House Republican Press Release

April 18, 2006

Press Office: 860-240-8700

Rep. Hovey:  Bill Closing Loopholes in Law on Failure to Return Rental Property Passes House

Rep. Hovey was Original Sponsor of Legislation

Legislation that closes loopholes in a law that penalizes individuals who rent a piece of equipment and keep it for weeks or months past the date when it was supposed to be returned was approved Monday by the state House of Representatives, state Representative DebraLee Hovey, an original sponsor of the measure, said today.

The legislation (House Bill 5611), removes ambiguities in the existing law that made it more difficult to obtain convictions, said Representative Hovey, R-112^th District.

“This legislation has been proposed for the past six years but was never approved by the Judiciary Committee,” said Representative Hovey, a Judiciary Committee member who worked on a bipartisan basis with state Representative Michael P. Lawler, D-99^th District, the committee’s House co-chair, and with state Senator John A. Kissel, R-7^th District, the committee’s Senate Ranking Member, and succeeded in gaining the committee’s approval for the measure.

“We made some minor changes in the bill that made it acceptable to almost everyone on the Judiciary Committee,” Representative Hovey said. “It passed the Judiciary Committee with only two dissenting votes and was approved by the House Monday on a 115 - 27  vote. This legislation will make it easier to obtain convictions of people who rent property and deliberately fail to return it.”

“This legislation received widespread bipartisan support in both the Judiciary Committee and the state House of Representatives and I believe it will be just as well-received in the state Senate,” Representative Hovey said. “It is good news for hard-working small business people who in the past have had to absorb thousands of dollars in losses every year when people rent equipment, fail to return it on time, and refuse to pay late rental fees.”