BILL NUMBER: AB 801 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 273
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 5, 2007
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 5, 2007
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 16, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 3, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 13, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 7, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Walters
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Solorio)
FEBRUARY 22, 2007
An act to amend Section 5201 of, and to add Section 5201.1 to, the
Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 801, Walters. Vehicles: license plates.
(1) Existing law prohibits the use of a device that obstructs or
impairs the reading or recognition of a license plate by a remote
emission sensing device. A violation of this provision is a crime.
This bill would prohibit the use of a device that would obstruct
or impair the reading or recognition of a license plate by an
electronic device operated by state or local law enforcement or by an
electronic device operated in connection with a toll road,
high-occupancy toll lane, toll bridge, or other toll facility,
creating a new crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local
program.
This bill would provide that a person who sells a product or
device that obscures or is intended to obscure the reading or
recognition of a license plate is guilty of an infraction, punishable
by a specified fine only, creating a new crime, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 5201 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
5201. License plates shall at all times be securely fastened to
the vehicle for which they are issued so as to prevent the plates
from swinging, shall be mounted in a position so as to be clearly
visible, and shall be maintained in a condition so as to be clearly
legible. The rear license plate shall be mounted not less than 12
inches nor more than 60 inches from the ground, and the front license
plate shall be mounted not more than 60 inches from the ground,
except as follows:
(a) The rear license plate on a tow truck may be mounted on the
left-hand side of the mast assembly at the rear of the cab of the
vehicle, not less than 12 inches nor more than 90 inches from the
ground.
(b) The rear license plate on a tank vehicle hauling hazardous
waste, as defined in Section 25117 of the Health and Safety Code, or
asphalt material may be mounted not less than 12 inches nor more than
90 inches from the ground.
(c) The rear license plate on a truck tractor may be mounted at
the rear of the cab of the vehicle, but not less than 12 inches nor
more than 90 inches from the ground.
(d) The rear license plate of a vehicle designed by the
manufacturer for the collection and transportation of garbage,
rubbish, or refuse that is used regularly for the collection and
transportation of that material by any person or governmental entity
employed to collect, transport, and dispose of garbage, rubbish, or
refuse may be mounted not less than 12 inches nor more than 90 inches
from the ground.
(e) The rear license plate on a two-axle livestock trailer may be
mounted 12 inches or more, but not more than 90 inches, from the
ground.
(f) A covering shall not be used on license plates except as
follows:
(1) The installation of a cover over a lawfully parked vehicle to
protect it from the weather and the elements does not constitute a
violation of this subdivision. Any peace officer or other regularly
salaried employee of a public agency designated to enforce laws,
including local ordinances, relating to the parking of vehicles may
temporarily remove so much of the cover as is necessary to inspect
any license plate, tab, or indicia of registration on a vehicle.
(2) The installation of a license plate security cover is not a
violation of this subdivision if the device does not obstruct or
impair the recognition of the license plate information, including,
but not limited to, the issuing state, license plate number, and
registration tabs, and the cover is limited to the area directly over
the top of the registration tabs. No portion of a license plate
security cover shall rest over the license plate number.
(g) A casing, shield, frame, border, product, or other device that
obstructs or impairs the reading or recognition of a license plate
by an electronic device operated by state or local law enforcement,
an electronic device operated in connection with a toll road,
high-occupancy toll lane, toll bridge, or other toll facility, or a
remote emission sensing device, as specified in Sections 44081 and
44081.6 of the Health and Safety Code, shall not be installed on, or
affixed to, a vehicle.
(h) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that an accommodation
be made to persons with disabilities and to those persons who
regularly transport persons with disabilities, to allow the removal
and relocation of wheelchair lifts and wheelchair carriers without
the necessity of removing and reattaching the vehicle's rear license
plate. Therefore, it is not a violation of this section if the
reading or recognition of a rear license plate is obstructed or
impaired by a wheelchair lift or wheelchair carrier and all of the
following requirements are met:
(A) The owner of the vehicle has been issued a special
identification license plate pursuant to Section 5007, or the person
using the wheelchair that is carried on the vehicle has been issued a
distinguishing placard under Section 22511.55.
(B) (i) The operator of the vehicle displays a decal, designed and
issued by the department, that contains the license plate number
assigned to the vehicle transporting the wheelchair.
(ii) The decal is displayed on the rear window of the vehicle, in
a location determined by the department, in consultation with the
Department of the California Highway Patrol, so as to be clearly
visible to law enforcement.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a decal is
displayed pursuant to this subdivision, the requirements of this code
that require the illumination of the license plate and the license
plate number do not apply.
(3) The department shall adopt regulations governing the
procedures for accepting and approving applications for decals, and
issuing decals, authorized by this subdivision.
(4) This subdivision does not apply to a front license plate.
SEC. 2. Section 5201.1 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
5201.1. (a) A person shall not sell a product or device that
obscures, or is intended to obscure, the reading or recognition of a
license plate, as prohibited by subdivision (g) of Section 5201.
(b) A conviction for a violation of subdivision (a) is punishable
by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per item sold.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.