BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 49
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Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 49 (Buchanan) - As Amended: April 18, 2013
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:16-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
to apply to the DMV to sponsor a breast cancer awareness license
plate program. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires, contrary to current law, that the license plates
bear a full-plate graphic, rather than cover only a two-inch
by three-inch area of the license plate, and specifies a pink
background and pink breast cancer awareness ribbon. The
design must be approved by DHCS and done in consultation with
the CHP, to ensure readability of the license plate.
2)Stipulates that, after deducting for DMV administrative costs,
license plate revenues shall be deposited into the Breast
Cancer Control Account, which provides early breast cancer
detection services for uninsured and underinsured women.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential one-time special fund costs of approximately
$400,000 to DMV to establish the breast cancer awareness
license plate program, including computer programming changes
and updating of forms. Pursuant to current law, DMV will make
computer programming and form changes only after program
applications meet the 7,500-application threshold. Given the
widespread awareness of and interest in breast cancer
prevention, this threshold is likely to be surpassed. The DMV
will incur minor ongoing costs to continue issuing specialty
license plates and renewals under the program. All of the DMV
initial and ongoing costs will be covered by a portion of the
additional $50 fee paid for specialized license plates.
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2)Minor costs to DHCS to submit the program application and
license prototype to DMV, design and print the license plate
application, and collect and hold applications and fees until
7,500 applications are received. It is expected that the
department will receive assistance with these activities from
nonprofit organizations interested in this program. The
department's costs will eventually be recovered assuming
sufficient participation in the program.
3)Potential ongoing additional revenue to the Breast Cancer
Control Account, depending on the number of participants in
the license plate program. According to the Governor's budget,
this account will have expenditures totaling about $11.3
million in 2012-13.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . Breast cancer is the second most common cancer (after
skin cancer) among American women. About one in eight women in
this country will develop invasive breast cancer during their
lifetime. Annual screenings and mammograms help women detect a
cancer early so they can seek treatment. The additional
revenues generated through the specialized license plate
program authorized in AB 49 are intended to supplement the
Every Woman Counts Program, which provides free and low-cost
breast screenings and mammograms to women throughout
California.
2)Specialized License Plates . 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. Pursuant to AB 84 (Leslie)/ Chapter 91 of
2006, the DMV will issue specialized license plates when
sponsored by a state agency, the plate's message and resulting
revenues support that agency's program, and at least 7,500
paid license applications have been received. The
7,500-application threshold attempts to assure that DMV's
startup costs are fully covered, by the portion of the
registration fee surcharge directed to the department, and to
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avoid a proliferation of different types of plates, which can
be troublesome from a law enforcement perspective.
3)Design . AB 84 of 2006 also limited the distinctive feature of
a specialized license plate to a two-inch by three inch area,
whereas AB 49 requires a full-plate design. The author is
concerned that a more limiting design will make it more
difficult to reach the 7,500-application threshold.
4)Prior Legislation . As described above, AB 49 is contrary to
certain parameters of AB 84, which as discussed above, was
enacted in response to a federal court decision. Nevertheless,
AB 49 does mirror provisions of SB 1018 (Senate Budget and
Fiscal Review)-a trailer bill to the 2012-13 Budget Act-which
requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to apply to
DMV for a full-plate design specialty license plate for
preservation and restoration of state parks.
5)Related Legislation . AB 482 (Atkins), also on today's
committee agenda, requires the California Cultural and
Historical Endowment to apply to DMV for a specialized license
plate to fund a program providing grants for small projects at
the state's museums.
AB 1096 (Nestande), pending in Assembly Transportation,
authorizes the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority to apply to
the DMV for a specialized license plate bearing.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081