BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 610
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Date of Hearing: April 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 610 (Solorio) - As Introduced: February 16, 2011
SUBJECT : Specialized license plates
SUMMARY : Reduces, under certain conditions, the minimum number
of applications for the establishment of a specialized license
plate to 2,500, from the current 7,500. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Allows a state agency to sponsor a specialized license plate
in the absence of 7,500 paid applications if the conditions
described below are met.
2)Prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) from
establishing a specialized license plate program for a state
agency until DMV has received at least 2,500 paid applications
for that agency's specialized license plates.
3)Specifies that advance payment to DMV of DMV's program costs
by the agency sponsoring the plate may not constitute
compliance with the 2,500 application requirement.
4)Allows the sponsoring agency to actively request and receive
donations for the specialized license plate program, which may
consist of donations from public and private entities for
deposit into the Specialized License Plate Fund.
5)Requires earnings generated from donations to be retained for
the prospective specialized license plate program.
6)Allows funds to be appropriated to DMV by the Legislature for
the necessary administrative costs of establishing the
specialized license plate program, upon DMV's determination
that there are sufficient funds for the prospective
specialized license plate.
7)Grants the sponsoring agency 12 months, following the date of
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approval of the agency's initial application to sponsor a
specialized license plate program, to receive the required
number of applications.
8)Allows the agency to either refund the fees or collect paid
applications for an additional 12 months if it is unable to
meet the 2,500 application standard within the first 12
months. If, after 24 months, the 2,500 application standard
still has not been met, all application fees must be refunded.
9)Discontinues the issuance of a specialized plate approved
under this process if its population falls below 2,500 for one
year but allows those plates that have already been issued to
continue to be used.
10)Requires, for full-plate graphic design plates, an additional
$50 fee for original issuance, a $40 fee for renewal, a $15
fee for transfer, and a $35 fee for a substitute plate.
11)Requires the full-plate graphic design to be significantly
related to the sponsoring agency and to be approved by DMV in
consultation with the sponsoring agency and the California
Highway Patrol (CHP).
12)Requires the revenues collected from the additional fees to
be allocated to the sponsoring agency for expenditure
exclusively for projects and programs that promote the
agency's official policy, mission or work.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows any state agency to apply to DMV to sponsor a
specialized license plate program.
2)Requires DMV to issue specialized license plates for that
program, if the agency complies with all statutory
requirements.
3)Prohibits DMV from establishing a specialized license plate
program for an agency until it has received not less than
7,500 paid applications for that agency's specialized license
plates.
4)Requires the agency to collect and hold applications for the
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plates. Once the agency has received at least 7,500
applications, it must submit the applications, along with the
necessary fees, to DMV.
5)Prohibits advance payment to DMV of its estimated or actual
administrative costs associated with the issuance of a
particular specialized license plate from constituting
compliance with the 7,500 application threshold requirement.
6)Requires funds accruing to a sponsoring state agency from the
sale of specialized license plates to be expended exclusively
for projects and programs that promote that agency's official
policy, mission or work.
7)Allows specialized license plates to feature a distinctive
design, decal, or distinctive message in a two-inch by
three-inch space to the left of the plate's numerical sequence
and a space not larger than 5/8 inch in height below the
numerical series.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. DMV estimates the start-up cost for
establishing a new license plate to be approximately $400,000.
COMMENTS : Prior to 2007, any new special interest license plate
required specific legislative authorization. This practice was
held to be unconstitutional in that the Legislature approved
some of the plates, and rejected others, using no standardized
or objective criteria for those decisions. Subsequently, as a
result of AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter 91, Statutes of 2006, an
administrative process has been established wherein DMV will
issue specialized license plates when they are sponsored by a
state agency, the plate's message and the revenues it generates
support that agency's program, and at least 7,500 paid
applications have been received. The 7,500-application
threshold was previously put into statute for special interest
license plates and was arrived at in an attempt to assure that
DMV's startup costs would be fully covered by the portion of the
registration fee surcharge that is directed to the department
and to avoid a proliferation of different types of plates, which
can be troublesome from a law enforcement perspective.
The author of this bill asserts that the 7,500 application
requirement sets "a very high threshold for pre-orders." He
complains that this, and another change enacted in 2006
prohibiting full-plate graphics (also important to law
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enforcement), has resulted in "no new plates (having) been
issued, even though numerous nonprofits have attempted to create
new special-interest license plates." He goes on to point out
that "specialty license plates bring additional revenue to the
DMV, while providing a funding source for various nonprofit
charities."
This bill is supported by a number of animal welfare advocates
who are desirous of establishing a Pet Lover's Plate that can
raise funds to support spay and neuter programs. They feel the
2,500 application standard and the ban on full plate graphics to
be overly burdensome and see this bill as a means of boosting
the prospects of obtaining this new plate. While relaxing these
restrictions will surely make it easier to establish Pet Lover's
plates, and perhaps numerous others as well, it may do so at the
cost of making it more difficult for law enforcement to obtain
the information they need when trying to identify a vehicle that
is being pursued.
Legislative history : AB 1815 (Emmerson) of 2010, would have
allowed the establishment of a NASCAR plate, with the proceeds
benefitting the Bureau of Automotive Repair's vehicle repair and
retirement program. That bill passed the Assembly but died in
the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing without being
heard.
Suggested committee amendment : While this bill's proposed
relaxation of the current 7,500 application standard might
result in an increase in the variety of plates that would not be
favored by law enforcement, its relaxation of restrictions on
the graphics displayed by these plates is likely more
problematic for law enforcement. The committee may wish to
consider removing that provision from the bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association
Pam Slater-Price, San Diego County Supervisor
PAW - PAC
Social Compassion in Legislation
TakeMeHome Animal Rescue
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093