One bill removes the requirement of insurance companies to provide warranties for cheaper replacement parts. The other bill would limit the Insurance Commissioner Dave Jone's authority to enforce regulations like the one that allows customers to appeal the amount of insurance estimates.
The regulations could affect hundreds of thousands of Californians. According to the CHP, there were 416,000 traffic collisions in California in 2010.
Jones says, "These take the department of insurance and the Insurance Commissioner out of the equation and leave consumers with no regulatory recourse."
Republican Assemblyman Curt Hagman authored one of the bills. He says it should be easier for less-expensive parts to be used in repairs and that Jones has gone overboard with regulations, "Part of the bill is intercept or to stop his new regs from going in to try to keep the status quo more of a balance between the consumers, the insurers and the Department of Insurance."
Both men say the legislation might appear as a part of some other piece of legislation. Lawmakers are making deals and combining legislation as the Friday end of session deadline approaches.