BILL NUMBER: AB 1135	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to amend Section 4602 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1135, as introduced, Skinner. Vehicles: registration renewal.
   Existing law requires an owner of a vehicle to submit an
application for renewal of a vehicle registration to the Department
of Motor Vehicles no later than midnight of the expiration date.
   This bill would require the owner of a vehicle, upon application
for renewal of a vehicle registration, to report the current odometer
reading of the vehicle. The bill would require that information,
except for the name of the vehicle owner, to be public information.
   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) To assist in achieving California's climate change policy
objectives as these relate to the state's transportation planning
goals, it is evident that better information about greenhouse gas
emissions from motor vehicles will be essential.
   (b) The current use of estimates and models for measuring the
miles driven and the resulting emissions from those miles driven have
been historically useful, but are considered generally inadequate
for providing the specific transportation needs of the future.
   (c) More accurate data about vehicle-miles-traveled--the mileage
driven annually by Californians--would provide essential information
to guide local transportation and land use planning. Location of
transit corridor improvements, light rail, bicycle paths, and
high-occupancy freeway lanes now depend on the estimates done by
various state agencies, but all of these projects would benefit from
more accurate data. Better data would also provide more consistent
local and statewide estimates for transportation planning, city
planning, and air quality planning efforts. The data would be
essential in establishing long-term, historical trends in vehicle
use, traffic congestion, energy consumption, and air quality
measures, including ozone precursor pollutants and greenhouse gases.
   (d) Mobile source emissions estimates would be improved due to the
detailed information on vehicle-miles traveled by vehicle age. Newer
vehicles tend to be cleaner, yet are driven more than older
vehicles. This data would be of critical importance to the State Air
Resources Board and local air districts in monitoring fleet turnover,
and the efficacy of tailpipe controls in reducing criteria
pollutants and greenhouse gases.
   (e) Transportation planning models would be improved due to
detailed information on vehicle-miles traveled by neighborhood for
each registered vehicle. Vehicles owned by urban households tend to
be driven less than vehicles owned in suburban and rural
neighborhoods. This consistent statewide database would be critical
in identifying trends in vehicle usage in the rural, suburban, and
urban neighborhoods in California.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4602 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
   4602.   (a)    Application for renewal of a
vehicle registration shall be made by the owner not later than
midnight of the expiration date, and shall be made by presentation of
the registration card last issued for the vehicle or by presentation
of a potential registration card issued by the department for use at
the time of renewal and by payment of the full registration year fee
for the vehicle  as provided in this code  . If the
registration card and potential registration card are unavailable, a
fee as specified in Section 9265 shall not be paid. 
   (b) At the time of application for renewal of a vehicle
registration, the owner shall report the current odometer reading.
This information, except for the name of the vehicle owner, shall be
public information.