BILL ANALYSIS �
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