Amended in Assembly March 14, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1096

Introduced by Assembly Member Nestande

February 22, 2013

An act to amend begin delete Section 5205.5 end delete begin insert Sections 5155 and 5156 end insert of begin insert , and to add Section 5162 to, end insert the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1096, as amended, Nestande. Vehicles: begin delete high-occupancy vehicle lanes. end delete begin insert specialized license plates: Salton Sea. end insert

Existing law begin delete authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive use of high-occupancy vehicles (HOV), which may also be used, until January 1, 2015, by certain eligible low-emission and hybrid vehicles not carrying the requisite number of passengers otherwise required for the use of HOV lanes if the vehicle displays a valid identifier issued by end delete begin insert requires end insert the Department of Motor Vehicles begin insert to issue specialized license plates for a specialized license plate program sponsored by a end insert begin insert state agency that complies with certain requirements. Existing law also requires the department to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates end insert .

This bill would begin delete make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions end delete begin insert require the department, in consultation with the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority, to design and make available for issuance special Salton Sea environmental interest license plates bearing a full-plate graphic design, as specified, upon payment of an additional fee by a person applying for the special plate. The bill would also create the Salton Sea Restoration Account in the Specialized License Plate Fund for expenditure, upon appropriation, to provide efforts to restore the Salton Sea end insert .

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 5155 of the end insert begin insert Vehicle Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

5155.  

The design criteria for a specialized license plate are as
follows:

(a) Except as provided in begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections end insert 5161 begin insert and 5162 end insert , the
license plate for a passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, or trailer
shall provide a space not larger than two inches by three inches to
the left of the numerical series and a space not larger than
five-eighths of an inch in height below the numerical series for a
distinctive design, decal, or descriptive message as authorized by
this article. The license plates shall be issued in sequential
numerical order or, pursuant to Section 5103, in a combination of
numbers or letters.

(b) Specialized license plates authorized under this article may
be issued for use on a motorcycle. That license plate shall contain
a five-digit configuration issued in sequential numerical order or,
pursuant to Section 5103, in a combination of numbers or letters.
There shall be a space to the left of the numerical series for a
distinctive design or decal and the characters shall contrast sharply
with the uniform background color. A motorcycle plate containing
a full plate graphic design is not authorized.

(c) Specialized license plates may be issued as environmental
license plates, as defined in Section 5103.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 5156 of the end insert begin insert Vehicle Code end insert begin insert is amended to read: end insert

5156.  

(a) (1) A state agency may apply to the department to
sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the department
shall issue specialized license plates for that program, if the agency
complies with all of the requirements of this article.

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

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

(c) (1) If the number of outstanding and valid specialized license
plates in a particular program, except as provided in subdivision
(d), provided for in this article is less than 7,500, the department
shall notify the sponsoring agency of that fact and shall inform the
agency that if that number is less than 7,500 one year from the
date of that notification, the department will no longer issue or
replace those specialized license plates.

(2) Those particular specialized license plates that were issued
prior to the discontinuation provided by paragraph (1) may continue
to be used and attached to the vehicle for which they were issued
and may be renewed, retained, or transferred pursuant to this code.

(d) (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs may sponsor a Gold
Star Family specialized license plate program and the department
may establish this specialized license plate program in the absence
of 7,500 paid applications as provided in subdivision (d) of Section
5157.

(2) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall, upon receiving
proof of eligibility from an applicant, authorize the department to
issue Gold Star Family specialized license plates for a vehicle
owned by an eligible family member of a member of the Armed
Forces of the United States who was killed in the line of duty while
on active duty during wartime service, or during an international
terrorist attack that has been recognized by the United States
Secretary of Defense as an attack against the United States or a
foreign nation friendly to the United States, or during military
operations while serving outside the United States, including
commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States,
or as part of a peacekeeping force, which includes personnel
assigned to a force engaged in a peacekeeping operation authorized
by the United Nations Security Council. An eligible family member
is defined as all of the following:

(A) A person who is otherwise eligible under this article to
register a motor vehicle.

(B) A person who shows proof from the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense that
the member who was in the Armed Forces of the United States
was killed in the line of duty while on active duty in the military.

(C) A person who bears, and shows proof satisfactory to the
Department of Veterans Affairs of, one of the following
relationships to the member of the Armed Forces killed in the line
of duty while serving on active duty:

(i) Widow.

(ii) Widower.

(iii) Biological parent.

(iv) Adoptive parent.

(v) Stepparent.

(vi) Foster parent in loco parentis.

(vii) Biological child.

(viii) Adoptive child.

(ix) Stepchild.

(x) Sibling.

(xi) Half-sibling.

(xii) Grandparent.

(xiii) Grandchild.

