BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1183|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1183
Author: DeSaulnier (D)
Amended: 5/27/14
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 6-4, 4/29/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Beall, Hueso, Lara, Liu, Pavley
NOES: Gaines, Cannella, Galgiani, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roth
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/14
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SUBJECT : Vehicle registration fees: surcharge for local
bicycle infrastructure
SOURCE : East Bay Regional Park District
DIGEST : This bill authorizes local governments to impose
vehicle registration surcharges for the purpose of funding local
bicycle infrastructure improvements and maintenance.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes a basic vehicle
registration fee (VRF) of $46, plus a $23 surcharge for
additional personnel for the California Highway Patrol for the
new or renewal registration of most vehicles. Existing law also
authorizes local agencies to impose separate VRF surcharges in
their respective jurisdictions for a variety of special
programs, including up to $2 for programs to address vehicle
CONTINUED
SB 1183
Page
2
thefts, up to $19 to mitigate vehicular air emissions, and $1 to
abate abandon vehicles.
This bill:
1.Authorizes, subject to 2/3- voter approval, cities, counties,
and regional parks districts to impose a surcharge of up to $5
on motor vehicles registered within their respective
jurisdictions.
2.Requires the amount of the surcharge would be specified in an
ordinance adopted by the local agency, and the Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV) to administer the collection of fees and
distribution of net revenues to the local agency, after
deduction collection costs.
3.Requires net revenues to be used for improvements to paved and
natural surface trails and bikeways, including:
Rehabilitation, restoration, and expansion of existing
trails and bikeways;
Development of new trails and bikeways;
Improvement and development of other bicycle facilities,
including but not limited to, bicycle parking facilities;
and
Maintenance and upkeep of existing local and regional
trail systems, bikeway systems, networks, and other bicycle
facilities.
4.Limits local agency administrative expenses to no more than 5%
of the net revenues collected under this bill.
Comments
Purpose of this bill . In a 2002 National Highway Transportation
Safety Administration survey, seven in 10 people said that they
would like to bike more than they do now, but less than half of
those surveyed were satisfied with how their communities are
designed for bicycling. The public's desire for more bikable
communities aligns with large safety benefits associated with
use of bike paths and trails: A 2012 study in the American
Journal of Public Health found that bicyclists using separated,
protected bicycle tracks had a nine-fold decrease in injury risk
CONTINUED
SB 1183
Page
3
due to accidents compared to cyclists sharing roads with motor
vehicles. In addition to safety benefits, bike infrastructure
supports the state's goal to promote walking and biking through
the state's Active Transportation Program, and also supports the
objectives of California's landmark Sustainable Communities Act,
SB 375 (Steinberg, Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008).
Department of Motor Vehicles to administer . DMV routinely
administers local vehicle registration surcharges and
distributes net revenues back to local jurisdictions. Local
vehicle registration surcharge programs that DMV currently
administers include ones that support, for example, regional air
quality programs. Because DMV has already put in place
mechanisms for collecting, processing, and distributing local
vehicle registration surcharge revenues, DMV's cost to implement
the program would be low and concentrated in the first year to
set up the programming. All of DMV's collection costs would
come from the proceeds of the local surcharge.
Vote of the people . The people passed Proposition 26 in
November 2010 and so amended the California Constitution to
require that any "change in statute which results in a taxpayer
paying a higher tax must be imposed by an act passed by not less
than two-thirds of all members elected to each of the two houses
of the Legislature." This bill does not result in a taxpayer
paying a higher tax but delegates to cities, counties, and
regional park districts the authority to impose a higher
surcharge on vehicle registrations to fund a specific government
function. So while this bill is a majority vote measure in the
Legislature, the local action to increase the registration
surcharge will be a two-thirds vote of the local electorate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Estimated one-time costs to the DMV in the range of $150,000
to $200,000 for programming and startup costs to implement a
new fee collection protocol. These costs would be reimbursed
in arrears from fees collected. All ongoing DMV costs would
be deducted from fees collected prior to distribution to the
local agency imposing the surcharge. (Motor Vehicle Account)
CONTINUED
SB 1183
Page
4
Additional DMV programming costs of approximately $40,000 for
each subsequent jurisdiction that imposes the surcharge. All
ongoing administrative collection costs would be deducted from
fees collected prior to distribution. (Motor Vehicle Account)
Unknown revenue gains on the local level, potentially in the
millions annually, depending on the amount of the surcharge
adopted and the number of registered vehicles in a particular
jurisdiction in which a surcharge is approved by the voters.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/14)
East Bay Regional Park District (source)
Bike East Bay
California Bicycle Coalition
California Park and Recreation Society
Coalition for Clean Air
TransForm
Transportation Authority of Marin
JA:k 5/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED