BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1096
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1096 (Nestande) - As Amended: April 23, 2013
SUBJECT : Special interest license plate: Salton Sea Restoration
SUMMARY : Establishes the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority
(Authority) as a state agency for purposes of the special
interest license plate program. Authorizes the Authority to
apply to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
sponsor a Salton Sea special interest license plate along with
the requirement that the license plate have graphics covering
the full plate. Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority (Authority)
as a state agency for purposes of the special interest license
plate program;
2)Authorizes the Authority to apply to DMV to sponsor a Salton
Sea special interest license plate;
3)Requires DMV to issue the license plates provided that the
existing requirements of the special interest license plate
program are met, with an exception for a full-plate graphic
design;
4)Requires the Salton Sea license plates to bear a full-plate
graphic design that DMV determines, in consultation with the
Department of the California Highway Patrol (CHP), does not
obscure the readability of the license plate and depicts an
image designated by the Authority; and,
5)Requires the revenue generated from the additional fees for
the special interest license plates be deposited, after DMV
deducts its administrative costs, in the Salton Sea
Restoration Account.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Salton Sea Restoration Council as a state
agency in the Natural Resources Agency to oversee the
restoration of the Salton Sea.
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2)Requires the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and
the California Department of Water Resources to implement
activities relating to the restoration of the Salton Sea.
3)Allows any state agency to apply to DMV to sponsor a special
interest license plate.
4)Requires DMV to issue special interest license plates if the
agency complies with all statutory requirements.
5)Prohibits DMV from establishing a special interest license
plate program for an agency until it has received not less
than 7,500 paid applications for that agency's plates.
6)Requires the agency to collect and hold applications for the
plates. Once the agency has received at least 7,500
applications, it must submit the applications, along with the
necessary fees, to DMV.
7)Prohibits advance payment to DMV of its estimated or actual
administrative costs associated with the issuance of a
particular special interest license plate from constituting
compliance with the 7,500 application threshold requirement.
8)Requires funds accruing to a sponsoring state agency from the
sale of special interest license plates to be expended
exclusively for projects and programs that promote that
agency's official policy, mission or work.
9)Allows special interest license plates to feature a
distinctive design, decal, or distinctive message in a
two-inch by three-inch space to the left of the plate's
numerical sequence and a space not larger than 5/8 inch in
height below the numerical series.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Prior to 2007, any new special interest license plate
required specific legislative authorization. That practice was
held to be unconstitutional by the federal courts in that the
Legislature approved some of the plates and rejected others,
while using no standardized or objective criteria for those
decisions. In response to the court decision, AB 84 (Leslie),
Chapter 454, Statutes of 2006, established the current special
interest license plate program to provide a forum for government
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speech that promotes California's state policies. AB 84
excludes private organizations from seeking special interest
license plates as a forum for private speech, and thus addresses
the court's objection. Plates now created and the revenue they
generate must publicize or promote a state agency, or the
official policy, mission, or work of a state agency.
Furthermore, the process requires that at least 7,500 paid
applications must be received by the state agency prior to
notifying DMV. The 7,500-application threshold was previously
put into statute for the special interest license plates and was
arrived at in an attempt to assure that DMV's startup costs
would be fully covered by the portion of the registration fee
surcharge that is directed to DMV and to avoid a proliferation
of different types of plates, which can be troublesome from a
law enforcement perspective.
The Salton Sea (Sea) is the largest inland lake in southeastern
California. As an agricultural drainage reservoir, the Sea
serves an important purpose for the productive agricultural
valleys that adjoin it. As an agricultural sump, the Sea
consists primarily of commercial agricultural drainage, with
about 90% of the entire inflow to the Sea coming from
agricultural runoff from the Imperial, Coachella, and Mexicali
Valleys. In 1993, the Authority was established as a joint
powers authority with the goal to revitalize the Sea and "for
the purpose of ensuring the beneficial uses of the Salton Sea."
It has representatives from the Coachella Valley Water District,
the Imperial Irrigation District, Riverside County, Imperial
County, and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians.
Over the years, the Sea has been the subject of debate and
subsequent enactment of state legislation. In 2010, state law
established the Salton Sea Restoration Council as a state agency
in the Natural Resources Agency to oversee the restoration of
the Salton Sea. For the purpose of developing a restoration
plan, the council is required to evaluate the Salton Sea
restoration proposals and, by June 30, 2013, report to the
Governor and the Legislature with a recommended Salton Sea
restoration plan. Separately, state law requires the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of
Water Resources to implement activities relating to the
restoration of the Salton Sea. Furthermore, throughout the
years, statewide bond funding for restoration activities at the
Sea was included in both Proposition 50 and Proposition 84. The
Salton Sea restoration program received $37.7 million in
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appropriations from 2007 through 2010; however, due to limited
bond sales, significantly less amount of funds have been
actually expended.
