§17C-15-50. Air bag fraud; counterfeit and nonfunctional air bags prohibited; penalties; applicability; exceptions.

(a) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Air bag” means an inflatable occupant supplemental restraint system, including all component parts, such as the cover, sensors, controllers, inflators, and wiring, designed to activate in a motor vehicle in the event of a crash to mitigate injury or ejection and that meets the federal motor vehicle safety standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.208 for the make, model, and model year of the motor vehicle.

(2) “Counterfeit air bag” means an air bag or component of an air bag displaying a mark identically or substantially similar to the genuine mark of a motor vehicle manufacturer or supplier of parts to a motor vehicle manufacturer, without the authorization of the motor vehicle manufacturer or supplier, respectively.

(3) “Disable” means to deliberately disconnect or otherwise render inoperable and includes the failure to replace a previously deployed airbag with a functional airbag.

(4) “Nonfunctional air bag” means any of the following:

(A) A replacement air bag that has been previously deployed or damaged;

(B) A replacement air bag that has an electric fault that is detected by the vehicle’s air bag diagnostic system when the installation procedure is completed and the vehicle is returned to the customer who requested the work to be performed or when ownership is intended to be transferred;

(C) A counterfeit air bag, air bag cover, or some other object that is installed in a motor vehicle in order to mislead or deceive an owner or operator of the motor vehicle into believing that a functional air bag has been installed; or

(D) An air bag subject to the prohibitions of 49 U.S.C. § 30120(j).

(b) A person who does any of the following is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000, or confined in a regional jail for not more than one year, or both fined and confined: Provided, That if the violation results in the serious bodily injury or death of any person, the person in violation of this section is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $2,500 nor more than $10,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than one nor more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned:

(1) Knowingly import, manufacture, sell, offer for sale, install, or reinstall in a motor vehicle, a counterfeit air bag, a nonfunctional air bag, or an object that does not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 208 (49 CFR 571.208) for the make, model, and year of the motor vehicle;

(2) Knowingly sell, offer for sale, install, or reinstall in any motor vehicle a device that causes a motor vehicle’s diagnostic system to inaccurately indicate that the motor vehicle is equipped with a properly functioning air bag; or

(3) Knowingly sell, lease, trade or transfer a motor vehicle if the person knows that a counterfeit air bag, a nonfunctional air bag, or an object that does not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 208 (49 CFR 571.208) for the make model, and year of the motor vehicle has been installed as part of the motor vehicle’s inflatable restraint system.

(c) This section does not apply to an owner or employee of a motor vehicle dealership or the owner of a vehicle who, before the sale of the vehicle, does not have knowledge that the vehicle’s air bag, or another component of the vehicle’s supplemental restraint system, is counterfeit or nonfunctioning.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed as to limit the liability in a civil action of any person who violates the provisions of this section.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed as to create a duty that, before the sale of a vehicle, an owner or employee of a motor vehicle dealership or the owner of a vehicle inspect a vehicle in possession of the dealership or owner to determine whether the air bag, or another component of the vehicle’s supplemental restraint system is counterfeit or nonfunctional.

(f) The provisions of this section do not apply where:

(1) An individual who disables an airbag in a passenger vehicle owned by him or her and which is used exclusively for his or her personal use;

(2) An individual renders assistance in disabling an airbag in a passenger vehicle which is used exclusively for personal use; and

(3) An individual sells a passenger vehicle used exclusively for his or her personal use with an airbag he or she knows to be disabled, and the individual selling the passenger vehicle discloses in writing to the buyer that the airbag of the vehicle is disabled.