California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 853

Introduced by Assembly Member Brown

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Linder)

February 21, 2013

An act to amend Section 5157 of, and to add Section 5156.2 to, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 853, as introduced, Brown. Vehicles: motorsport license plates.

Existing law, subject to exceptions, requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to, upon registering a vehicle, issue the owner 2 partially or fully reflectorized license plates. Existing law also authorizes the department to issue a variety of specialty license plates. Existing law authorizes a state agency to apply to the department to sponsor a specialized license plate program, as specified.

This bill would authorize the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles to sponsor a program for a series of motorsports and auto-enthusiast themed license plates. The bill would provide that the original issue and renewal fee for those plates would be deposited in the Motorsport License Plate Account of the Specialized License Plate Fund, which account is created by the bill. The bill would authorize, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the funds collected to be used by the Office of Traffic Safety, as specified. The bill would make additional conforming changes.

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 5156.2 is added to the Vehicle Code, to
read:

5156.2.  

(a) (1) Notwithstanding Sections 5154, 5155, and
5156, the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol may
apply to the department to sponsor a program for a series of
motorsports and auto-enthusiast themed license plates, and the
department shall issue, or cause to be issued, specialized license
plates for that program, if the Commissioner of the California
Highway Patrol complies with the provisions of this article. This
series of plates may bear emblems, seals, vehicle images, or other
symbols or designs displaying motorsports and automobile
enthusiast themes or professional motorsports drivers. The design
of each specialty plate in the series shall be proposed by the
commissioner and approved by the department.

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

(b) The department shall not establish a specialized license plate
program described in subdivision (a) until the department has
received at least 7,500 applications for the specialized license
plates. The commissioner shall collect and hold applications for
the plates. Once the commissioner has received at least 7,500
applications, the commissioner shall submit the applications, along
with the necessary fees, to the department. The department shall
not issue a specialized license plate until the commissioner has
received and submitted to the department not less than 7,500
applications collectively for that particular specialized license
plates within five years of the initial application to sponsor the
specialized license plates. Advance payment to the department by
the commissioner 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 commissioner shall have 12 months, following
the date of approval of the 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 commissioner 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 commissioner’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 commissioner
elects to exercise the option under this paragraph, the commissioner
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 commissioner has received 7,500 applications. The
commissioner shall refund the fees or deposits to an applicant so
requesting. The commissioner shall not collect and hold
applications for a period exceeding 24 months following the date
of approval of the initial application to sponsor a specialized license
plate program.

(c) The department shall cause to be issued any plate in this
series without a minimum number of applications for a specific
design.

(d) The fees for original issuance and renewal of registration
for the specialty plates shall be deposited in the Motorsports
License Plate Account, which is hereby created in the Specialized
License Plate Fund, and notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section
5157, shall, upon appropriation, be distributed quarterly to the
department for its actual costs of administering this program, and
the balance to the commissioner, who shall transfer the funds to
the Office of Traffic Safety.

(e) (1) The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall
secure license rights for any emblem, seal, vehicle image, or other
motorsports or automobile enthusiast symbol or design displaying
automotive themes or themes of professional motorsports, or
professional motorsports drivers, for use on specialized license
plates authorized by this section. However, the commissioner shall
not pay or provide more than nominal monetary compensation for
those license rights.

(2) The terms of the license rights agreements shall hold the
state, the commissioner, and the Office of Traffic Safety harmless
and shall indemnify the state, the commissioner, and the Office of
Traffic Safety from all losses, costs, expenses, including reasonable
attorney’s fees, claims, demands, liabilities, causes of action, and
damages, arising out of the unauthorized use or infringement of a
trademark, service mark, copyright, patent, method, device, or
other proprietary right, in connection with the issuance of the
specialized license plates authorized by this section.

(f) The commissioner, the department, and the Office of Traffic
Safety may require the hold harmless and indemnity agreements
to be supported by policies of commercial general liability
insurance, or other insurance, in amounts and by insurance
companies that are acceptable to the commissioner and the
department.

(g) The commissioner and the Office of Traffic Safety may
solicit, negotiate, and collect contributions from third parties to
augment the program authorized by this section.

SEC. 2.  

Section 5157 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

5157.  

(a) In addition to the regular fees for an original
registration or renewal of registration, begin insert except as provided in
paragraph (6), end insert the following additional fees shall be paid for the
issuance, renewal, or transfer of the specialized license plates:

(1) For the original issuance of the plates, fifty dollars ($50).

(2) For a renewal of registration with the plates, forty dollars
($40).

(3) For transfer of the plates to another vehicle, fifteen dollars
($15).

(4) For each substitute replacement plate, thirty-five dollars
($35).

(5) In addition, for the issuance of environmental license plates,
as defined in Section 5103, with a specialized license plate design,
the additional fees prescribed in Sections 5106 and 5108. The
additional fees prescribed in Sections 5106 and 5108 shall be
deposited in the California Environmental License Plate Fund.

begin insert

(6) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), for the original
issuance of specialty license plates pursuant to Section 5156.2,
sixty dollars ($60), and for the renewal of registration with the
plates, fifty dollars ($50).

end insert

(b) The Gold Star Family specialized license plate program as
provided in subdivision (d) of Section 5156 shall not be subject
to the fees specified in paragraphs (1), (2), and (5) of subdivision
(a) and shall only be issued in a sequential series.

(c) Except as provided in begin delete paragraph end delete begin insert paragraphs end insert (5) begin insert and (6) end insert of
subdivision (a), begin insert and Section 5156.2, end insert and after deducting its
administrative costs under this section, the department shall deposit
the additional revenue derived from the issuance, renewal, transfer,
and substitution of the specialized license plates in the Specialized
License Plate Fund, which is hereby established in the State
Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the moneys in
that fund shall be allocated to each sponsoring agency, in
proportion to the amount in the fund that is attributable to the
agency’s specialized license plate program. Except as authorized
under Section 5159, the sponsoring agency shall expend all funds
received under this section exclusively for projects and programs
that promote the state agency’s official policy, mission, or work.

(d) (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs may actively request
and receive donations for the Gold Star Family License Plate
Account which is hereby created in the Specialized License Plate
Fund and which may consist of donations from public and private
entities. Earnings generated by the Gold Star Family License Plate
Account shall be retained by the account.

(2) Upon the determination of the department that there are
sufficient funds in the Gold Star Family License Plate Account
for this purpose, moneys in the Gold Star Family License Plate
Account shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
to the department for the necessary administrative costs of
establishing the Gold Star Family specialized license plate program.