BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 49
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          Date of Hearing:   April 15, 2013

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                             Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
                   AB 49 (Buchanan) - As Amended:  April 8, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :  Breast cancer awareness: specialty license plate

           SUMMARY  :  Requires the California Department of Health Care  
          Services (DHCS) to apply to the California Department of  
          Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a breast cancer awareness,  
          full-plate graphic license plate.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Requires DHCS to apply to DMV to sponsor a breast cancer  
            awareness specialty license plate;  

          2)Requires DMV to issue the license plates provided that the  
            existing requirements of the specialty license plate  
            program are met, with an exception for a full-plate graphic  
            design;  

          3)Requires the breast cancer awareness license plates to bear  
            a full-plate graphic design that DMV determines, in  
            consultation with the Department of the California Highway  
            Patrol (CHP), does not obscure the readability of the  
            license plate;  

          4)Requires that the plate depict a pink background and the  
            pink breast cancer awareness ribbon, as approved by DHCS;  
            and,  

          5)Requires the revenue generated from the additional fees for  
            the specialty license plates be deposited, after DMV  
            deducts its administrative costs, in the Breast Cancer  
            Control Account in the Breast Cancer Fund.  

           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.  








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          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 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.  

          8)Establishes the Breast Cancer Control Account in the Breast  
            Cancer Fund, and requires that funds in that account, upon  
            appropriation by the Legislature, be allocated for the  
            provision of early breast cancer detection services for  
            uninsured and underinsured women.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :  Prior to 2007, any new special interest license  
          plate required specific legislative authorization.  That  
          practice was held to be unconstitutional by the federal  
          courts in that the Legislature approved some of the plates  
          and rejected others, while using no standardized or objective  
          criteria for those decisions.  In response to the court  
          decision,      AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter 454, Statutes of 2006,  
          established the current specialized license plate program to  








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          provide a forum for government speech that promotes  
          California's state policies.  AB 84 excludes private  
          organizations from seeking specialized license plates as a  
          forum for private speech, and thus addresses the court's  
          objection.  Plates now created and the revenue they generate  
          must publicize or promote a state agency, or the official  
          policy, mission, or work of a state agency.  Furthermore, the  
          process requires that at least 7,500 paid applications must  
          be received by the state agency prior to notifying DMV.  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 DMV and to avoid a proliferation of different  
          types of plates, which can be troublesome from a law  
          enforcement perspective.  

          Although this bill purports to comply with the administrative  
          processes for the adoption of specialty license plates as  
          administered by DMV, this bill would essentially establish a  
          parallel AB 84 process that includes a specific exception to  
          the prohibition of full-plate graphic design license plates.   
          Further, this bill would put the Legislature back in the  
          business of picking and choosing specific license plate  
          messages, promoting the message of some organizations while  
          denying this right to others, an activity the courts have  
          frowned upon.  

          In justifying the need for this bill, the author intends to  
          create a new pink breast cancer awareness license plate  
          basically utilizing the existing specialized license plate  
          program requirements established in law and administered by  
          DMV while, at the same time, requiring the plate to have a  
          full-plate graphic design upon the concurrent approval of DMV  
          and CHP.  

           Senate Resolution 43(Kopp)  :  The Senate Transportation  
          Committee approved a legislative resolution in 1994, SR 43,  
          which established a task force consisting of representatives  
          from DMV, CHP, and local governments, to examine the issue of  
          readability of the specialty license plates and the impact on  
          vehicle identification and safety.  In response to the  
          resolution and contained within its report to the  
          Legislature, the task force made the following  








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          recommendations:  

            "The Department of Motor Vehicles should maintain the  
            current standard plate designs and configurations.  There  
            should be no further authorization of additional special  
            interest license plates.  The task force concluded,  
            however, that if the Legislature determined there is a  
            compelling need to approve additional special interest  
            plates, "it should rigorously adhere to the design criteria  
            (prescribed in Vehicle Code  Sec. 5060, such as the license  
            plate shall be in a space not larger than 2 inches by 3  
            inches to the left of the numerical series and a space not  
            larger than five-eighths of an inch in height below the  
            numerical series for a distinctive design, decal, or  
            descriptive message to facilitate plate identification by  
            law  enforcement," including not authorizing any license  
            plates with a full-plate graphic configuration."  

