BILL ANALYSIS SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 88 SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: desaulnier VERSION: 6/29/10 Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes Hearing date: August 18, 2010 SUBJECT: Firefighter license plates DESCRIPTION: This bill increases the fees charged to acquire firefighter license plates. ANALYSIS: Existing law requires that in order to register a vehicle in California, the registered owner pay 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% of a vehicle's value based on purchase price depreciated according to a statutory schedule. Existing law permits a current or retired California firefighter to obtain special firefighter license plates for his or her vehicle. The special plates contain the words "California Firefighter" and require in addition to the above fees that the vehicle owner must pay: $35 for the initial issuance of the plates; $20 annually for each renewal that includes continued display of the plates; $35 to replace the plates if they become damaged; and $15 to transfer the plates to another firefighter-owned vehicle. Revenues derived from these fees go, after paying the Department of Motor Vehicles' (DMV's) costs associated with firefighter plates, to the California Firefighters' Memorial Fund, which existing law allocates to the California Fire Foundation to: SB 88 (DESAULNIER) Page 2 maintain and repair the California Firefighters' Memorial on the grounds of the State Capitol; hold ceremonies to honor the memory of fallen firefighters; and assist the spouses and children of fallen firefighters. Upon the death of the firefighter, if the surviving spouse requests the transfer either within 60 days of the death or upon the expiration of the vehicle registration, whichever occurs first, then DMV must transfer the firefighter license plates to the surviving spouse. If no request is made, then the plates must be returned to DMV. This bill : 1.Makes findings and declarations about the importance of the California Fire Foundation's work and the need for additional funding derived from California firefighter license plates to support the foundation's work. 2.Increases the additional fees for the original issuance of a set of firefighter license plates from $35 to $50 and for the annual renewal of registration for a vehicle with these plates from $20 to $35. 3.Deletes the 60-day time limit for a surviving spouse of a firefighter to request that DMV transfer the firefighter license plates to him or her. 4.Authorizes a surviving member of the deceased firefighter's family to keep one of the special license plates as an heirloom, if there is no surviving spouse or upon death of the surviving spouse. For this purpose, the bill defines "family" as grandparents, stepgrandparents, parents, stepparents, siblings, stepsiblings, children, and stepchildren. 5.Requires, upon the death of the surviving spouse, that the firefighter license plates be either returned to DMV or destroyed. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose . The author notes that the state first launched the firefighter license plate program over a decade ago, but the SB 88 (DESAULNIER) Page 3 associated fees have not increased during that time. These fees support the California Fire Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that the California Professional Firefighters formed in 1987. The foundation provides emergency assistance and support to families of fallen firefighters, built and maintains the California Firefighters Memorial in Capitol Park, and is involved in an array of victim assistance and public education programs. The author reports that over the past decade demand for the services that the foundation renders has increased dramatically. This bill also eliminates the 60-day time limit for a surviving spouse to request that DMV transfer a set of firefighter license plates to his or her name. Given that a surviving spouse's grieving process can often take months or even years, the author argues that it is only appropriate that the 60-day transfer window be eliminated to provide a grieving spouse a reasonable amount of time to initiate the transfer. Committee staff further notes that other transfer of other special license plates, such as those for Purple Heart recipients, include no similar time limit. This bill, therefore, treats surviving spouses of firefighters in the same manner as other groups of surviving spouses when it comes to requesting the transfer of special license plates. 2.Concurrence hearing . When the Senate previously approved this bill, it declared the Legislature's intent to enact statutory changes needed to implement the 2009 Budget Act. Now that the bill is back in the Senate for concurrence, the Senate Rules Committee has referred the bill to this committee under Senate Rule 29.10 in order for the committee to review the amendments taken in the Assembly. For a concurrence hearing such as this, the committee may only take one of two actions: 1) hold the bill or 2) return the bill to the Senate Floor for concurrence in Assembly amendments. Assembly Votes: Floor: 72 - 0 Appr: 17 - 0 Trans: 12 - 0 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on Tuesday, August 17, 2010) SB 88 (DESAULNIER) Page 4 SUPPORT: California Professional Firefighters (sponsor) OPPOSED: None received.