Amended in Assembly April 24, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 244

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

February 6, 2013

An act to amend Section begin delete 5069 end delete begin insert 5156 end insert of begin delete , and to add Section 5068.5 to, end delete the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 244, as amended, Bonilla. Vehicles: license plates: veterans.

Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles begin insert (DMV) end insert 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 begin delete department’s end delete begin insert DMV’s end insert 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.

begin insert

Existing law also establishes a specialized license plate program and requires the DMV to issue specialized license plates to a sponsoring state agency that meets certain requirements. Existing law requires that DMV charge specified additional fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of specialized license plates, and requires that these additional fees, less the DMV’s administrative costs, be deposited in the Specialized License Plate Fund for appropriation and allocation to each sponsoring state agency, as specified.

end insert

This bill would begin delete 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 end delete begin insert require the Department of Veterans Affairs to apply to the DMV to sponsor a veterans specialized license plate, and would require the DMV to issue the veterans specialized license plates if the Department of Veteran’s Affairs meets the above-described requirements. The bill would require that these end insert 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:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 5156 of the end insert begin insert Vehicle Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

5156.  

(a) (1) A state agency may apply to the department to
sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the department
shall issue specialized license plates for that program, if the agency
complies with all of the requirements of this article.

(2) The department shall not issue specialized license plates to
a state agency for a vehicle that is exempt from the payment of
registration fees pursuant to Section 9101 or 9103.

(b) Except as provided in subdivision (d), the department shall
not establish a specialized license plate program for an agency
until the department has received not less than 7,500 applications
for that agency’s specialized license plates. The agency shall collect
and hold applications for the plates. Once the agency has received
at least 7,500 applications, it shall submit the applications, along
with the necessary fees, to the department. The department shall
not issue a specialized license plate until the agency has received
and submitted to the department not less than 7,500 applications
for that particular specialized license plate within the time period
prescribed in this section. Advance payment to the department by
the agency representing the department’s estimated or actual
administrative costs associated with the issuance of a particular
specialized license plate shall not constitute compliance with this
requirement. The agency shall have 12 months, following the date
of approval of the agency’s initial application to sponsor a
specialized license plate program, to receive the required number
of applications. If, after that 12 months, 7,500 applications have
not been received, the agency shall immediately do either of the
following:

(1) Refund to all applicants all fees or deposits that have been
collected.

(2) Contact the department to indicate the agency’s intent to
undertake collection of additional applications and fees or deposits
for an additional period, not to exceed 12 months, in order to obtain
the minimum 7,500 applications. If the agency elects to exercise
the option under this subparagraph, it shall contact each applicant
who has submitted an application with the appropriate fees or
deposits to determine if the applicant wishes a refund of fees or
deposits or requests the continuance of the holding of the
application and fees or deposits until that time that the agency has
received 7,500 applications. The agency shall refund the fees or
deposits to an applicant so requesting. The agency shall not collect
and hold applications for a period exceeding 24 months following
the date of approval of the agency’s initial application to sponsor
a specialized license plate program.

(c) (1) If the number of outstanding and valid specialized license
plates in a particular program, except as provided in subdivision
(d), provided for in this article is less than 7,500, the department
shall notify the sponsoring agency of that fact and shall inform the
agency that if that number is less than 7,500 one year from the
date of that notification, the department will no longer issue or
replace those specialized license plates.

(2) Those particular specialized license plates that were issued
prior to the discontinuation provided by paragraph (1) may continue
to be used and attached to the vehicle for which they were issued
and may be renewed, retained, or transferred pursuant to this code.

(d) (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs may sponsor a Gold
Star Family specialized license plate program and the department
may establish this specialized license plate program in the absence
of 7,500 paid applications as provided in subdivision (d) of Section
5157.

(2) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall, upon receiving
proof of eligibility from an applicant, authorize the department to
issue Gold Star Family specialized license plates for a vehicle
owned by an eligible family member of a member of the Armed
Forces of the United States who was killed in the line of duty while
on active duty during wartime service, or during an international
terrorist attack that has been recognized by the United States
Secretary of Defense as an attack against the United States or a
foreign nation friendly to the United States, or during military
operations while serving outside the United States, including
commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States,
or as part of a peacekeeping force, which includes personnel
assigned to a force engaged in a peacekeeping operation authorized
by the United Nations Security Council. An eligible family member
is defined as all of the following:

(A) A person who is otherwise eligible under this article to
register a motor vehicle.

(B) A person who shows proof from the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense that
the member who was in the Armed Forces of the United States
was killed in the line of duty while on active duty in the military.

(C) A person who bears, and shows proof satisfactory to the
Department of Veterans Affairs of, one of the following
relationships to the member of the Armed Forces killed in the line
of duty while serving on active duty:

(i) Widow.

(ii) Widower.

(iii) Biological parent.

(iv) Adoptive parent.

(v) Stepparent.

(vi) Foster parent in loco parentis.

(vii) Biological child.

(viii) Adoptive child.

(ix) Stepchild.

(x) Sibling.

(xi) Half-sibling.

(xii) Grandparent.

(xiii) Grandchild.

(3) Upon the death of a person issued a Gold Star Family
specialized license plate, the license plate shall be transferred to
the surviving spouse, if he or she requests, or shall be returned to
the department within 60 days after the death of the plateholder
or upon the expiration of the vehicle registration, whichever occurs
first.

begin insert

(e) (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall apply to the
department to sponsor a veterans specialized license plate
program, and the department shall issue license plates for that
program if the Department of Veterans Affairs meets the
requirements prescribed by this section.

end insert begin insert

(2) Notwithstanding Section 5155, the design of the veterans
specialized license plate shall be identical to the design of the
veterans special interest license plate issued pursuant to Section
5068 on or before January 1, 2010.

end insert begin insert

(3) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 5157, revenue
derived from the additional fees prescribed by Section 5157 for
the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the veterans specialized
license plates shall be deposited, after the department deducts its
administrative costs, in the Veterans Service Office Funds, created
by Section 972.2 of the Military and Veterans Code.

end insert

begin delete

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 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.

end delete