Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 13411
Sale of Motor Vehicle Fuels and Lubricants
Redline — January 1, 2011 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2015
As of January 1, 2011
It is unlawful for any person to sell or offer to sell motor vehicle fuel for use in any vehicle, as the term vehicle is defined by the Vehicle Code, on the condition that the purchaser also must purchase or pay for any other products, merchandise, or services. This section does not apply to parking time charges at locations also selling electricity as a motor vehicle fuel.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person who operates a full service car wash facility may sell or offer to sell petroleum products for use in a vehicle on the condition that the purchaser also must purchase car wash services, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The full service car wash facility, during the base period, as a normal business practice sold gasoline or other motor fuels only to customers who purchased car wash services.
(2) The retail price for car wash services charged by the facility during any given month does not exceed the retail price for car wash services charged by the facility during the last month of the base period except by an amount equivalent to that which is produced by multiplying the retail price charged for car wash services during the last month of the base period by the percentage by which the figure representing the California Consumer Price Index as compiled and reported by the California Department of Industrial Relations has increased in the period beginning with the last month of the base period and ending with the given month.
(3) The full service car wash facility sells or offers to sell in conjunction with the car wash services not less than ten gallons of gasoline with each purchase of such car wash services.
(4) The full service car wash facility when conditioning the sale of gasoline upon the purchase of car wash services posts in a conspicuous manner as close to the entrance to the facility as is permitted by local ordinance a sign in letters not less than six inches in height which effectively states that the purchaser must purchase car wash services in order to purchase gasoline.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) “Base period” refers to either the year of 1977, 1978, or 1979, whichever year is selected by the current operator of a full service car wash facility subject to this section. Once the operator of a full service car wash facility has selected one of these years as a base period the operator or any subsequent purchaser of the facility may utilize no other year as a base period for the purposes of this section. If the full service car wash facility was not in operation during 1977, 1978, or 1979, the base period shall be the first full calendar year in which the facility is in operation.
(2) “Full service car wash facility” means a facility which, during the base period, sold or offered to sell full service car wash services and the service of waxing the exterior of a vehicle by hand and at the same time and location sold or offered to sell gasoline.
(3) “Full service car wash services” means the cleaning of the exterior of a vehicle, by means of mechanical devices or mechanical devices and individuals, the drying of the exterior of a vehicle, and the cleaning, including vacuuming, of the interior of a vehicle.
(4) “Practice” means a repeated or customary action as verified by business records or other admissible evidence.
(d) In any civil action brought pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2 of Division 7 of this code for a violation of this section by a person who operates a full service car wash facility or his or her employees or agents, the person who operates the full service car wash facility shall have the burden of proof with respect to establishing compliance with the provisions of this section.
(e) Any person who elects to operate a full service car wash facility pursuant to subdivision (b) shall maintain records to substantiate that the person has complied with the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (b) and shall permit the district attorney of the county in which the full service car wash facility is located and any authorized representative of a governmental agency which is authorized under state law to enforce the provisions of this section to inspect such records during normal business hours.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 13590, the district attorney of each county shall enforce the provisions of this section.
(g) The provisions of subdivisions (b) to (e), inclusive, shall apply only during periods when the maximum retail price which may be charged for gasoline sold by any person in this state is established by the federal or state government, or any department, agency, board, or other entity thereof.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.