BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1855| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ CONSENT Bill No: AB 1855 Author: Yamada (D) Amended: 4/20/10 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 8-0, 6/15/10 AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/13/10 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Disabled parking placards SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to advise an applicant for a disabled parking placard of the procedures to apply for a disabled or disabled veteran license plate and for the registration fee and vehicle license fee exemptions available to disabled veterans. ANALYSIS : Existing law allows a person with disabilities or a disabled veteran to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) either for a special license plate or parking placard that entitles the person to park free and for unlimited time periods in disabled parking spaces, at CONTINUED AB 1855 Page 2 parking meters, in time-limited spaces, and in permit parking zones. A disabled veteran is also exempt from paying registration fees and vehicle license fee (VLF) on a vehicle. This bill: 1.Requires DMV to advise an applicant for a disabled parking placard of the procedure to apply for a disabled or disabled veteran license plate and to apply for the registration fee and VLF exemptions available to disabled veterans. The DMV shall include this information on the application for a disabled parking placard itself. 2.Contains double-jointing language with AB 1944 (Fletcher) and SB 1318 (Senate Transportation and Housing Committee). Comments DMV's procedures for the issuance and renewal of disabled placards and plates require persons with disabilities to complete an "Application for Disabled Person Placard or Plates." In order to qualify for a waiver from registration fees and VLF, a permanently disabled veteran must also complete a "Miscellaneous Certifications" form. According to the author, the problem is that the Application for Disabled Person Placard or Plates does not direct a permanently disabled veteran to the Miscellaneous Certifications form and that DMV personnel do not ask an applicant if he or she is a veteran. In addition, DMV's website has the forms in two completely separate places, and the title of the Miscellaneous Certifications form does not make clear that it relates to a fee exemption for disabled veterans. As a result, many veterans miss out on the registration fee and VLF exemptions. This bill is intended to help disabled veterans locate the necessary form and obtain the registration fee and VLF exemptions to which they are entitled. Related Legislation SB 1318 (Transportation and Housing Committee), among other CONTINUED AB 1855 Page 3 things, allows a driver to display a disabled parking placard by inserting it in a clip installed by the manufacturer for that purpose, as opposed to just from the rearview mirror or on the dashboard. AB 1944 (Fletcher) establishes new requirements for the issuance of a disabled veteran license plate. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter, 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, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Caballero, Norby, Skinner JA:nl 6/29/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED **** END **** CONTINUED