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Private Car Selling Laws

The most important thing when selling a car is that you should not fabricate any information about the car you are selling. There are state laws against selling “lemon cars” and the person who is making the purchase could bring successful litigation against you if they feel they have been ripped off. One key thing that you can tell from time to time is the mileage changing on a car. You can simply tell how much the seller has used the car during the selling period, by just looking at the miles. The Odometer verification forms that are correctly filled out should eliminate this problem. You will also need your VIN or Vehicle Identification Number to complete the sale. In case you were wondering, lemon laws actually cover used cars in most states. The American Bar Association rates California’s lemon laws as some of the strongest in the nation.

You also want to make sure the buyer knows the sales tax rate in your state so they don’t feel like they are being overcharged for the vehicle. Once they know that you have figured the sales tax rate into the price, they should be comfortable with the sale. Of course there are some states like New Hampshire that has no sales tax to even worry about. A lot of people even migrate over to New Hampshire just to buy cars as a way of saving money.

There are also laws regarding the age of the tires of a car that is being sold. So if you are selling a car, make sure that the tires are up to date with the standards of the consumer advocacy groups if you can. Some new laws have come out in places like Washington D.C. however that limits the number of cars you can actually have on your property. Although this law may reduce the chance of theft, it may cut down on the amount of commerce there.

Make sure that the buyer also knows how many hours they can use the car if you allow them to take it for a test drive. This sort of statute can actually vary from state to state as well. Make sure you have properly transferred the title once the sale is complete, and keep all the proper documents. Mainly these laws are made so that the paperwork is always there in case there is confusion about the history of a car in the future. All states have different laws, so be sure to check before you sell or a buy a car.

San Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs California Political Lawyer Analyzes Political Campaign Finance Laws

As the 2008 Presidential Election goes into high gear, people from cities such as Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe and La Jolla in San Diego to cities such as Laguna Beach, Anaheim, Irvine and Yorba Linda in Orange County, from Santa Maria to Santa Barbara to Ventura and Oxnard, to Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Ontario, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Fullerton to Indian Wells, Palm Springs, Palm Desert and La Quinta both individuals and candidates are having questions about campaign election finance laws and are looking for a California campaign election finance lawyer who can advise them.

In the world of political campaign finance law, in the past few elections, the most important issue has been soft money. Today, soft money is still important, but it ranks with the money being raised and spent by national party committees and with the greater use of the internet, 2008 has brought individual contributions to a higher level of importance that ranks in importance with soft money and national party money.

While soft money or unregulated money can be spent for any advertising that stops short of expressly advocating the election or defeat of an individual, it is that broad definition that allows it to still be used in advertising that goes so far as to allow the advertising to mention a candidate, and virtually call him or her out for their position on an issue. Such advertising is in many cases blatant negative advertising.

Corporate and labor PACs raise money from restricted individuals. Labor PACs raise money from their union employees, corporation PACs from managerial employees and stockholders and their family members.

In the last 60 days before a federal election, PACs hands are untied and they can not only advocate political issues but also mention federal election candidates in their in their advertising.

Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, an organization becomes a political committee by receiving contributions or making expenditures in excess of $1,000 to influence a federal election.

A 527 Group (which falls into the category of soft money) avoids regulation by the Federal Election Commission because they allegedly use and raise money only for the advocation of issues. Because the line between issue advocacy and candidate advocacy is so thin, the use of these groups is a source of heated debate about soft money. These Groups are not bound by the same restrictions on PACs.

An example of a 527 Group in the 2004 federal election campaign was the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth which ran advertisements on television that blatantly attacked John Kerry. The Group was later fined by the Federal Election Commission for specifically advocating the defeat of John Kerry. But by then, the damage had already been done.

Different rules apply to state and local elections. An individual intending to campaign for any elected office needs to know election finance rules and should consult with a political campaign finance attorney as soon as possible in forming their campaign.