BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1002
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          Date of Hearing:   April 22, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                               Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
                    AB 1002 (Bloom) - As Amended:  April 16, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :  Vehicle registration tax: sustainable communities  
          strategies

           SUMMARY  :  Increases the tax on vehicle registrations by $6.   
          Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Imposes a tax of $6 upon vehicle registration or renewal of  
            the registration.  

          2)Restricts the imposition of the fee to those counties that are  
            within a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) that is  
            required to prepare a sustainable communities strategy (SCS).   


          3)Requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV),  
            after deducting all reasonable costs to administer the tax, to  
            remit all the revenue generated into the Sustainable  
            Communities Strategy Subaccount to be created in the Motor  
            Vehicle Account.  Funds from the account are to be available  
            upon appropriation by the Legislature.  

          4)Establishes an allocation of the revenues in accordance with  
            the following:  

             a)   50% appropriated to cities and counties on a per capita  
               basis for planning and implementation of projects  
               consistent with the purposes of a SCS and approved  
               sustainable communities plans, including, but not limited  
               to, first-mile-last-mile bicycle and pedestrian  
               infrastructure projects that are intended to improve  
               transit access in transit priority zones, bicycle and  
               pedestrian infrastructure as part of complete streets  
               projects, and road and highway maintenance and repair that  
               also facilitates transit and bicycle use.  

             b)   40% appropriated to transportation commissions and  
               transit operators to support transit operations and  
               maintain and expand reduced fare programs, including, but  
               not limited to, transit passes for students, low-income  








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               youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities.  

             c)   10% appropriated to MPOs and regional transportation  
               planning agencies for competitive grants for implementation  
               of their SCS, including, but not limited to, competitive  
               planning and implementation grants to cities and counties  
               on a per capita basis for planning and implementing livable  
               communities and transit-oriented development and urban  
               infill projects, and to complete streets, and bicycle or  
               pedestrian projects, consistent with an approved  
               sustainable communities plan.  

          1)Requires a 2/3rd vote.  
          
          EXISTING LAW  :  

          1)Requires a vehicle registration fee of $46 to be paid for the  
            registration of every motor vehicle, except those expressly  
            exempt.  

          2)Authorizes a variety of additional fees that are to be paid  
            with the vehicle registration, most particularly to address  
            certain air quality and law enforcement issues.  These fees  
            support, among other things, service authorities for freeway  
            emergencies, California Highway Patrol (CHP) staffing, and  
            fingerprint identification programs.  

          3)Authorizes local agencies to impose separate vehicle  
            registration fee surcharges in their respective jurisdictions  
            for a variety of special programs, including:  

             a)   $1 for deterring and prosecuting vehicle theft;  

             b)   $1 for service authorities for freeway emergencies;  

             c)   Up to $7 for air quality programs;  

             d)   Up to $4 for stormwater and congestion management relief  
               purposes for San Mateo County; 

             e)   Up to $6 for the Sacramento Air Quality Management  
               District;  

             f)   Up to $30 to fund programs to reduce vehicle emissions  
               in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings,  








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               and Tulare Counties and the valley portions of Kern County;  
                

             g)   Up to $1 for the South Coast Air Quality Management  
               District;  

             h)   A fee of $4 for public transit in the City and County of  
               San Francisco;  

             i)   $1 for removing abandoned vehicles; and, 

             j)   $1 for fingerprint identification programs.  

          1)Until January 1, 2016, imposes a $3 increase, $2 of which is  
            to be deposited into the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and  
            Vehicle Technology Fund and $1 of which is to be deposited  
            into the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Subaccount.  

          2)Requires MPOs to adopt regional transportation plans directed  
            at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional  
            transportation system, including, but not limited to, mass  
            transportation, highway, railroad, maritime, bicycle,  
            pedestrian, goods movement, and aviation facilities and  
            services.  

          3)Requires each MPO to include within its regional  
            transportation plan an SCS, designed to achieve specified  
            targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction.  If the SCS  
            does not achieve the reduction target, the MPO must prepare an  
            alternative planning strategy.  

          4)Distinguishes a fee from a tax in that a fee pays for a  
            specific service or project and cannot exceed the reasonable  
            costs of providing the service or projects that it funds.   
            Unlike a tax, which benefits the general public, the payer of  
            the fee is the beneficiary.  
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown.   

          COMMENTS  :  Existing law establishes a basic vehicle registration  
          fee of $46, plus an additional $23 fee for additional personnel  
          for the CHP, for the new or renewal registration of most  
          vehicles or trailer coaches.  Existing law also authorizes local  
          agencies to impose separate vehicle registration fees in their  
          respective jurisdictions for a variety of special programs, such  








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          as abating abandoned vehicles and deterring, investigating, and  
          prosecuting vehicle theft.  