(3) Upon the death of a person issued a Gold Star Family
specialized license plate, the license plate shall be transferred to
the surviving spouse, if he or she requests, or shall be returned to
the department within 60 days after the death of the plateholder
or upon the expiration of the vehicle registration, whichever occurs
first.

begin insert

(e) For purposes of this section, “state agency” includes the
Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 5162 is added to the end insert begin insert Vehicle Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 5162. end insert   

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 5154 and 5155, the
department, in consultation with the Salton Sea Joint Powers
Authority, shall design and make available for issuance pursuant
to this article special Salton Sea environmental design license
plates as described in this section. The special Salton Sea
environmental design license plates shall bear a full-plate graphic
design that the department determines, in consultation with the
Department of the California Highway Patrol, does not obscure
the readability of the license plate depicting an image to be
designated by the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority. Any person
described in Section 5101 may, upon payment of the additional
fees set forth in subdivision (b), apply for and be issued a set of
special Salton Sea environmental design license plates. The special
Salton Sea environmental design license plates may be issued as
environmental license plates, as defined in Section 5103.

(b) In addition to the regular fees for an original registration
or renewal of registration, the following additional fees shall be
paid for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the special Salton
Sea environmental design license plates authorized pursuant to
this section:

(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 full-plate graphic design
described in subdivision (a), 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.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b), 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 special
environmental design license plates in the Salton Sea Restoration
Account, which is hereby created in the Specialized License Plate
Fund. The funds in the account shall be used by the Salton Sea
Joint Powers Authority, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
for providing restoration efforts to the Salton Sea.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 5205.5 of the Vehicle Code, as added by
Section 1 of Chapter 37 of the Statutes of 2010, is amended to
read:

5205.5.  

(a) For the purposes of implementing Section 21655.9,
the department shall make available for issuance, for a fee
determined by the department to be sufficient to reimburse the
department for the actual costs incurred pursuant to this section,
distinctive decals, labels, and other identifiers that clearly
distinguish the following vehicles from other vehicles:

(1) A vehicle that meets California’s super ultra-low emission
vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal
inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV) evaporative emission
standard, as defined in Part 88 (commencing with Section
88.101-94) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) A vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model-year or
earlier and meets California’s ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV)
standard for exhaust emissions and the federal ILEV standard.

(b) The department shall include a summary of the provisions
of this section on each motor vehicle registration renewal notice,
or on a separate insert, if space is available and the summary can
be included without incurring additional printing or postage costs.

(c) The Department of Transportation shall remove individual
HOV lanes, or portions of those lanes, during periods of peak
congestion from the access provisions provided in subdivision (a),
following a finding by the Department of Transportation as follows:

(1) The lane, or portion thereof, exceeds a level of service C,
as discussed in subdivision (b) of Section 65089 of the Government
Code.

(2) The operation or projected operation of the vehicles
described in subdivision (a) in these lanes, or portions thereof, will
significantly increase congestion.

The finding also shall demonstrate the infeasibility of alleviating
the congestion by other means, including, but not limited to,
reducing the use of the lane by noneligible vehicles, or further
increasing vehicle occupancy.

(d) The State Air Resources Board shall publish and maintain
a listing of all vehicles eligible for participation in the programs
described in this section. The board shall provide that listing to
the department.

(e) For purposes of subdivision (a), the Department of the
California Highway Patrol and the department, in consultation
with the Department of Transportation, shall design and specify
the placement of the decal, label, or other identifier on the vehicle.
The decal, label, or other identifier issued for a vehicle shall display
a unique number, and that number shall be printed on, or affixed
to, the vehicle registration.

(f) If the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, serving as
the Bay Area Toll Authority, grants toll-free and reduced-rate
passage on toll bridges under its jurisdiction to any vehicle pursuant
to Section 30102.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, it shall also
grant the same toll-free and reduced-rate passage to a vehicle
displaying an identifier issued by the department pursuant to
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a).

(g) If the Director of Transportation determines that federal law
does not authorize the state to allow vehicles that are identified by
distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers on vehicles described
in subdivision (a) to use highway lanes or highway access ramps
for high-occupancy vehicles regardless of vehicle occupancy, the
Director of Transportation shall submit a notice of that
determination to the Secretary of State.

(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2011.

(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2015,
or only until the date the Secretary of State receives the notice
described in subdivision (g), whichever occurs first, and as of that
date is repealed.

SEC. 2.  

Section 5205.5 of the Vehicle Code, as amended by
Section 2 of Chapter 674 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to
read:

5205.5.  

(a) For purposes of implementing Section 21655.9,
the department shall make available for issuance, for a fee
determined by the department to be sufficient to reimburse the
department for the actual costs incurred pursuant to this section,
distinctive decals, labels, and other identifiers that clearly
distinguish the following vehicles from other vehicles:

(1) A vehicle that meets California’s super ultra-low emission
vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal
inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV) evaporative emission
standard, as defined in Part 88 (commencing with Section
88.101-94) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(2) A vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model-year or
earlier and meets California ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV)
standard for exhaust emissions and the federal ILEV standard.

