BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 49 Page 1 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. AB 49 Page 2 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 AB 49 Page 3 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 AB 49 Page 4 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.) AB 49 Page 5 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. AB 49 Page 6 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 AB 49 Page 7