BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 498| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 498 Author: Hayashi (D), et al Amended: 8/17/10 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/15/10 AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 11-0, 8/12/10 AYES: Kehoe, Ashburn, Alquist, Corbett, Emmerson, Leno, Price, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-1, 1/27/10 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Veterans organizations license plates SOURCE : Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, to design a veterans license plate for former American prisoners of war (POW) who prefer not to have their former status as a "POW" or Ex-"Prisoner of War" identified. ANALYSIS : Existing law requires that in order to register a vehicle in California, the registered owner pay CONTINUED AB 498 Page 2 a registration fee of $34, a $22 surcharge for additional personnel for the California Highway Patrol, various locally-imposed fees, and a vehicle license fee (VLF) equal to 1.15 percent of a vehicles value based on purchase price depreciated according to a statutory schedule. In addition, any registered owner of a vehicle may apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for veterans license plates for his or her vehicle. Veterans plates bear a distinctive design that includes the word "veteran" along the bottom of the plate and includes a decal on the left side of the plate for one of over 100 sponsoring veterans' organizations, such as the American Legion, 101st Airborne Division, or the National Guard. In addition to the above fees, a vehicle owner must pay $30 annually for veterans plates. Revenues derived from this fee go primarily to county veterans service organizations. Existing law also provides for former American prisoner of war (POW) license plates, which bear a replica of the POW medal and include the letters "POW" followed by four numerical characters. Only former American POWs may receive these plates upon providing DMV with satisfactory proof of former POW status. Existing law exempts vehicles with POW plates from all registration fees and from VLF but limits this exemption to one vehicle owned by the former POW. Also, the vehicle may not be used for transportation for hire, compensation, or profit and must be a passenger motor vehicle, motorcycle, or commercial motor vehicle of less than 8,001 pounds unladen weight. The surviving spouse of a former American POW may retain these plates under the same conditions as the former POW. This bill: 1.Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, to design a veteran's license plate for former American prisoners of war (POW) who prefer not to have their former status as a "POW" or Ex-"Prisoner of War" identified. 2.Specifies this new plate in not intended to prohibit individuals eligible for the current veterans license CONTINUED AB 498 Page 3 plate from selecting it. 3.Provides the design criteria for the new plate as specified. Comments Currently former POWs are eligible for a special license plate, are exempt from registration fees and VLF, and receive their POW plates at no cost in recognition of their status as former POWs. The author's office introduced this bill to allow former American POWs the option to receive instead veterans plates, while preserving their exemption from the fees associated with those plates. The author's office notes that former POWs have a limited selection of license plates to choose from, all of which include the replica of the former POW Medal followed by the letters "POW" and four numbers. The author's office further asserts that while former POWs are proud of their military service, not all are comfortable advertising that they are a former POW. This bill simply allows former POWs the option to order a veterans' organization license plate under the same terms as they receive POW plates. Anyone can order a veterans license plate to show their support of military, the National Guard or reserve service, or California veterans, but they must pay a fee of $30 for a sequentially numbered plate. This bill exempts former POWs from that fee as well. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund DMV administration minor and absorbable costs to Special* Coordinate with others to redesign POW special plates CONTINUED AB 498 Page 4 * Motor Vehicle Account SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/10) Veterans of Foreign Wars (source) San Clemente Ladies Auxiliary 7142 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada NOES: Tom Berryhill NO VOTE RECORDED: Carter, Hall, V. Manuel Perez, Torlakson, Bass JJA:dok 8/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED