California rental car companies may soon be able to track vehicles 24 hours past due

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign a bill that would allow rental car companies to track the GPS of vehicles that have not been returned 24 hours after the contracted return time.

The bill, written by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), would amend the previous law that allows companies to track missing vehicles 72 hours after the return time. AB 2741 was passed in the state Senate late last month and now sits on Newsom’s desk.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Wednesday endorsed the bill , saying the state has seen an uptick in rental car theft in the last three years.

“Part of being able to address [crime] concerns is making sure that the laws of the state of California allow law enforcement to do their job at the highest level,” Jenkins said.

The bill was supported by the American Car Rental Association, which said the following:

“One can imagine how far a vehicle could travel or the activities that may occur when criminals are able to procure a means of transportation for the low cost of a rental day and are given a three-day grace period to remain undetected. This significantly increases the risk of the vehicle being lost, vandalized, damaged beyond repair, or used in the furtherance of multiple crimes.”

As of Thursday, it was not immediately clear whether Newsom would sign the bill into law.

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