Almost eight years after Cally Houck lost her two daughters in a car accident involving a rental vehicle with a recall on it, the five biggest car rental companies in the nation have agreed to support legislation that makes it illegal to rent or sell recalled vehicles. The historic agreement represents 93% of the rental car industry: Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Dollar Thrifty and National. Law makers announced the agreement on Thursday saying that they expect the Senate will pass the bill later this year.

• The bill requires companies to stop renting vehicles within 24 hours of receiving a safety recall notice or within 48 hours if the recall involved more than 5,000 vehicles in a company’s fleet. The vehicles will not be rented or sold until the safety defects are repaired.
• The companies agreed to back the legislation after some revisions, including allowing the rental of a car if there was a manufacturer approved temporary step that eliminated the safety risk until parts were available.
• Companies also would be allowed to sell a damaged recalled vehicle as junk.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will have authority to investigate and police rental car companies’ recall safety practices.

While the senators praised Houck’s advocacy along with automotive safety groups that pushed the issue, she thanked the lawmakers and industry “in memory of my treasured daughters.”