(3) A hybrid vehicle or an alternative fuel vehicle that meets
California’s advanced technology partial zero-emission vehicle
(AT PZEV) standard for criteria pollutant emissions and has a 45
miles per gallon or greater fuel economy highway rating.

(4) A hybrid vehicle that was produced during the 2004
model-year or earlier and has a 45 miles per gallon or greater fuel
economy highway rating, and meets California’s ULEV, SULEV,
or partial zero-emission vehicle (PZEV) standards.

(5) A vehicle that meets California’s enhanced advanced
technology partial zero-emission vehicle (enhanced AT PZEV)
standard.

(b) Neither an owner of a hybrid vehicle that meets the AT
PZEV standard, with the exception of a vehicle that meets the
federal ILEV standard, nor an owner of a hybrid vehicle described
in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a), is entitled to a decal, label, or
other identifier pursuant to this section unless the federal
government acts to approve the use of high-occupancy vehicle
(HOV) lanes by vehicles of the types identified in paragraph (3)
or (4) of subdivision (a), regardless of the number of occupants.

(c) The department shall include a summary of the provisions
of this section on each motor vehicle registration renewal notice,
or on a separate insert, if space is available and the summary can
be included without incurring additional printing or postage costs.

(d) The Department of Transportation shall remove individual
HOV lanes, or portions of those lanes, during periods of peak
congestion from the access provisions provided in subdivision (a),
following a finding by the Department of Transportation as follows:

(1) The lane, or portion thereof, exceeds a level of service C,
as discussed in subdivision (b) of Section 65089 of the Government
Code.

(2) The operation or projected operation of the vehicles
described in subdivision (a) in these lanes, or portions thereof, will
significantly increase congestion.

(e) The State Air Resources Board shall publish and maintain
a listing of all vehicles eligible for participation in the programs
described in this section. The board shall provide that listing to
the department.

(f) (1) For purposes of subdivision (a), the Department of the
California Highway Patrol and the department, in consultation
with the Department of Transportation, shall design and specify
the placement of the decal, label, or other identifier on the vehicle.
The decal, label, or other identifier issued for a vehicle shall display
a unique number, which number shall be printed on, or affixed to,
the vehicle registration.

(2) Decals, labels, or other identifiers designed pursuant to this
subdivision for a vehicle described in paragraph (5) of subdivision
(a) shall be distinguishable from the decals, labels, or other
identifiers that are designed for vehicles described in paragraphs
(1), (2), (3), and (4) of subdivision (a).

(g) (1) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), for
purposes of subdivision (a), the department shall issue no more
than 85,000 distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers that
clearly distinguish the vehicles specified in paragraphs (3) and (4)
of subdivision (a).

(B) The department may issue a decal, label, or other identifier
for a vehicle that satisfies all of the following conditions:

(i) The vehicle is of a type identified in paragraph (3) or (4) of
subdivision (a).

(ii) The owner of the vehicle is the owner of a vehicle for which
a decal, label, or identifier described in subparagraph (A) was
previously issued and that vehicle for which the decal, label, or
identifier was previously issued is determined by the department,
on the basis of satisfactory proof submitted by the owner to the
department, to be a nonrepairable vehicle or a total loss salvage
vehicle.

(iii) The owner of the vehicle applied for a decal, label, or other
identifier pursuant to this subparagraph on or before March 31,
2009, or within six months of the date on which the vehicle for
which a decal, label, or identifier was previously issued is declared
to be a nonrepairable vehicle or a total loss salvage vehicle,
whichever date is later.

(2) The department shall notify the Department of Transportation
immediately after the date on which the department has issued
50,000 decals, labels, and other identifiers under this section for
the vehicles described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a).

(3) The Department of Transportation shall determine whether
significant HOV lane breakdown has occurred throughout the state,
in accordance with the following timeline:

(A) For lanes that are nearing capacity, the Department of
Transportation shall make the determination not later than 90 days
after the date provided by the department under paragraph (2).

(B) For lanes that are not nearing capacity, the Department of
Transportation shall make the determination not later than 180
days after the date provided by the department under paragraph
(2).

(4) In making the determination that significant HOV lane
breakdown has occurred, the Department of Transportation shall
consider the following factors in the HOV lane:

(A) Reduction in level of service.

(B) Sustained stop-and-go conditions.

(C) Slower than average speed than the adjacent mixed-flow
lanes.

(D) Consistent increase in travel time.

