BILL ANALYSIS AB 498 Page 1 Date of Hearing: January 11, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Mike Eng, Chair AB 498 (Hayashi) - As Amended: January 4, 2010 SUBJECT : Veterans' license plates SUMMARY : Allows former prisoners of war (POWs) to obtain veterans' license plates without charge. Specifically, this bill : 1)Allows any former American POW who is otherwise eligible for a special interest license plate to instead apply for a veterans' organization license plate and decal and be afforded the same fee exemptions as are granted for POW plates. 2)Allows the surviving spouses of former POWs to retain the veterans' organization plates under the same conditions. EXISTING LAW : 1)Allows persons who are a former American POWs to apply for special license plates containing a replica design of the American Prisoner of War Medal followed by the letters "POW" and four numbers. 2)Requires these plates issued to also contain the words: "Ex-Prisoner of War." 3)Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to reserve and issue the plates only to persons who show by satisfactory proof former POW status. 4)Exempts these plates from the $48 fee normally assessed for issuance of environmental license plates (those where the plates' numbers and letters have been specifically requested by the vehicle owner) as well as the $38 fee normally assessed for the transfer of plates. 5)Exempts POW plates from all vehicle registration fees other than for duplicate plates, cards, certificates. 6)Allows veterans' organization to apply for the issuance of special interest license plates bearing a distinctive design AB 498 Page 2 or decal of their choosing. 7)Allows vehicle owners to be issued these plates upon the payment of both the regular fees for an original registration, a renewal of registration, or a transfer of registration, as well as the payment of additional fees associated with these particular plates. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : According to the author, although former American POWs may obtain special license plate that are exempt from vehicle license and registration fees, they have a limited selection of license plates to choose from, all which include the replica of the Ex-POW Medal followed by the letters "POW" and four numbers. "While ex-POWs are proud of their military service, not all are comfortable advertising that they were a former POW," she reports. As expressed by the author, this bill therefore, "simply allows ex-POWs the option to order a veterans' organization license plate, also known as a Veterans License Plate and still have their license fees waived." There are 1,733 Ex-POW license plates that have been issued, only 862 of which have 2009 registrations, while there are 25,346 veterans' license plates currently in circulation. Fees from the veterans' plates raise funds to support veterans' organizations. In calendar year 2008, the revenues from that program totaled over $600 thousand. Any ex-POWs who chose to obtain a veterans plate rather than a POW plate under this bill (likely a very small number) would not be contributing toward those organizations. DMV's computers are programmed to calculate fees based upon license plate type. Differentiating different vehicle owners displaying veterans' license plates by identifying the subclass of former POWs as being exempt from all fees could require DMV to expend as much as $100 thousand in programming costs and there would probably be some ongoing workload costs as well. Additionally, there are holders of other special military recognition plates (Pearl Harbor, Purple Heart) who might see this as a precedent and then seek the option of obtaining veterans' plates for themselves without charge, further straining DMV resources. AB 498 Page 3 REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Veterans of Foreign Wars (sponsor) Opposition None received Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093