California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1338

Introduced by Assembly Member Gomez

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 5156.5 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1338, as introduced, Gomez. Specialized license plates: domestic violence and sexual assault awareness.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialty license plates, including environmental license plates and specified special environmental design license plates. Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. The DMV is required to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates.

Existing law establishes a Family Violence Prevention Program within the Office of Emergency Services to provide financial and technical assistance to local domestic and family violence centers in implementing family violence prevention programs.

Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to apply to the DMV to sponsor a domestic violence and sexual assault awareness license plate program, and establishes the California Domestic Violence Prevention Fund in the State Treasury for the deposit of the revenue derived from these license plates. These funds are allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Office of Emergency Services for purposes of funding the Family Violence Prevention Program.

Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to establish an advisory committee to develop a course of training for district attorneys in the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases, child sexual exploitation cases, and child sexual abuse cases, and to approve grants awarded to proposed and existing sexual assault services programs (SASPs), which provide specified services to victims of sexual assault.

This bill would rename the above fund the California Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Fund, and would require the fees from the domestic violence and sexual assault awareness license plate program to also be used for purposes of funding the services provided by the SASPs.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 5156.5 of the Vehicle Code is amended
to read:

5156.5.  

(a) The Office of Emergency Services shall apply to
the department to sponsor a domestic violence and sexual assault
awareness license plate program pursuant to this article.

(b) The fees specified in Section 5157 shall be imposed for the
issuance, renewal, or transfer of specialized license plates
authorized by this section. Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of
Section 5157, after deducting its administrative costs, the
department shall deposit the revenue derived from the additional
fees into the California Domestic Violence begin insert and Sexual Assault end insert
Prevention Fund, which is hereby established in the State Treasury.
Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the moneys in that fund
shall be allocated to the Office of Emergency Services for purposes
of funding the Family Violence Prevention Program described in
Section 13823.4 begin delete of the Penal Code end delete begin insert of, and the sexual assault
services program described in Section 13837 of, the Penal Code end insert .