BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 244 SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: bonilla VERSION: 4/24/13 Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes Hearing date: July 2, 2013 SUBJECT: Veterans license plates DESCRIPTION: This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue license plates in support of U.S. military veterans. ANALYSIS: Existing law requires that, in order to register a vehicle in California, the registered owner pay a registration fee of $46, a $23 surcharge for additional personnel for the California Highway Patrol, various locally-imposed fees, and a vehicle license fee (VLF) equal to 0.65% of a vehicle's value based on purchase price depreciated according to a statutory schedule. The Veterans License Plate In addition, any registered owner of a vehicle may apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for a veterans license plate for his or her vehicle. Veterans plates bear a distinctive design that includes the words "Honoring Veterans" along the bottom of the plate and includes a decal on the left side of the plate for one of over 100 sponsoring veterans' organizations, such as the American Legion, 101st Airborne Division, or the National Guard. Prior to 2010, this plate read "Veteran", rather than "Honoring Veterans" along the bottom. In addition to the above fees, for veterans plates a vehicle owner must pay $50 for the initial issuance of the plates and decals; $78 to personalize the plates (for all other plates the costs of personalization is $98); and $40 annually for each renewal that includes continued display of the plates (whether personalized or not) and decals. AB 244 (BONILLA) Page 2 After paying DMV's costs associated with veterans plates, revenues derived from these fees go to county veterans service offices. State Agency Plates In addition, any state agency, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, may sponsor a special interest license plate, pursuant to AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter 454, Statutes of 2006. Under AB 84, (DMV) may issue new special interest license plates only on behalf of state agencies provided that for each state agency: The license plate has "a design or contains a message that publicizes or promotes a state agency, or the official policy, mission, or work of a state agency." The design shall also be confined to the left of and below the numerical series (i.e., no full plate designs allowed). The state agency submits 7,500 applications and accompanying fees to DMV for the license plate. The state agency has 12 months to collect these applications and fees, but it can extend that to a maximum of 24 months if it notifies and offers to refund fees to those that applied during the first 12 months. Once a plate is issued, DMV stops issuing that plate for the agency if the number of plates drops below 7,500. In addition to the usual registration and license fees, DMV charges the following additional fees for specialized license plates: $50 for the initial issuance, $40 for annual renewal, and $98 to personalize. DMV deducts its administrative costs from the revenues generated. The net revenues derived from a specialized license plate is then available upon appropriation for the sponsoring state agency to expend exclusively on projects and programs that promote the state agency's official policy, mission, or work. A sponsoring state agency may not spend more that 25 percent of its license plate funds for administrative, marketing, and promotional costs associated with the plate, and it must submit an annual accounting report to DMV. This bill : 1.Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to apply to DMV to AB 244 (BONILLA) Page 3 establish a plate pursuant to AB 84 that shall read "Veteran" along the bottom of the plate and include a decal on the left side of the plate for one of over 100 sponsoring veterans' organizations under the existing veterans plate, such as the American Legion, 101st Airborne Division, or the National Guard. 2.Directs the revenues derived from this license plate, after paying DMV's costs, to county veterans service offices. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose . The author notes that from 1993 until 2010, the DMV only offered a "Veterans" specialty license plate. She introduced this bill because when the state changed the message of the veterans plate to "Honoring Veterans," veterans could no longer purchase a license plate that appears to identify them as veterans. Ever since this change occurred, veterans and veterans groups have been asking for a return of the old veterans plate design. This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to reestablish the "veterans" plate. If this bill is signed into law, both the "Honoring Veterans" and "Veterans" plate could be available. Revenues from both plate sales will fund the county veteran service offices. The new plate will help increase funding to these offices to ensure that veterans have access to their guaranteed benefits. 2.History . AB 3033 (Conroy), Chapter 1275, Statutes of 1992, originally created the veterans plate, and subsequent legislation resulted in a license plate that read "Veteran" across the bottom and offered the over 100 different decals to place in the space to the left of the numerical series. In 2011, pursuant to direction contained in AB 1908 (Cook), Chapter 166, Statutes of 2010, DMV issued a new design of the veterans plate that changed the words along the bottom of the plate from "Veteran" to "Honoring Veterans" and thus broadened the appeal of this license plate. In addition, in May 2011 DMV made the veterans plate available on its web site. In less than two years, and likely as a result of these two changes, the total number of veterans plates issued increased to 30,141 - an increase of over 6,000. 3.Not limited to veterans . Neither the existing "Honoring AB 244 (BONILLA) Page 4 Veterans" plate, nor the license plate that this bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish, is restricted to veterans of military service. Any vehicle owners may, simply by paying the extra fees, receive a so-called veterans plate. The premise of this license plate is not the recognition of veterans but support for veterans and of the county offices that provide services to them. 4.Technical amendments . On page 5, line 15, delete "Notwithstanding Section 5155, the" and insert "The" On page 5, line 18, delete the period and insert: ", but notwithstanding Section 5155 the decals shall be identical to those offered pursuant to Section 5068." 1.Committee of second referral . The Rules Committee referred this bill to the Veterans Affairs Committee and to the Transportation and Housing Committee. This bill passed that committee on June 25 by a 7 to 0 vote. Assembly Votes: Floor: 78-0 Appr: 17-0 VA: 7-0 Trans: 16-0 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, June 26, 2013.) SUPPORT: American Legion AMVETS - Department of California California Association of County Veterans Service Officers California Mental Health Directors Association California State Commanders Veterans Council Contra Costa County of Board of Supervisors Rural County Representatives of California VFW, Department of California Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council OPPOSED: None received. AB 244 (BONILLA) Page 5