BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 270 Hearing Date: 7/7/2015
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|Author: |Nazarian |
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|Version: |3/16/2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Randy Chinn |
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SUBJECT: Specialized license plates: diabetes awareness
DIGEST: This bill creates a diabetes awareness specialty
license plate program.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law provides for a specialized license plate program,
under which the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) may issue new
special-interest license plates. Special-interest license
plates may only be issued on behalf of state agencies and only
provided that:
1)The license plate has "a design or contains a message that
publicizes or promotes a state agency, or the official policy,
mission, or work of a state agency." The design shall also be
confined to the left of and below the numerical series (i.e.,
no full-plate designs allowed).
2)The state agency submits 7,500 applications and accompanying
fees to DMV for the license plate. The state agency has 12
months to collect these applications and fees, but it can
extend that to a maximum of 24 months if it notifies and
offers to refund fees to those who applied during the first 12
months. Once a plate is issued, DMV stops issuing that plate
for the agency if the number of plates drops below 7,500.
In addition to the usual registration and license fees, DMV
charges the following additional fees for specialized license
AB 270 (Nazarian) Page 2 of ?
plates: $50 for the initial issuance, $40 for annual renewal,
and $98 to personalize. DMV deducts its administrative costs
from the revenues generated. The net revenues derived from a
specialized license plate are then available upon appropriation
for the sponsoring state agency to expend exclusively on
projects and programs that promote the state agency's official
policy, mission, or work.
This bill requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to
apply to the DMV to sponsor a diabetes awareness, education, and
research specialty license plate program. All net proceeds
shall be allocated to DPH to fund projects and programs related
to diabetes awareness and prevention.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. The author asserts that for at least 10 years,
California has provided virtually no state funding for diabetes
programs, leaving DPH reliant solely on federal funding to
promote diabetes awareness and prevention. This bill creates a
program to provide additional funding for those purposes.
History of special interest license plates. Historically, the
Vehicle Code required the DMV to issue, upon legislative
authorization, a special-interest license plate bearing a
distinctive design or decal of a sponsoring organization to any
vehicle owner that pays specified fees, provided that the
sponsoring organization met certain conditions. These
conditions included that the sponsor of a special-interest
license plate had to collect 7,500 applications and fees for a
special license plate in order to pay DMV's costs of creating a
new plate, which are approximately $375,000 or 7,500
applications times the $50 fee.
In 2004, a federal court decision, Women's Resource Network v.
Gourley, E.D. Cal 2004, F.Supp.2d, 2004 U.S. Dist., invalidated
the provisions of the Vehicle Code described above. In the
Gourley decision, the court declared California's
special-interest license plate statutes unconstitutional because
they violated the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
The court specifically objected to the Legislature "picking and
choosing" special license plates that private organizations
propose, in essence promoting the message of some organizations
while denying this right to others. The court did allow the 10
special-interest license plates existing at the time of its
AB 270 (Nazarian) Page 3 of ?
decision to remain in use and available to new applicants, as
they are today.
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.
Newly created plates and the revenue they generate must
publicize or promote a state agency, or the official policy,
mission, or work of a state agency.
A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court may have
upended the Gourley decision. On June 18, 2015, the Court
issued Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans,
which appears to be a contrary ruling to Gourley. However, the
committee needs to consult with others before providing a more
definitive opinion.
Outlook is grim. The track record of specialty license plates
reaching the 7,500 threshold is poor. Of the 12 legislatively
sponsored plates approved this century, only two have met the
threshold.
Related Legislation:
AB 63 (Bonilla) - establishes a school violence prevention
specialized license plate program. This bill is also being
heard today in this committee.
AB 192 (Allen) - establishes a coastal conservancy awareness
specialized license plate. This bill is pending in the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee.
AB 932 (Daly) - establishes a professional sports specialized
license plate. This bill is also being heard today in this
committee.
AB 1338 (Gomez) - establishes a domestic violence and sexual
assault awareness specialized license plate. This bill is also
being heard today in this committee.
AB 49 (Buchanan, Chapter 351, Statutes of 2014) - requires the
state Department of Health Care Services to apply to the DMV to
AB 270 (Nazarian) Page 4 of ?
sponsor a breast cancer awareness license plate program.
AB 1096 (Nestande, Chapter 353, Statutes of 2014) - requires the
Department of Fish and Wildlife to apply to the DMV to sponsor a
Salton Sea license plate program.
AB 2321 (Gomez, Chapter 358, Statutes of 2014) - requires the
Office of Emergency Services to apply to the DMV for a domestic
violence and sexual assault awareness and specialty license
plate program.
AB 2450 (Logue, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2014) - requires the
state Department of Public Health to apply to the DMV for a
kidney disease awareness specialty license plate program.
AB 244 (Bonilla, Chapter 690, Statutes of 2013) - requires the
Department of Veterans Affairs to apply to the DMV to sponsor a
veterans' specialty license plate program.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 79-0
Appr: 17-0
Trans: 16-0
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
July 1, 2015.)
SUPPORT:
American Diabetes Association
American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees
Behavioral Diabetes Institute
Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceutical Company
California Academy of Physician Assistants
California Healthcare Institute
California Life Sciences Association
Center of Excellence in Diabetes and Endocrinology
JDRF
Two individuals
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OPPOSITION:
None received
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