Amended in Assembly August 22, 2014

Amended in Assembly August 18, 2014

Amended in Assembly August 4, 2014

Amended in Assembly June 30, 2014

Amended in Assembly June 17, 2014

Amended in Senate April 29, 2014

Amended in Senate April 2, 2014

Amended in Senate March 25, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1323

Introduced by Senator Lieu

February 21, 2014

An act begin delete to amend Section 5157 of the Vehicle Code, end delete relating to vehicles, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1323, as amended, Lieu. Specialized license plates: Pet Lover’s License Plate Program.

Existing law establishes a specialized license plate program and requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialized license plates to a sponsoring state agency that meets certain requirements. Existing law requires the DMV to charge specified additional fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of specialized license plates, and requires that these additional fees, less the DMV’s administrative costs, be deposited in the Specialized License Plate Fund for appropriation and allocation to each sponsoring state agency, as specified.

This bill would begin delete require the DMV to deposit the additional fees, less the DMV’s administrative costs, for a specialized license plate issued under the Pet Lover’s License Plate Program sponsored by the Veterinary Medical Board, or a successor specialized license plate program sponsored by the board, into the Pet Lover’s Specialized License Plate Fund, which the bill would establish. The bill would require that these funds be continuously appropriated end delete begin insert appropriate the moneys in the Specialized License Plate Fund derived from the issuance, renewal, transfer, and substitution of a specialized license plate issued under the Pet Lover’s License Plate Program sponsored by the Veterinary Medical Board prior to the operative date of the bill end insert to the Veterinary Medical Board for the sole and exclusive purpose of funding grants to providers of no-cost or low-cost animal sterilization begin delete services, as specified. By continuously appropriating moneys in the fund to the board, the bill would make an appropriation. end delete begin insert services. end insert

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. 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 Any moneys in the Specialized License Plate Fund
derived from the issuance, renewal, transfer, and substitution of
a specialized license plate issued under the Pet Lover’s License
Plate Program sponsored by the Veterinary Medical Board prior
to the operative date of Senate Bill 1323 of the 2013-14 Regular
Session are hereby appropriated to the Veterinary Medical Board
for the sole and exclusive purpose of funding grants to providers
of no-cost or low-cost animal sterilization services. end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 5157 of the Vehicle Code is amended to
read:

5157.  

(a) 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
specialized license plates:

(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 specialized license plate design,
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.

(b) The Gold Star Family specialized license plate program as
provided in subdivision (d) of Section 5156 shall not be subject
to the fees specified in paragraphs (1), (2), and (5) of subdivision
(a) and shall only be issued in a sequential series.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a), 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 the specialized
license plates in the Specialized License Plate Fund, which is
hereby established in the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by
the Legislature, the moneys in that fund shall be allocated to each
sponsoring agency, in proportion to the amount in the fund that is
attributable to the agency’s specialized license plate program.
Except as authorized under Section 5159, the sponsoring agency
shall expend all funds received under this section exclusively for
projects and programs that promote the state agency’s official
policy, mission, or work.

(d) (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs may actively request
and receive donations for the Gold Star Family License Plate
Account, which is hereby created in the Specialized License Plate
Fund and which may consist of donations from public and private
entities. Earnings generated by the Gold Star Family License Plate
Account shall be retained by the account.

(2) Upon the determination of the department that there are
sufficient funds in the Gold Star Family License Plate Account
for this purpose, moneys in the Gold Star Family License Plate
Account shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
to the department for the necessary administrative costs of
establishing the Gold Star Family specialized license plate program.

(e) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) and except as provided
in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a), after deducting its
administrative costs under this section, the department shall deposit
the additional revenue derived from the issuance, renewal, transfer,
and substitution of a specialized license plate issued under the Pet
Lover’s License Plate Program sponsored by the Veterinary
Medical Board, or a successor specialized license plate program
sponsored by the Veterinary Medical Board, in the Pet Lover’s
Specialized License Plate Fund, which is hereby established in the
State Treasury.

(2) Any moneys in the Specialized License Plate Fund derived
from the issuance, renewal, transfer, and substitution of a
specialized license plate issued under the Pet Lover’s License Plate
Program sponsored by the Veterinary Medical Board prior to the
operative date of Senate Bill 1323 of the 2013-14 Regular Session
shall be transferred to the Pet Lover’s Specialized License Plate
Fund.

(3) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
all of the moneys in the Pet Lover’s Specialized License Plate
Fund are continuously appropriated to the Veterinary Medical
Board, without regard to fiscal years, for the sole and exclusive
purpose of funding grants to providers of no-cost or low-cost
animal sterilization services.

(4) The Veterinary Medical Board shall adopt regulations that
govern the Pet Lover’s License Plate Program and specify the
manner in which moneys in the Pet Lover’s Specialized License
Plate Fund are awarded consistent with this subdivision.

end delete

SEC. 2.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to ensure that funds from a specialized license plate
program are available as soon as possible to allow the Veterinary
Medical Board to support the critically important efforts of city
and county animal shelters to address serious animal care and
control problems facing the state, it is necessary that this act go
into effect immediately.