BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1658 (Gatto) - California Legacy License Plate Program.
Amended: August 6, 2012 Policy Vote: T&H 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 6, 2012
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1658 would require the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) to establish the California Legacy License Plate
Program, which provides for the issuance of specialized license
plates that replicate the look of three historic plate designs
issued from 1956 through 1986.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of approximately $385,000 to DMV to
establish a program for each new plate design that meets the
7,500 application threshold by January 1, 2015. These costs
would be fully covered by fees paid in advance by
applicants.
Minor costs of approximately $10,000 in 2013-14 and
approximately $21,000 in 2014-15 to DMV (Motor Vehicle
Account) to establish and administer the application
process, and refund deposits if a plate design fails to meet
the 7,500 application threshold by January 1, 2015.
Unknown, likely minor costs to DMV for marketing the
program (Motor Vehicle Account). Without identified
resources for a full marketing campaign, this would likely
entail posting a link to information about the program on
DMV's website.
Unknown ongoing revenue gains to the extent that a new
plate design meets the minimum application threshold.
Issuance, renewal, and transfer fees in excess of DMV's
initial and ongoing administrative costs would be deposited
into the Environmental License Plate Fund.
AB 1658 (Gatto)
Page 1
Background: Existing law establishes numerous specialized
license plate programs that authorize a vehicle owner to pay
additional registration, renewal, and transfer fees for a
special plate to support various programs. For example, the
additional fees for "whale tail" plates support the California
Coastal Commission's mission to protect and restore the coast
and ocean. Other plate programs support the arts, child
welfare, public safety, conservation, agriculture, and veterans'
programs. Existing law also establishes a "year of manufacture"
license plate program, which authorizes a vehicle owner to use
California license plates from the model year of the vehicle,
upon approval by DMV and payment of additional fees. This
program is available to owners of 1969 model year or older
passenger vehicles or 1972 model year or older commercial
vehicles and pick-up trucks.
For any new specialized plate programs, existing law requires a
state agency to sponsor the program and collect at least 7,500
pre-paid applications. Generally, if the sponsoring agency has
not received 7,500 paid applications within 12 months, DMV may
not implement the program, and the sponsoring agency must refund
application fees. The fees collected on the initial 7,500
applications are sufficient to fully cover DMV's administrative
costs to establish a new specialized license plate program.
Since the 1920s, California has issued license plate designs
with many different character and color combinations. DMV
issued license plates with a yellow background and black
lettering from 1956 through 1962, plates with a black background
and yellow lettering from 1965 through 1968 (and through 1972
for certain trucks), and plates with a blue background and
yellow lettering from 1969 through 1986.
Proposed Law: AB 1658 would establish the California Legacy
License Plate Program and require DMV to issue license plates
that replicate the look of the following plates:
Yellow background with black lettering, similar to
plates issued from 1956 to 1962.
Black background with yellow lettering, similar to
plates issued from 1963 to 1968.
Blue background with yellow lettering, similar to plates
issued from 1969 to 1986.
In addition to regular registration fees, a vehicle owner would
AB 1658 (Gatto)
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pay the following additional fees for legacy plates: $50 for
issuance; $40 for renewal; $15 for transfers; and $35 for
replacement plates. The bill would prohibit DMV from issuing
plates until at least 7,500 paid applications for any one of the
particular plate designs have been received. If the requisite
number of paid applications has not been received by January 1,
2015, DMV would be required to refund any fees and deposits.
The bill would make revenues available for the establishment of
the program, upon appropriation by the Legislature, when DMV
determines that there are sufficient funds for the program.
Revenues derived from the issuance, renewal, transfer, and
substitution of legacy plates will be deposited into the
Environmental License Plate Fund, after deducting DMV's
administrative costs.
Staff Comments: As noted above, existing law requires a state
agency to act as a sponsor for any new specialized license plate
programs. The sponsoring agency administers the collection of
applications and fees, and also a marketing program to attract
interest in the new plate design. AB 1658 does not designate a
sponsoring agency, and instead relies on DMV to administer the
collection of applications and fees, handle any marketing
activities for the program, and refund fees and deposits if a
plate design does not generate 7,500 applications. DMV would
incur administrative costs totaling approximately $31,000 to
handle these activities, which would not be recoverable from
legacy license plate revenues. If the 7,500 paid application
threshold is met, application fees would be sufficient to fully
cover DMV's implementation costs.
AB 1658 would authorize the issuance of license plates that
replicate the look of past plates. To enhance readability for
law enforcement, California law has long required that license
plates meet various specific requirements, such as reflectivity
and font types, that differ from the requirements of the old
plates this bill would replicate. For this reason, it is likely
the plates produced as a result of this bill will differ
considerably from the look of historic plates with similar color
schemes.