BILL NUMBER: AB 498 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 25, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hayashi
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lieu)
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
An act to amend Section 5068 5101.5
of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 498, as amended, Hayashi. Vehicles: special interest license
plates and decals. decals: former American
prisoners of war (POWs).
Existing law authorizes private organizations, including veterans'
organizations, to participate in special interest license plate
programs in which the Department of Motor Vehicles issues license
plates with a participating organization's distinctive design or
decal, and specifies the various fees concerning the issuance,
renewal, registration, and replacement of damaged or unserviceable
plates and decals. Existing law permits an eligible person who is a
former American prisoner of war to apply for special
specially designed license plates for his or her
vehicle that include distinctive lettering indicating "POW" and
"Ex-Prisoner of War" and generally exempts that vehicle from
registration and vehicle license fees (VLF).
This bill would additionally require the department, in
consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans'
service organizations, to design and make available for issuance a
special environmental design license plate for former American
prisoners of war who prefer not to have their former status as a "POW"
or "Ex-Prisoner of War" identified by words or other markings or
symbols. The bill would require specified design criteria for these
special interest license plates.
This bill would authorize a former American prisoner of war (POW)
who is otherwise eligible for a special license plate as a former POW
to apply for a veterans' organization special interest license plate
and decal, would exempt that former POW from the payment of
specified fees under these provisions, and would authorize the
surviving spouse of that former POW to retain the special interest
license plate and decal subject to specified conditions. The bill
would also extend the exemption from the payment of those fees until
the death of the surviving spouse.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) The State of California recognizes the tremendous sacrifices
made by former American prisoners of war (POWs) and the special
significance these veterans hold in American military history. The
Department of Veterans Affairs is the agency tasked to serve
California's veterans and their families by providing advocacy and to
facilitate access to numerous benefits and services available to
veterans, which includes, among other things, certain categories of
veterans' license plates issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
(b) Although ex-POWs are extremely proud of their great sacrifice
to the war effort, it is with deep respect and understanding that the
Legislature acknowledges that due to the experience of being held
captive, there are ex-POWs that appreciate the vehicle registration
fee exemption provided in the Vehicle Code in recognition of their
service, but for personal reasons, would prefer not to have their
ex-POW status displayed on their vehicle license plates.
(c) To this end, the Legislature declares that the Department of
Motor Vehicles, in consultation with the Department of Veterans
Affairs and veterans' service organizations, shall design and make
available for issuance pursuant to Article 8.5 (commencing with
Section 5100) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the Vehicle Code, an
optional environmental license plate or decal for former American
prisoners of war who prefer not to have their former status as
ex-POWs identified by words or other markings or symbols.
SEC. 2. Section 5101.5 of the Vehicle
Code is amended to read:
5101.5. (a) A person otherwise eligible under this article who is
a former American prisoner of war may apply for special license
plates for the vehicle under this article. The special license plates
assigned to the vehicle shall run in a separate numerical series and
contain a replica design of the American Prisoner of War Medal
followed by the letters "POW" and four numbers. The special license
plates issued under this subdivision also shall contain the following
words: "Ex-Prisoner of War." The department shall, pursuant to this
article, reserve and issue the special license plates provided for by
this section only to persons who show by satisfactory proof former
prisoner-of-war status. A person otherwise issued license plates
within this series pursuant to this article prior to January 1, 1982,
may retain them.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department, in
consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans'
service organizations, shall design and make available for issuance
pursuant to this article a special environmental design license plate
for former American prisoners of war who prefer not to have their
former status as a "POW" or "Ex-Prisoner of War" identified by words
or other markings or symbols. This section is not intended to
prohibit individuals eligible for the special license plate from
selecting the existing license plate design specified in subdivision
(a). The design criteria for a special interest license plate
pursuant to this subdivision are as follows:
(1) The license plate for a passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle,
or trailer shall provide a space not larger than two inches by three
inches to the left of the numerical series and a space not larger
than five-eighths of an inch in height below the numerical series for
a distinctive design, decal, or descriptive message as authorized by
this subdivision. The license plates shall be issued in sequential
numerical order or, pursuant to Section 5103, in a combination of
numbers or letters.
(2) The license plate shall not identify "POW" or "Ex-Prisoner of
War" by words or other markings or symbols.
