BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1323 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 6, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 1323 (Lieu) - As Amended: August 4, 2014 Policy Committee: TransportationVote:14-0 Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill modifies funding and administration of the Pet Lover's specialized license plate program. Specifically, this bill: 1) Requires the DMV, after deducting its administrative costs, to deposit revenue derived from specialized license plates issued under the Pet Lover's License Plate Program into the newly-established Pet Lover's License Fund (PLF) rather than into the Specialized License Plate Fund. 2) Transfers moneys in the Specialized License Plate Fund as of the operative date of this bill, which were derived from sales of specialized license plates under the Pet Lover's License Plate Program, to the PLF. 3) Provides that monies in the PLF are continuously-appropriated to the Veterinary Medical Board (VMB), rather than subject to appropriation by the Legislature, solely to fund no-cost or low-cost animal sterilization programs pursuant to regulations to be adopted by the board, which may include designation of a nonprofit corporation to administer the program. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Depending on the number of licenses plates sold, the continuous appropriation could provide expenditure authority to the VBM exceeding $150,000 in any fiscal year without legislative budgetary oversight. 2)One-time transfer to the PLF of $120,000 in funds collected to SB 1323 Page 2 date for the Pet Lover's program. COMMENTS 1) Background . DMV currently administers 12 specialized license plate programs, including the Pet Lover's specialized license plate program. AB 610 (Solorio), Chapter 9, Statutes of 2012, provided the VMB an additional 12-month period to meet the 7,500 application threshold as required by existing law for such programs. The board obtained the necessary applications over the additional 12 months and began issuing Pet Lover's specialized license plates in September of 2013. This bill requires DMV to deposit additional revenue generated from the Pet Lover's specialized license plate program into the newly created PLF and to be continuously appropriated to VMB. The author introduced this bill in order to streamline the funding process for the Pet Lover's plate program and to keep revenue flowing to programs that fund animal sterilization services. Currently a timing issue exists between when DMV started collecting fees for the Pet Lover's specialized license plate program and when DMV has the authority to allocate the funds to VMB. Due to this timing issue, VMB would receive program funds no earlier than July 2015. The author notes the provisions in this bill are necessary to ensure that the funds meant to go to no-cost or low-cost spay and neuter programs actually reach their intended purpose in a timely manner and do not get delayed in the state budget process. 2) The continuous appropriation in this bill is contrary to the general policy of this committee and would be an exception to the other specialized license plate programs, which are subject to Legislative review and appropriation in the annual budget act. The author's recent amendments will allow for immediate transfer of moneys collected to date for the intended use. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081