BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2450
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 2450 (Logue) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Specialized license plates: kidney disease awareness
SUMMARY : Requires the State Department of Public Health to
apply to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
sponsor a kidney disease awareness license plate program.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows any state agency to apply to DMV to sponsor a
specialized license plate program.
2)Requires DMV to issue specialized license plates for that
program if the agency complies with all statutory
requirements.
3)Prohibits DMV from establishing a specialized license plate
program for an agency until it has received not less than
7,500 paid applications for that agency's specialized license
plates.
4)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.
5)Prohibits advance payment to DMV of its estimated or actual
administrative costs associated with the issuance of a
particular specialized license plate from constituting
compliance with the 7,500 application threshold requirement.
6)Requires funds accruing to a sponsoring state agency from the
sale of specialized license plates to be expended exclusively
for projects and programs that promote that agency's official
policy, mission or work.
7)Allows specialized 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
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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
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.
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 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.
With respects to this bill, the author asserts that 1 in 9
adults have kidney disease and every year, over 90,000 Americans
are lost to the disease. He notes that kidney disease often
comes with no symptoms, making it difficult to detect before the
disease develops into an advanced state. Once kidneys fail, the
individual must undergo dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Statistics show that approximately 120,000 individuals are in
need of a kidney transplant each year but less than 17,000
people will receive a transplant. The author believes that
establishing a specialized kidney disease awareness license
plate, distributed by DMV, will increase awareness about the
potential signs of this devastating disease along with the need
for treatment and will ultimately save lives.
Related legislation :
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AB 49 (Buchanan) Requires the California Department of Health
Care Services to apply to DMV to sponsor breast cancer awareness
license plate and requires that license plates issued under the
program to consist of a breast cancer awareness ribbon and
message on a light pink background. That bill is currently
being held in the Senate Rules Committee.
SR 28 (Committee on Transportation and Housing), requests that
DMV establish a task force whose members shall include
representatives from DMV, the California Highway Patrol (CHP),
and local law enforcement agencies to study and make
recommendations to the Legislature and the governor on the
proliferation of license plate types authorized for use in the
state and declares a moratorium on legislation to increase the
number of license plate types that DMV may issue until the
Legislature can assess the full and long-term impact of the
ongoing increase in license plate types. The resolution is
currently pending a vote on the Senate floor.
AB 2321 (Gomez) would require the California Victim Compensation
and Government Claims Board (Board) to apply to the California
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a domestic
violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking awareness license
plate program. Establishes the California Domestic Violence
Prevention Fund and specifies funds shall be allocated to the
Board to fund a competitive grant program. That bill passed out
of the Assembly Transportation Committee on April 21, 2014.
Writing in support of this bill, DaVita/Health Care Partners
points out that chronic kidney disease afflicts more than 26
million in the United States and that millions more are at risk
due to underlying conditions including diabetes and
hypertension. They contend that early detection and treatment
can keep chronic kidney disease from progressing to kidney
failure or end stage renal disease which then requires dialysis
or a kidney transplant to maintain life. Davita/Health Care
Partners supports the creation of a specialized license plate to
raise awareness about kidney disease and save lives.
Previous legislation:
AB 244 (Bonilla), Chapter 690, Statutes of 2013, requires the
Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to apply to DMV to sponsor
a veterans specialized license plate, and would require the DMV
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to issue the veterans specialized license plates if DVA meets
specific requirements.
AB 482 (Atkins), Chapter 590, Statutes of 2013, requires the
California Cultural and Historical Endowment, if it creates a
competitive grant program as specified, to apply to DMV for the
purpose of creating a specialized license plate program using
the cartoon character Snoopy.
AB 853 (Brown and Linder) of 2013, would authorize CHP to apply
to DMV to sponsor a
program for a series of motorsports and auto-enthusiast themed
license plates. That bill was not heard at the request of the
author.
AB 1096 (Nestande) of 2013, would have required DMV, in
consultation with the Salton Sea
Joint Powers Authority, to design and make available a Salton
Sea environmental special interest license plate bearing a
full-plate graphic design. That bill was held in the Senate
Rules Committee.
SB 789 (Price), Chapter 221, Statutes of 2013, authorized the
California Arts Council to use funds generated by specialized
license plate applications for administrative purposes that was
previously prohibited.
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 specialized license plate.
AB 1242 (Achadjian) of 2012, would have authorized the
Foundation for California Community Colleges to apply to DMV to
sponsor specialized 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 license plate program 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, authorized DMV, in consultation with the California
Department of Parks and Recreation, to design and make available
for issuance special state parks environmental license plates
bearing a full-plate graphic design. This bill was not heard in
this committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
DaVita/Health Care Partners
National Kidney Foundation
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093