(Sacramento, CA) – Today, the California State Senate Committee on Judiciary passed Assembly Bill (AB) 753, known as the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Auto Rental Car Safety Act, authored by Assemblymember Bill Monning (D-Carmel). AB 753 will prohibit rental car companies from renting or selling vehicles to the public until safety recall work has been performed.

"AB 753 is important because consumers should be able to rent a car without worrying about safety defects that have not been repaired," stated Assemblymember Monning. "This landmark legislation will be able to provide assurances to consumers that vehicles they rent are indeed safe."

Existing federal and state laws permit rental car companies to rent cars have been recalled due to safety defects, or that fail to comply with federal safety standards. Federal law already prohibits auto dealers from selling new cars that are subject to a federal safety recall.

Under federal law, motor vehicles are subject to mandatory safety recalls if they have a defect that poses an "unreasonable risk" to the public or fails to comply with mandatory federal safety standards.

Approximately one month before Raechel and Jacqueline Houck were killed, Enterprise received a notice from Chrysler that the PT Cruiser had a defective steering component that was prone to catch fire.

AB 753 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 4-1 vote and now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further action.

Assemblymember Monning was first elected to represent the 27th Assembly District in 2008 and re-elected in 2010. The 27th Assembly District includes portions of Monterey, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. Prior to his election to the Assembly, Assemblymember Monning was a professor at the Monterey College of Law and a Professor of International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Contact: Bethany Westfall @ (916) 319-2027