Sally Tanner

Sally Tanner
Sally Tanner and Rev. Desmond Tutu on the latter's visit to California in 1986.
Member of the California House of Representatives
In office 1979–1992
Personal details
Born	1926 (age 90–91) East Chicago, Indiana
Political party	Democratic
Occupation	advertising design and commercial art

Sally Tanner (born 1926) represented California's 60th District in the California State Assembly from 1979 to 1992. Her legislative career encompassed environmental issues, including serving as chair of the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. On consumer issues, Tanner was the author of a consumer protection act that came to be colloquially referred to as the California Lemon Law. As a 1987 co-founder of the legislature's "Woman of the Year" program, she also became a recipient of the honor in 2009.

Tanner attended Pasadena Community College and the Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles, California, after which she worked in advertising design and commercial art. She married and had two sons, Timothy and Christopher.

Tanner's political career began as a volunteer for the 1956 Adlai Stevenson II presidential campaign followed by experience as an Administrative Assistant to both 58th District California Assemblyman Harvey Johnson for ten years and Congressman George E. Danielson. In 1979 Tanner ran for Representative from California's 60th District and served for 14 years.

In 1981, she helped Willie Brown become California's first African American Speaker of the Assembly. When he helped create California's first standing committee on the environment, the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, Tanner was appointed the first chair. The committee generally considered bills relating to environmental pollutants, chemical and toxic hazards, and product safety.

Tanner introduced numerous bills to clean up the environment throughout her career. In 1982, she authored a California law (Civil Code Section § 1793.22 et. seq.) which was officially named the Tanner Consumer Protection Act, even though commonly and officially known as the "California Lemon Law." It mandates refunds, replacements or compensation to consumers for life-threatening problems unfixed in new vehicles for the first 18,000 miles or 18 months, whichever is first. On 1 January 2001, the law was amended to consider a vehicle a lemon if two repair attempts fail.