BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 49 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 49 (Buchanan) As Amended April 18, 2013 Majority vote TRANSPORTATION 16-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Gordon, Linder, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, | | |Achadjian, Ammiano, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |Blumenfield, Bonta, | |Calderon, Campos, | | |Buchanan, Daly, Frazier, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, | | |Gatto, Holden, Logue, | |Hall, Ammiano, Linder, | | |Morrell, Nazarian, | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber | | |Patterson, Quirk-Silva | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 include a pink background and the pink breast cancer awareness ribbon, as approved by DHCS. 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. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: AB 49 Page 2 1)Potential one-time special fund costs of approximately $400,000 to DMV to establish the breast cancer awareness license plate 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. 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 DHCS will receive assistance with these activities from nonprofit organizations interested in this program. DHCS'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. 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 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. AB 49 Page 3 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. Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN: 0000820