           Committee concern  :  This bill is troubling in that it would  
          insert the Legislature back into the process of picking and  
          choosing what messages are appropriate for public display on  
          vehicle license plates as proposed by private organizations.   
          Allowing this bill to move forward without substantive  
          changes will promote, in essence, the message of some  
          organizations while denying this right to others, in conflict  
          with the federal court ruling on this matter.  

          The author, however, indicates that the requirement to keep  
          the message within a 2 by 3 inch space on the license plate  
          is problematic, contending that this discourages the ability  
          of sponsors to meet the 7,500 person threshold requirement in  
          order for the specialized license plates to be manufactured.   
          The author believes that allowing a full-plate graphic  
          design, similar to that provided in legislation enacted last  
          year, SB 1018 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee),  
          Chapter 39, Statutes of 2012, will entice more people to  
          apply for the specialized license plate.  (SB 1018 authorizes  
          DMV to issue new special interest license plates on behalf of  
          the State Department of Parks and Recreation with a  
          full-plate graphic design that will not obscure the  
          readability of the license plate, as jointly determined by  
          DMV and CHP.  These provisions were enacted as part of the  
          budget package and were not considered in legislative policy  
          committees.)  








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          Should the committee wish to provide for the proposed  
          full-plate design, despite the stated concerns, then this  
          bill should be amended to delete any references to a specific  
          cancer awareness license plate and instead, authorize  
          full-plate designs as a part of the existing administrative  
          process and grant CHP and DMV approval authority over the  
          design.  In this way, the bill will no longer run afoul of  
          First Amendment's concerns and issues related to readability  
          and enforcement can still be appropriately addressed.  
           
          Related bills  :  AB 244 (Bonilla) of 2013, would require proof  
          of veteran's status in order to apply for specialized  
          veterans' license plates.  That bill is scheduled to be heard  
          by this committee next week.  

          AB 482 (Atkins) of 2013, would require the California  
          Cultural and Historical Endowment, if it creates a  
          competitive grant program in support of small capital  
          projects, to apply to DMV before October 1, 2013, for the  
          purpose of creating a specialized license plate program using  
          the cartoon character Snoopy.  That bill was heard in the  
          Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism & Internet  
          Committee on April 9, 2013 (4-2 vote).   

          AB 853 (Brown and Linder) of 2013, would authorize CHP to  
          apply to DMV to sponsor a
          program for a series of motorsports and auto-enthusiast  
          themed license plates.  That bill is now a two-year bill at  
          the request of the author.  

          AB 1096 (Nestande) of 2013, would require DMV, in  
          consultation with the Salton Sea
          Joint Powers Authority, to design and make available a Salton  
          Sea environmental special interest license plate bearing a  
          full-plate graphic design.  That bill is to be heard in this  
          committee on April 22, 2013.  

          SB 789 (Price) of 2013, would authorize the California Arts  
          Council to use funds generated by specialized license plate  
          applications for administrative purposes that is currently  
          prohibited.  That bill was set for hearing in the Senate  
          Transportation and Housing Committee on April 16, 2013, but  
          was cancelled at the request of the author.  








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          AB 610 (Solorio) Chapter 9, Statutes of 2012, allows the  
          Veterinary Medical Board an additional 12 months to  
          accumulate the required 7,500 applications for the  
          establishment of a Pet Lover's specialized license plate.  

          AB 1242 (Achadjian) of 2012, would have authorized the  
          Foundation for California Community Colleges to apply to DMV  
          to sponsor specialized license plates for the National  
          Association for stock car Auto Racing (NASCAR).  That bill  
          was not heard by this committee at the request of the author.  
           

          AB 1539 (Hayashi) of 2012, would have authorized an  
          anti-bullying license plate program in support of persons who  
          are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender  
          community.  That bill was not heard by this committee at the  
          request of the author.  

          SB 1018 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter  
          39, Statutes of 2012, among other provisions of the budget  
          trailer bill, authorizes DMV, in consultation with the  
          California Department of Parks and Recreation, to design and  
          make available for issuance special state parks environmental  
          license plates bearing a full-plate graphic design.  That  
          bill was not heard in this committee.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Junior League State Public Affairs Committee
          California Affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure 

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :   Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 












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