BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 192
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 192
(Travis Allen) - As Amended April 20, 2015
SUBJECT: License plates
SUMMARY: Requires the State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) to apply
to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a coastal
conservancy specialized license plate program (program), as
specified. Establishes the Coastal Conservancy Awareness Fund
(Fund) and specifies that revenues from the Fund will be used by
SCC to fund programs related to coastal protection and public
awareness, as specified.
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
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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
numerical series.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Prior to 2007, any new specialized 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
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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 specialized 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.
According to SCC's 2013 strategic plan the California coast is
an environmental, recreational and economic asset to the state.
The plan highlights that two out of every three Californians
lives in a coastal county and millions of visitors come to our
coast each year. Furthermore, California's coast is also a
major economic driver to the state - the National Ocean
Economics Program found that in 2000 the total gross state
product of California's coast and ocean was approximately $42.9
billion and it supported almost 700,000 jobs.
The author introduced AB 192 in an attempt to establish a
funding source to support coastal protection efforts and raise
coastal awareness through education and outreach efforts. The
author notes that this bill will "continue to protect access to
California's coasts, educate more people about the history and
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recreational value of our beaches, and promote the protection of
the coast for everyone to be able to enjoy it for generations to
come."
Related legislation: AB 63 (Bonilla), requires the California
Department of Education to apply to the DMV to sponsor a
specialized license plate program to generate funds for school
violence prevention programs. This bill passed out of the
Assembly Education Committee on March 25, 2015, with a 6-0 vote
and subsequently passed out of this Committee on April 13, 2015
with a 16-0 vote.
AB 270 (Nazarian), requires the State Department of Public
Health to apply to DMV to sponsor a diabetes awareness,
education, and research specialized license plate program, as
specified. AB 270 passed out of this committee on a 16-0 vote
and is awaiting a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
AB 932 (Daly and Thurmond), requires the State Department of
Parks and Recreation to apply to DMV to sponsor a specialized
license plate program using professional sport team logos.
Establishes the California State Parks Account and specifies
that revenues from the Account be used by DPR to fund local park
and recreation programs. AB 932 passed out of this committee on
a 14-0 vote and subsequently passed out of the Arts,
Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media Committee on
April 21, 2015 with a 7-0.
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Previous legislation: Over the past 5 years, 13 bills have been
introduced directing a state agency to sponsor a specialized
license plate for a variety of causes. Of the 13 bills, eight
passed the Legislature and were signed by the Governor. Most
recently, in 2014, four bills were introduced and enacted to
raise money for Salton Sea restoration [AB 1096 (Nestande),
Chapter 353, Statutes of 2014], kidney disease research [AB 2450
(Logue), Chapter 359, Statutes of 2014], breast cancer awareness
[AB 49 (Buchanan), Chapter 351, Statutes of 2014], and domestic
violence prevention [AB 2321 (Gomez), Chapter 358, Statutes of
2014].
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
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