(b)
(c) Special license plates may be issued pursuant to
subdivision (a) only for a vehicle owned or coowned by a former
American prisoner of war.
(c)
(d) Upon the death of a person issued the special
license plates pursuant to this section, his or her surviving spouse
may retain the special license plates subject to the conditions set
forth in this section. If there is no surviving spouse, the special
license plates shall be returned to the department either within 60
days following that death, or upon the expiration date of the vehicle
registration, whichever date occurs first. However, in the absence
of a surviving spouse, a member of the former prisoner of war's
family may retain one of the special license plates as a family
heirloom, subject to the conditions set forth in subdivision
(h) (i) , upon submitting an affidavit to the
department agreeing not to attempt to use the special license plates
for vehicle registration purposes.
(d)
(e) If a surviving spouse who has elected to retain the
special license plates as authorized under subdivision (c)
(d) dies while in possession of the special
license plates, the special license plates shall be returned to the
department either within 60 days following that death, or upon the
expiration date of the vehicle registration, whichever date occurs
first. However, a member of the former prisoner of war's family may
retain one of the special license plates as a family heirloom,
subject to the conditions set forth in subdivision (h)
(i) , upon submitting an affidavit to the
department agreeing not to attempt to use the special license plates
for vehicle registration purposes.
(e)
(f) A vehicle exempted from fees by Section 9105 and by
Section 10783 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall lose the
exemption upon the death of the former American prisoner of war,
except that if a surviving spouse elects to retain the special
license plates as authorized under subdivision (c)
(d) , the exemption pursuant to Section 9105, and Section
10783.2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, shall extend until the
death of that spouse.
(f)
(g) Sections 5106 and 5108 do not apply to this
section.
(g)
(h) The department shall recall all former
prisoner-of-war special license plates issued pursuant to this
section prior to January 1, 1999, and shall issue to the holder of
those special license plates, without charge, the revised special
license plates authorized by this section.
(h)
(i) The special license plates issued under this
section are not valid for use for vehicle registration purposes or
for the purposes of Section 9105 or Section 10783 or 10783.2 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code by a person other than the person issued
the special license plates under subdivision (a) and the surviving
spouse of that person.
(i)
(j) For the purposes of this section,
"family" means grandparents, stepgrandparents, parents, stepparents,
siblings, stepsiblings, children, and stepchildren of the person
issued the special license plates under subdivision (a).
SECTION 1. Section 5068 of the Vehicle Code is
amended to read:
5068. (a) (1) A veterans' organization may apply either
individually or with other veterans' organizations to meet the
application threshold set forth in Section 5060 for special interest
plates. An organization that meets the minimum application
requirement by applying with other organizations under this
subdivision shall be issued a regular license plate bearing a
distinctive design or decal approved under subdivision (a) of Section
5060.
(2) Special interest plates issued under this section may be
issued in a combination of numbers or letters, or both, requested by
the owner or lessee of the vehicle, to be displayed in addition to
the design or decal authorized under paragraph (1), subject to
Section 5105.
(b) In addition to the regular fees for an original registration,
a renewal of registration, or a transfer of registration, the
following fees shall be paid by individuals applying for a veterans'
organization special interest license plate or decal:
(1) Thirty dollars ($30) for the initial issuance of the plates
and decals. The plates shall be permanent and may not be required to
be replaced.
(2) Thirty dollars ($30) for each renewal of registration that
includes the continued display of the plates or decals.
(3) Fifteen dollars ($15) for transfer of the plates to another
vehicle.
(4) Thirty-five dollars ($35) for replacement plates, if they
become damaged or unserviceable.
(5) Ten dollars ($10) for replacement decals, if they become
damaged or unserviceable.
(6) Forty dollars ($40) for the personalization of the plates, as
authorized under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(c) A former American prisoner of war who is otherwise eligible
for a special license plate pursuant to Section 5101.5 may apply for
a veterans' organization special interest license plate and decal in
lieu of the special license plate issued pursuant to Section 5101.5
and shall be exempt from the payment of fees pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 9105, the fees required under subdivision (b), and the
license fee pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10783 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code. The surviving spouse of the former
American prisoner of war may retain the special interest license
plate and decal issued under this section and is subject to the
conditions set forth in Section 5101.5. The exemptions from fees
provided in this subdivision shall extend until the death of the
surviving spouse.