BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE       BILL NO: AB 1096
          SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN              AUTHOR:  nestande
                                                         VERSION: 5/23/14
          Analysis by:  Carrie Cornwell                  FISCAL:  yes
          Hearing date:  June 26, 2014






          SUBJECT:

          Special-interest license plates:  Salton Sea

          DESCRIPTION:

          This bill requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to apply  
          to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to establish a  
          special-interest license plate that promotes Salton Sea  
          restoration.

          ANALYSIS:

          Any state agency, including the Department of Health Care  
          Services, may sponsor a special-interest license plate pursuant  
          to AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter 454, Statutes of 2006.  Under 
          AB 84, the DMV may issue new special-interest license plates  
          only on behalf of state agencies and only provided that for each  
          state agency:

           The license plate has "a design or contains a message that  
            publicizes or promotes a state agency, or the official policy,  
            mission, or work of a state agency."  The design shall also be  
            confined to the left of and below the numerical series (i.e.,  
            no full plate designs allowed).

           The state agency submits 7,500 applications and accompanying  
            fees to DMV for the license plate.  The state agency has 12  
            months to collect these applications and fees, but it can  
            extend that to a maximum of 24 months if it notifies and  
            offers to refund fees to those who applied during the first 12  
            months.  Once a plate is issued, DMV stops issuing that plate  
            for the agency if the number of plates drops below 7,500.

          In addition to the usual registration and license fees, DMV  




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          charges the following additional fees for specialized license  
          plates:  $50 for the initial issuance, $40 for annual renewal,  
          and $15 to transfer to another vehicle.  DMV deducts its  
          administrative costs from the revenues generated.  The net  
          revenues derived from a specialized license plate are then  
          available upon appropriation for the sponsoring state agency to  
          expend exclusively on projects and programs that promote the  
          state agency's official policy, mission, or work.

          A sponsoring state agency may not spend more that 25 percent of  
          its license plate funds for administrative, marketing, and  
          promotional costs associated with the plate, and it must submit  
          an annual accounting report to DMV.

           
          This bill  :
          
          1.Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to apply to DMV  
            pursuant to AB 84 to sponsor a Salton Sea license plate  
            program.  

          2.Directs the revenues derived from this license plate, after  
            paying DMV's costs, to the Salton Sea authority for  
            restoration of the Salton Sea.
          
          COMMENTS:

           1.Purpose  .  The author introduced this bill to compel the  
            Department of Fish and Wildlife to sponsor a special-interest  
            license plate in order to provide funds to assist with  
            restoration of the Salton Sea and to raise public awareness  
            for that effort.  There was a time when the Salton Sea  
            attracted more visitors per year than Yosemite National Park,  
            but the author asserts that decades of neglect have had a  
            negative impact on the wildlife and local residents.  By  
            looking at every viable solution to raise these crucial funds  
            that are needed - including a special-interest license plate -  
            the author believes that California can protect the residents  
            of the Coachella Valley and its economic vitality, restore a  
            vibrant ecosystem that benefits countless species, and  
            establish a new recreational resource that will help draw new  
            visitors to the region to enjoy all that the desert has to  
            offer.

           2.History of special-interest license plates  .  Historically, the  
            Vehicle Code required DMV to issue, upon legislative  




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            authorization, a special-interest license plate bearing a  
            distinctive design or decal of a sponsoring organization to  
            any vehicle owner that pays specified fees, provided that the  
            sponsoring organization met certain conditions.  These  
            conditions included that the sponsor of a special-interest  
            license plate had to be a nonprofit organization and had to  
            collect 7,500 applications and fees for a special license  
            plate in order to pay DMV's costs of creating a new plate,  
            which are approximately $375,000 or 7,500 applications times  
            the $50 fee.

            In 2004, a federal court decision, Women's Resource Network v.  
            Gourley, E.D. Cal 2004, F.Supp.2d, 2004 U.S. Dist.,  
            invalidated these provisions of the Vehicle Code.  In the  
            Gourley decision, the court declared California's  
            special-interest license plate statutes unconstitutional  
            because they violated the First Amendment right to freedom of  
            speech.  The court specifically objected to the Legislature  
            "picking and choosing" special license plates that private  
            organizations propose, in essence promoting the message of  
            some organizations while denying this right to others.  The  
            court did allow the 10 special-interest license plates  
            existing at the time of its decision to remain in use and  
            available to new applicants, as they are today.

            In response to the court decision, AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter  
            454, Statutes of 2006, established the current specialized  
            license plate program to provide a forum for  government speech  
            that promotes California's state policies.  AB 84 excludes  
            private organizations from seeking specialized license plates  
            as a forum for private speech and thus addresses the court's  
            objection.  Newly created plates and the revenue they generate  
            must publicize or promote a state agency or the official  
            policy, mission, or work of a state agency.

           3.Senate Resolution 28 moratorium on license plate types  .   
            Earlier this year, this committee authored and the Senate  
            enacted SR 28 (Transportation and Housing Committee), which  
            declares a moratorium on legislation to increase the number of  
            license plate types that DMV may issue until the Legislature  
            receives the results of a study and set of recommendations  
            from DMV, in consultation with law enforcement, on license  
            plate designs appropriate for traffic safety and effective law  
            enforcement in today's environment.  This bill does not appear  
            to be subject to that moratorium, as it does not create a new  
            license plate type, but simply orders the Department of Fish  




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            and Wildlife to sponsor a special-interest license plate as it  
            could of its own volition under existing law.
          
          Assembly Votes:

               Floor:    77-0
               Appr: 17-0
               Trans:    14-0

          POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the committee before noon on  
          Monday,June 23, 2014.)

               SUPPORT:  Coachella Valley Economic Partnership
                         Indio Chamber of Commerce
                         Hon. Paul Lewin, Councilmember, City of Palm  
          Springs
                         Hon. Ted J. Mertens, Mayor, City of Indian Wells 
                         Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce
                         Approximately 775 individuals

               OPPOSED:  None received.