BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 443
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Date of Hearing: April 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 443 (Lowenthal) - As Amended: April 4, 2013
SUBJECT : Vehicles: delinquent parking violations
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
collect all unpaid parking citations from a vehicle owner before
title of the vehicle can be transferred to a family member using
the DMV's "family transfer" process.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes DMV to collect delinquent parking citation
penalties on behalf of the local jurisdiction that issued
them.
2)Requires DMV to notify the jurisdiction that issued the
citation that DMV will not collect unpaid fines if the
vehicle's title is transferred or not renewed for two renewal
periods, making collection of unpaid citations after a
vehicle's title transfer the responsibility of the local
jurisdiction.
3)Authorizes DMV to conduct a "family transfer" of a vehicle's
title between family members (between spouses, parents and
child, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings, and domestic
partners) upon the receipt of an appropriately completed and
signed California Certificate of Title, completed statement of
fact for use tax and smog certification exemption, and a fee
of $15.
4)Exempts "family transfer" of title transactions from use tax,
license fees, and smog certification requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Family Transfer of Title Process :
Existing law authorizes DMV to keep a record of delinquent
parking citations associated with a vehicle and to collect the
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unpaid citations from the vehicle's owner before the vehicle can
be re-registered. AB 2401 (Karnette) Chapter 741, Statutes of
2008, specified that if a vehicle's title is transferred to a
new owner, DMV is required to return the citations to the
jurisdiction that issued them. Once the citations are returned,
it becomes the responsibility of that jurisdiction to follow up
on collections using another collection method. When DMV
removes the record of delinquent citations, the vehicle's title
is effectively "washed" and the former citations are no longer
associated with the vehicle's title and no longer show up on
DMV's records. This prevents the new owner from being burdened
with citations issued to the vehicle's previous owner.
Existing law requires the person selling a car to obtain a smog
certification (to show that vehicle meets California emissions
requirements) and the buyer to pay use tax and license fees. If
the vehicle is being transferred between family members,
however, a family transfer of title process can be utilized
which costs $15 and exempts the parties from use tax and license
fees and the requirement for to obtain a smog certification. To
qualify for a family transfer, a vehicle's title must be
transferred to a family member that is in a direct, lineal
family relationship this includes transfers between spouses,
parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, minor
siblings, and domestic partners.
Scofflaws have discovered that they can use the family transfer
process as a low-cost way to erase DMV's record of delinquent
citations from a vehicle's record thus allowing them to
re-register the vehicle and not have to pay the delinquent
citations. Audits conducted by the City of Long Beach show that
an overwhelming number of vehicles with unpaid parking citations
in their jurisdiction do not reflect the current vehicle owner,
indicating that ownership transfers are frequently used to avoid
payment. Additionally, the City of Long Beach has found that of
the top twenty-five scofflaws in their system, all had sold,
transferred, or were otherwise released from liability, thus
avoiding DMV's collections process.
While this bill does not eliminate the possibility that
individuals will sell a vehicle to an unsuspecting buyer to
remove delinquent citations from a vehicle's title, it does
eliminate the opportunity for scofflaws to use the family
transfer process as a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to get
out of paying their parking tickets. It could be argued that
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requiring parking citations to be paid in full before a family
transfer can be completed might hinder legitimate title
transfers between family members; however, in response, the
author notes that family transfers provide a significant cost
savings over regular a regular transaction costs, therefore it
is not unreasonable to expect that outstanding citations be paid
in full before an individual can take advantage of this low-cost
option.
By introducing this bill, the author intends to make it harder
for individuals to evade paying their parking citations. To
accomplish this, the bill makes it harder for individuals to
"wash" a vehicle's title using the family transfer process by
requiring that all delinquent parking citations be paid in full
before a family transfer of title can be completed by DMV.
Establishing this requirement eliminates the ability of
scofflaws to continue to register and use their vehicle by
inexpensively transferring their vehicle's title back and forth
between family members.
Double referral : This bill is also referred to the Assembly
Committee on Local Government.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Long Beach (sponsor)
City of Los Angeles County Division of the League of Cities
California Public Parking Association
League of California Cities
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093