A California state Assembly committee voted 6-2 on Tuesday in favor of The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Rental Car Safety Act, which would be the nation's first law forcing rental car companies to pull recalled vehicles off the road. The bill is named for two women who died in 2004 while driving a rented car that was the subject of a safety recall.

Regarding the issue of safety recalls, ACRA President Bob Barton was quoted this week in the New York Times blog "Wheels." Barton asserted that all fleet operators and consumers need more information from manufacturers on the significance of a recall, whether the recalled vehicle is no longer safe to operate and how quickly a recall should be carried out.

Here is the American Car Rental Association's legislation proposal regarding changing the current safety recall rules.