term lessor must be subtracted from the estimate to the extent not

already incorporated in the estimate or promptly credited or

refunded to the lessee.

    (c) The estimated cost of labor to repair damaged parts of the

passenger car, which must not exceed the lesser of:

        (1) The product of the rate for labor usually paid by the

short-term lessor to repair parts of the type that were damaged and

the estimated time for repair; or

        (2) The sum of the costs for estimated labor and parts

determined pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) to replace the same

parts.

Any discount, price reduction or adjustment received by the short-

term lessor must be subtracted from the estimate to the extent not

already incorporated in the estimate or promptly credited or

refunded to the lessee.

    (d) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, the loss of use

of the leased passenger car, which must not exceed the product of:

        (1) The rate for the car stated in the short-term lessee’s lease,

excluding all optional charges; and

        (2) The total of the estimated time for replacement and the

estimated time for repair. For the purpose of converting the

estimated time for repair into the same unit of time in which the rate

of the lease is expressed, a day shall be deemed to consist of 8

hours.

    (e) Actual charges for towing and storage and impound fees paid

by the short-term lessor.

    2.  Under any of the circumstances described in NRS

482.31555, the short-term lessor’s loss of use of the passenger car

must not exceed the product of:

    (a) The rate for the car stated in the short-term lessee’s lease,

excluding all optional charges; and

    (b) The period from the date of an accident to the date the car is

ready to be returned to service if the lessor uses his best efforts to

repair and return the car to service as soon as practicable.

    3.  An administrative charge pursuant to paragraph [(g)] (h) of

subsection 1 of NRS 482.31535 must not exceed:

    (a) Fifty dollars if the total estimated cost for parts and labor is

more than $100 and less than or equal to $500.

    (b) One hundred dollars if the total estimated cost for parts and

labor is more than $500 and less than or equal to $1,500.

    (c) One hundred and fifty dollars if the total estimated cost for

parts and labor is more than $1,500.

No administrative charge may be imposed if the total estimated cost

of parts and labor is $100 or less.

    Sec. 3.  NRS 482.31555 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    482.31555  A short-term lessor may provide in a lease of a

passenger car that a waiver of damages does not apply in the

following circumstances:

    1.  Damage or loss resulting from an authorized driver’s:

    (a) Intentional, willful, wanton or reckless conduct.

    (b) Operation of the car in violation of NRS 484.379.

    (c) Towing or pushing with the car.

    (d) Operation of the car on an unpaved road if the damage or

loss is a direct result of the road or driving conditions.

    2.  Damage or loss occurring when the passenger car is:

    (a) Used for hire.

    (b) Used in connection with conduct that constitutes a felony.

    (c) Involved in a speed test or contest or in driver training

activity.

    (d) Operated by a person other than an authorized driver.

    (e) Operated in a foreign country or outside of the [United

States.]States of Nevada, Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and

Utah, unless the lease expressly provides that the passenger car

may be operated in other locations.

    3.  An authorized driver providing:

    (a) Fraudulent information to the short-term lessor.

    (b) False information to the lessor and the lessor would not have

leased the passenger car if he had received true information.

    Sec. 4.  NRS 482.31565 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    482.31565  1.  A short-term lessor shall not require the

purchase of a waiver of damages, optional insurance or any other

optional good or service as a condition for the lease of a passenger

car.

    2.  A short-term lessor may sell a waiver of damages but shall

not charge more than $15 per full or partial rental day or 24-hour

rental period , as appropriate, for the waiver.

    3.  A short-term lessor who disseminates an advertisement in

the State of Nevada that contains a rate for the lease of a passenger

car shall include in the advertisement a clearly readable statement of

the charge for a waiver of damages and a statement that the waiver

is optional.

    4.  A short-term lessor shall not engage in any unfair, deceptive

or coercive conduct to induce a short-term lessee to purchase a

waiver of damages, optional insurance or any other optional good or

service, including, but not limited to, refusing to honor the lessee’s

reservation, limiting the availability of cars, requiring a deposit or

debiting or blocking the lessee’s credit card account for a sum

equivalent to a deposit if the lessee declines to purchase a waiver,

optional insurance or any other optional good or service.

 

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