(5) After making the determinations pursuant to subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of paragraph (3), if the Department of Transportation
determines that significant HOV lane breakdown has occurred
throughout the state, the Department of Transportation shall
immediately notify the department of that determination, and the
department, on the date of receiving that notification, shall
discontinue issuing the decals, labels, or other identifiers for the
vehicles described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a).

(h) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of
paragraph (5) of subdivision (a), the department shall issue no
more than 40,000 distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers that
clearly distinguish a vehicle specified in paragraph (5) of
subdivision (a).

(2) The department may issue a decal, label, or other identifier
for a vehicle that satisfies all of the following conditions:

(A) The vehicle is of a type identified in paragraph (5) of
subdivision (a).

(B) The owner of the vehicle is the owner of a vehicle for which
a decal, label, or other identifier described in paragraph (1) was
previously issued and that vehicle for which the decal, label, or
other identifier was previously issued is determined by the
department, on the basis of satisfactory proof submitted by the
owner to the department, to be a nonrepairable vehicle or a total
loss salvage vehicle.

(C) The owner of the vehicle applied for a decal, label, or other
identifier pursuant to this paragraph within six months of the date
on which the vehicle for which a decal, label, or other identifier
was previously issued is declared to be a nonrepairable vehicle or
a total loss salvage vehicle.

(i) If the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, serving as
the Bay Area Toll Authority, grants toll-free and reduced-rate
passage on toll bridges under its jurisdiction to a vehicle pursuant
to Section 30102.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, it shall also
grant the same toll-free and reduced-rate passage to a vehicle
displaying an identifier issued by the department pursuant to
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) and to a vehicle displaying
a valid identifier issued by the department pursuant to paragraph
(3) or (4) of subdivision (a) if the vehicle is registered to an address
outside of the region identified in Section 66502 of the Government
Code.

(j) An owner of a vehicle specified in paragraph (3) or (4) of
subdivision (a) whose vehicle is registered to an address in the
region identified in Section 66502 of the Government Code and
who seeks a vehicle identifier under subdivision (a) in order to
have access to an HOV lane within the jurisdiction of the Bay Area
Toll Authority shall do both of the following:

(1) Obtain and maintain an active account to operate within the
automatic vehicle identification system described in Section 27565
of the Streets and Highways Code and shall submit to the
department a form, approved by the department and issued by the
Bay Area Toll Authority, that contains the vehicle owner’s name,
the license plate number and vehicle identification number of the
vehicle, the vehicle make and year model, and the automatic
vehicle identification system account number, as a condition to
obtaining a vehicle identifier pursuant to subdivision (a) that allows
for the use of that vehicle in HOV lanes regardless of the number
of occupants.

(2) Be eligible for toll-free or reduced-rate passage on toll
bridges within the jurisdiction of the Bay Area Toll Authority only
if, at time of passage, the vehicle meets the passenger occupancy
rate requirement established for that toll-free or reduced-rate
passage.

(k) (1) Notwithstanding Section 21655.9, and except as
provided in paragraph (2), a vehicle described in subdivision (a)
that displays a decal, label, or identifier issued pursuant to this
section shall be exempt from toll charges imposed on
single-occupant vehicles in high-occupancy toll lanes as described
in Section 149.7 of the Streets and Highways Code unless
prohibited by federal law.

(2) (A) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the imposition of a toll
imposed for passage on a toll road or toll highway, that is not a
high-occupancy toll lane as described in Section 149.7 of the
Streets and Highways Code.

(B) On or before March 1, 2014, paragraph (1) does not apply
to the imposition of a toll imposed for passage in lanes designated
for tolls pursuant to the federally supported value-pricing and
transit development demonstration program operated pursuant to
Section 149.9 of the Streets and Highways Code for State Highway
Route 10 or 110.

(C) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the imposition of a toll
charged for crossing a state-owned bridge.

(l) If the Director of Transportation determines that federal law
does not authorize the state to allow vehicles that are identified by
distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers on vehicles described
in subdivision (a) to use highway lanes or highway access ramps
for high-occupancy vehicles regardless of vehicle occupancy, the
Director of Transportation shall submit a notice of that
determination to the Secretary of State.

(m) (1) This section shall remain in effect only until January
1, 2015, or until the date the Secretary of State receives the notice
described in subdivision (l), whichever occurs first, and as of that
date is repealed.

(2) However, with respect to a vehicle described in paragraph
(3) or (4) of subdivision (a), this section shall be operative only
until July 1, 2011, or only until the date the Secretary of State
receives the notice described in subdivision (l), whichever occurs
first.

(3) With respect to a vehicle described in paragraph (5) of
subdivision (a), this section shall become operative on January 1,
2012, and shall be operative only until January 1, 2015, or until
the date the Secretary of State receives the notice described in
subdivision (l), whichever occurs first.

end delete