The author contends that the Sea is beginning to dry up. The
transfer of Colorado River water from Imperial Valley to San
Diego County will reduce the amount of agriculture runoff that
currently flows into the Sea. As a result, air quality and
wildlife habitat have been severely impaired, and because the
remaining waters have increased salinity, most aquatic life is
being killed. He indicates that the state has a current
obligation to restore the Sea. The restoration plan that has
been recommended by the California Resources Agency is
approximately $8.9 billion. Despite this obligation, action has
not been taken and the Sea and the surrounding community are
suffering. He indicates that the revenue derived from the
Salton Sea special interest license plate program "might be
minimal when compared to the total cost of the restoration
project. However, any and all funding will be an asset to the
Authority. Additionally, the Authority can use the funds raised
to leverage grants and other matching funds for the project.
Once the plates are issued, it will provide a continuous funding
stream for related restoration projects and studies in future
years."
Why establish another state entity? This bill would establish a
new state entity for purposes of the Salton Sea special interest
license plate program. Existing state law allows any state
agency to sponsor a special interest license plate and also
requires that funds accruing to a sponsoring state agency from
the sale of special interest license plates to be expended
exclusively for projects and programs that promote that agency's
official policy, mission or work. As the Department of Fish and
Wildlife and the Salton Sea Restoration Council are both
established as state agencies and would qualify as a sponsoring
state agency, why is it necessary to establish the Authority as
a state agency in place of these two other entities?
Senate Resolution 43 (Kopp) : The Senate Transportation
Committee approved a legislative resolution in 1994, SR 43,
which established a task force consisting of representatives
from DMV, CHP, and local governments, to examine the issue of
readability of the specialty license plates and the impact on
vehicle identification and safety. In response to the
resolution and contained within its report to the Legislature,
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the task force made the following recommendations:
"The Department of Motor Vehicles should maintain the current
standard plate designs and configurations. There should be no
further authorization of additional special interest license
plates. The task force concluded, however, that if the
Legislature determined there is a compelling need to approve
additional special interest plates, "it should rigorously
adhere to the design criteria (prescribed in Vehicle Code
Sec. 5060, such as the license plate shall be in a space not
larger than 2 inches by 3 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 to facilitate plate
identification by law enforcement," including not authorizing
any license plates with a full-plate graphic configuration."
Committee concern : Although this bill purports to comply with
the administrative processes for the adoption of special
interest license plates as administered by DMV, this bill would
establish a parallel AB 84 process that includes a specific
exception to the prohibition of full-plate graphic design
license plates, thereby essentially circumventing the existing
statutory process. Further, this bill would put the
Legislature back in the business of picking and choosing
specific license plate messages, promoting the message of some
organizations while denying this right to others, an activity
the courts have frowned upon. Lastly, the bill establishes the
Authority as a state entity without justification especially as
there are two other entities that can qualify as sponsoring
state agencies for purposes of the special interest license
plate program.
Suggested committee amendment : The committee suggests that the
bill be amended to remove provisions that establish the
Authority as a state agency and instead recognize either the
Department of Fish and Wildlife or the Salton Sea Restoration
Council as the sponsoring state agency.
Related bills : AB 49 (Buchanan), would require the California
Department of Health Care Services to apply to DMV to sponsor a
breast cancer awareness, full-plate graphic license plate. That
bill was approved by this committee on April 15, 2013 (16-0
vote) and will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
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AB 244 (Bonilla), would reestablish a special interest license
plate for veterans. That bill was passed by this committee on
April 22, 2013 (16-0 vote) and will be heard next in the
Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee.
AB 482 (Atkins), would require the California Cultural and
Historical Endowment to apply to DMV for the purpose of creating
a special interest license plate program using the cartoon
character Snoopy. That bill was heard in the Assembly Arts,
Entertainment, Sports, Tourism & Internet Media Committee on
April 9, 2013 (4-2 vote) and is to be heard next in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
AB 853 (Brown and Linder), would authorize CHP to apply to DMV
to sponsor a special interest license plate in support of
motorsports and auto-enthusiasts. That bill is now a two-year
bill at the request of the author.
SB 789 (Price), would authorize the California Arts Council to
use funds generated by special interest license plate
applications for administrative purposes that is currently
prohibited. That bill is set for hearing in the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee on May 7, 2013.
Previous legislation :
AB 610 (Solorio) Chapter 9, Statutes of 2012, allows the
Veterinary Medical Board an additional 12 months to accumulate
the required 7,500 applications for the establishment of a Pet
Lover's special interest license plate.
AB 1242 (Achadjian) of 2012, would have authorized the
Foundation for California Community Colleges to apply to DMV to
sponsor special interest license plates for the National
Association for stock car Auto Racing (NASCAR). That bill was
not heard by this committee at the request of the author.
AB 1539 (Hayashi) of 2012, would have authorized an
anti-bullying special interest license plate in support of
persons who are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender community. That bill was not heard by this
committee at the request of the author.
SB 1018 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 39,
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Statutes of 2012, among other provisions of the budget trailer
bill, authorizes DMV, in consultation with the California
Department of Parks and Recreation, to design and make available
for issuance special interest state parks environmental license
plates bearing a full-plate graphic design. That bill was not
heard in this committee.
AB 1815 (Emmerson) of 2010, would have authorized the Bureau of
Automotive Repair to apply to DMV to sponsor a program for a
series of special interest license plates for NASCAR. That bill
was approved by this committee on April 19, 2010 (10-1 vote) but
was held in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Indio Chamber of Commerce
Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce
Palm Springs City Council
98 Individual Constituents
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093