BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1658
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1658 (Gatto)
As Amended August 6, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(May 30, 2012) |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 13, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Establishes a California Legacy License Plate Program.
The Senate amendments :
1)Describe, more specifically the timeframes during which
various color combinations were previously used on California
license plates.
2)Provide an additional 12 months - until January 1, 2015 - for
applicants to amass the required minimum number of
applications in order to activate the program.
3)Specify that the 7,500 minimum application threshold in order
to activate the program applies individually to each of the
three types of license plates authorized by the bill (yellow
background with black lettering, black background with yellow
lettering, and blue background with yellow lettering).
4)Add coauthors.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows a state agency to apply to the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a specialized license plate program
that DMV may not establish until it has received at least
7,500 applications for that agency's proposed plates. A
sponsoring agency is allowed 12 months, following the date of
approval of its initial application to sponsor a specialized
license plate, to receive the required number of applications.
2)Allows an owner of a vehicle that is a 1969 or older
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model-year vehicle or the owner of a commercial vehicle or a
pickup truck that is a 1972 or older model-year to utilize
California license plates from the year corresponding to the
model-year date when the vehicle was manufactured, if the
model-year date license plate is legible and serviceable, as
determined by DMV, in lieu of the license plates that would
otherwise be required.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Required DMV to establish a California Legacy License Plate
Program and create and issue a series of specialized license
plates known as California Legacy License Plates that
replicate the look of California license plates from the
state's past.
2)Required the plates' designs to be identical to a regular
license plate to the extent feasible, except for consisting of
one or more of the following designs:
a) Yellow background with black lettering per the
appearance of California license plates issued by DMV in
the 1950s;
b) Black background with yellow lettering per the
appearance of California license plates issued by DMV in
the 1960s; and,
c) Blue background with yellow lettering per the appearance
of California license plates issued by DMV in the 1980s.
1)Levied for these plates, in addition to the regular fees for
an original registration or renewal of registration, a fee of
$50 for the original issuance of the plates, $40 for
registration renewal, $15 for transfer of the plates to
another vehicle, and $35 for each substitute replacement
plate.
2)Prohibited DMV from issuing a California Legacy License Plate
for a vehicle that is exempt from the payment of registration
fees.
3)Prohibited DMV from establishing the California Legacy License
Plate Program until it has received not less than 7,500 paid
applications for plates.
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4)Required DMV to collect and hold applications for the plates
and to issue them after it has received not less than 7,500
paid applications for the particular plates by January 1,
2014. If, after that date, 7,500 paid applications have not
been received, DMV must immediately refund to all applicants
all fees or deposits that have been collected.
5)Made moneys available, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
to DMV for the necessary administrative costs of establishing
the California Legacy License Plate Program upon determination
by DMV that there are sufficient funds for the program.
6)Required DMV, after deducting its administrative costs, to
deposit any additional revenue derived from the issuance,
renewal, transfer, and substitution of the specialized license
plates into the California Environmental License Plate (ELP)
Fund, for appropriation by the Legislature pursuant to
existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, there will be:
1)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.
2)Minor costs of approximately $10,000 in 2013-14 and
approximately $21,000 in 2014-15 to DMV 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.
3)Unknown, likely minor costs to DMV for marketing the program.
Without identified resources for a full marketing campaign,
this would likely entail posting a link to information about
the program on DMV's Web site.
4)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 ELP
Fund.
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5)Potential ongoing annual revenue of an unknown, but minor
amount, to the ELP Fund.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill is intended to
recreate license plates "that replicate the look of plates from
the state's past. It seeks to mirror the retro trend in the
auto industry where companies have produced autos that pay
homage to vehicle designs of the past, as well as companies that
have revived old models that feature modern takes on vintage
designs."
This bill would require DMV, upon receiving at least 7,500 paid
applications, to produce and issue new license plates that allow
consumers to choosing from classic designs from the 1950s/1960s
(black lettering on yellow background or yellow lettering on
black background) and 1970s/1980s (yellow lettering on blue
background).
The author adds, "In addition to giving consumers new options on
what sort of license plate to use on their vehicles, it would
provide classic car collectors a risk-free way to acquire plates
that match the vintage of their vehicles. Currently, classic
car owners can 'revive' old plates that match the vintage of
their vehicle. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous sellers of
these 'vintage' license plates who pass off counterfeit
reproductions as genuine 'vintage' plates. The Legacy License
Plate Series would let collectors an opportunity, if they
choose, to put plates on their vehicles that match the era of
their vehicle without fear of being sold fake plates."
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0004580