BILL NUMBER: AB 244	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bonilla

                        FEBRUARY 6, 2013

   An act to amend Section 5069 of, and to add Section 5068.5 to, the
Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 244, as introduced, Bonilla. Vehicles: license plates:
veterans.
   Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue
special license plates under a special interest license plate
program, as specified, and authorizes organizations, including
veterans' organizations, to participate in that program. Existing law
authorizes any person who is the registered owner or lessee of a
vehicle to apply for a special interest license plate that has a
distinctive design or decal that honors all veterans or veterans who
served in a particular war or armed conflict. Under existing law,
these special interest license plates are subject to fees for
issuance, renewal, or personalization that are additional to those
required for nonspecialized license plates. Existing law requires
that the revenue from those additional fees, less the department's
costs, be deposited in the Veterans Service Office Fund, and further
requires that money in the Veterans Service Office Fund be available,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Veterans
Affairs for allocation and disbursement to counties for the
operation of county veterans service offices.
   This bill would additionally authorize a veterans' organization to
participate in a special interest license plate program to provide
special license plates to veterans of the United States Armed Forces.
The bill would prohibit an applicant from being issued these special
license plates unless he or she establishes, by satisfactory proof,
that he or she is a veteran, except as specified. The bill would
require that these special interest license plates be subject to the
additional fees described above, and that the revenue from those
additional fees, less the department's costs, be deposited in the
Veterans Service Office Fund.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 5068.5 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
   5068.5.  (a) (1) A veterans' organization that meets the minimum
application requirement specified in subdivision (d) of Section 5060
by applying either individually or with other veterans' organizations
shall be issued a license plate bearing a distinctive design or
decal approved under subdivision (a) of Section 5060.
   (2) Special interest license plates issued under this section may
be issued in a combination of numbers or letters, or both, requested
by the owner or lessee of the vehicle, to be displayed in addition to
the design or decal authorized under paragraph (1), subject to
Section 5105.
   (b) (1) The special interest license plates described in this
section shall be issued only to veterans of the United States Armed
Forces. An applicant shall not be issued a special interest license
plate unless he or she establishes, by satisfactory proof, that he or
she is a veteran.
   (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a veteran who was issued a
special license plate pursuant to Section 5068 on or before January
1, 2012, shall be issued a special license plate under this section
without providing proof of his or her veteran status.
   (c) In addition to the regular fees for an original registration,
a renewal of registration, or a transfer of registration, the
following fees shall be paid by individuals applying for a special
interest license plate or a decal issued under this section:
   (1) Fifty dollars ($50) for the initial issuance of the plates and
decals. The plates shall be permanent and shall not be required to
be replaced.
   (2) Forty dollars ($40) for each renewal of registration that
includes the continued display of the plates or decals.
   (3) Fifteen dollars ($15) for transfer of the plates to another
vehicle.
   (4) Thirty-five dollars ($35) for replacement plates, if they
become damaged or unserviceable.
   (5) Ten dollars ($10) for replacement decals, if they become
damaged or unserviceable.
   (6) Seventy-eight dollars ($78) for the personalization of the
plates, as authorized under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
  SEC. 2.  Section 5069 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
   5069.  Revenue derived from the additional special fees provided
in  Section   Sections  5068  and
5068.5  , less costs incurred by the department pursuant to this
article, shall be deposited in the Veterans Service Office Fund,
created by Section 972.2 of the Military and Veterans Code.