Hawaii SB 1119: RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES.

Bill Text

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THE SENATE
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ JAN 1 7 2025
A BILL FORAN ACT
RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Chapter 437, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated
and to read as follows:
"§437- Remote transmission to vehicle. (a) After the
date of sale of a motor vehicle by a dealer to a retail
consumer, the manufacturer may sell to the retail consumer, or
activate for a fee, a permanent or temporary motor vehicle
accessory, option, add-on, feature, improvement, or upgrade for
a motor vehicle of a line-make manufactured, imported, or
distributed by the manufacturer; provided that the accessory,
option, add-on, feature, improvement, or upgrade is activated or
installed directly on the retail consumer's motor vehicle
through remote electronic transmission; provided further that if
the motor vehicle was sold or leased as new by a franchised new
motor vehicle dealer in this State within the five-year period
preceding the remote electronic transmission, the manufacturer
or distributor shall pay the franchised new motor vehicle dealer
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a minimum of twenty-five per cent of the gross revenue received
by the manufacturer, distributor, agent, or common entity for
the sale, activation, and renewal during the five-year period.
The manufacturer or distributor shall provide each of its
franchised dealers a quarterly statement of the revenue received
by the manufacturer during that quarter for remote sales or
activations and renewals relating to those vehicles sold or
leased by the dealer during the five-year period subsequent to
the sale or lease of the vehicle to the retail consumer.
(b) When providing a new motor vehicle to a dealer for
offer or sale to the public, it shall be unlawful for the
manufacturer or distributor to fail to provide to the dealer a
written disclosure that shall be provided to a potential buyer
of the new motor vehicle listing each accessory or function of
the vehicle that may be activated, updated, changed, or
maintained by the manufacturer through over the air or remote
means, and the charge to the consumer for activation, update,
change, or maintenance. A manufacturer may comply with this
section by notifying the dealer that the information is
available on a website or by other digital means."
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SECTION 2. Section 437-1.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended as follows:
1. By adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted
and to read:
""Common entity" means a person who:
(1) Is directly or indirectly controlled by or has more
than ten per cent of its equity interest directly or
indirectly owned, beneficially or of record, through
any form of ownership structure, by a manufacturer;
(2) Has more than ten per cent of its equity interest
directly or indirectly controlled or owned,
beneficially or of record, through any form of
ownership structure, by one or more persons who also
directly or indirectly control or own, beneficially or
of record, more than thirty per cent of the equity
interest of a manufacturer; or
(3) Is affiliated by joint venture, agreement or
otherwise, with a manufacturer, except for a
distributor of the manufacturer's motor vehicles."
2. By amending the definition of "distributor" to read:
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""Distributor" means any person, resident, or nonresident,
[including] independent from a manufacturer, who in whole or in
part imports, offers for sale, sells, or distributes the
manufacturer's new motor vehicles to dealers[—] pursuant to an
agreement with the manufacturer."
3. By amending the definition of "franchise" or "franchise
agreement" to read:
""Franchise" or "franchise agreement" means any contract or
agreement between a duly licensed new motor vehicle dealer and a
duly licensed manufacturer or distributor that authorizes the
dealer to engage in the business of selling or purchasing any
particular make or makes of new motor vehicles or motor vehicle
parts manufactured or distributed by the manufacturer or
distributor, or that establishes rights or obligations, or both,
relating to the dealer's new motor vehicle operation, including
agreements relating to dealership facilities or site control."
4. By amending the definition of "sale" or "selling" to
read:
""Sale", "selling", and equivalent expressions, mean the
act or attempted act, either as principal or an agent or in any
capacity whatsoever, of selling, bartering, exchanging, leasing,
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