          This bill would impose an additional $6 vehicle registration tax  
          for local and regional agency implementation of SB 375  
          (Steinberg) Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008.  According to the  
          author, "to successfully implement SB 375 and its required  
          regional transportation plans to address greenhouse gases,  
          regional and local governments need resources for strategic  
          planning and opportunities for coordination with the efforts of  
          the Governor's Strategic Growth Council and other state agencies  
          as required by the enactment of SB 732 (Steinberg) Chapter 729,  
          Statutes of 2008.  This bill would provide for greater  
          collaboration between state and local planning bodies to support  
          plans and projects which implement regional blueprints and  
          sustainable communities strategies."  

          Revenue generated by the added tax would complement other  
          potential sources of regional, subregional, or local funding for  
          environmental sustainability planning.  For example, Proposition  
          84, as approved by the statewide voters in 2006, provided bond  
          revenues for projects relating to safe drinking water, water  
          quality and supply, flood control, waterway and natural resource  
          protection, water pollution and contamination control, state and  
          local park improvements, public access to natural resources, and  
          water conservation efforts.  Among its funded programs, it  
          provided $580 million for sustainable communities and climate  
          change reduction efforts.  Further, current federal  
          transportation funding allows for the funding to MPOs to conduct  
          livability and environmental sustainability planning.  Federal  
          and state transportation funds are also used to build  
          multimodal, sustainable projects ranging from bus and rail  
          passenger transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects, and safe  
          routes to school program activities.  

          There are a number of other bills being considered this year  
          that would either raise or continue the vehicle registration  
          tax: AB 8 (Perea and Skinner) - would extend the tax for an  
          additional eight years for air quality mitigation programs; AB  
          767 (Levine) - would authorize every county to increase the tax  
          for county vehicle theft crime prevention programs; AB 1324  
          (Skinner) - would authorize Alameda County to increase the tax  
          for county vehicle theft crime prevention programs; and SB 11  
          (Pavley) - similar to AB 8 as previous mentioned.  Additionally,  
          AB 431 (Mullin) would authorize a transportation planning agency  








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          that is designated as an MPO to impose a local or regional sales  
          tax increase of not more than 0.5% for similar purposes as AB  
          1002.  These bills, at some point in the legislative process,  
          should be considered on a broader, overarching level and  
          reconciled as appropriate.  

          Writing in opposition to this bill, the Automobile Club of  
          Southern California believes that the bill would fund activities  
          that would otherwise be prohibited by the California  
          Constitution.  They contend that the new tax imposed by the bill  
          is redundant to other charges motorists already pay for  
          emissions, greenhouse gases and other related environmental  
          programs.  They further indicate that the current charges total  
          approximately $30 in Los Angeles and approximately $40 in the  
          Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley and that "motorists already pay  
          well over half a billion dollars a year in environmental  
          mitigation just through annual registration fees."  

          The California New Car Dealers Association, also opposed to the  
          bill, indicates that the bill should be amended to require that  
          the taxes be put to the voters for their approval.  They further  
          contend that vehicle owners should not be exclusively targeted  
          with a tax that benefits "another subgroup of the population" in  
          reference to bicyclists and pedestrians.  

           Previous legislation  :  AB 406 (DeSaulnier) of 2009, would have  
          authorized an additional fee of either $1 or $2 on vehicle  
          registration to be used for planning purposes related to SB 375.  
           In his veto message, Governor Schwarzenegger indicated that the  
          fee increase should be subject to voter approval.  

           Related legislation  :  AB 574 (Lowenthal) would require the  
          California Air Resources Board, in consultation with the  
          California Transportation Commission and the Strategic Growth  
          Council, to establish standards for the use of cap-and-trade  
          auction revenues for SB 375 projects.  That bill is being heard  
          in this committee today.  

          AB 1051 (Bocanegra) would create the Sustainable Communities for  
          All Program to fund, via cap-and-trade auction revenues, the  
          equitable implementation of SB 375.  That bill passed the  
          Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee and will be  
          heard in this committee next week.  

           Double referred  :  This bill is also referred to the Assembly  








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          Local Government Committee.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Move LA (sponsor)  
          American Lung Association in California
          California Bicycle Coalition  
          FAST (Fixing Angelenos Stuck in Traffic)
          LA Walks
          Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
          Natural Resources Defense Council
          Safe Routes to School National Partnership  
          Sierra Club
          Sustainable Transportation Solutions for California's Inland  
          Empire  
          The Transit Coalition
          TransForm
           
          Opposition 
           
          Association of California Car Clubs
          Automobile Club of Southern California  
          California New Car Dealers Association (oppose unless amended)  
          California Vintage Rods
          CalTax  
          Capitol Auto Club "Thunderbolts"  
          Capital City Cruisers
          Capital City Mopars
          Cappuccino Cruisers Classic Car Club  
          El Dorado Early Ford V8 Car Club  
          Hot Rodders of San Diego
          Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association  
          Huntington Beachcruisers
          Mojave Desert Classics
          Northern California GTO Club  
          Northern California Kit Car Club  
          Over the Hill Gang  
          Pickups Ltd
          Rods and Relics of Lincoln Hills  
          San Jose Classic Chevy Club  
          Woodland Street Cruisers

           








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          Analysis Prepared by :   Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093