BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1338|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1338
Author: Gomez (D)
Amended: 5/11/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 7/7/15
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 5/14/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Specialized license plates: domestic violence and
sexual assault awareness
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill revises an existing specialty license plate
program on domestic violence by including sexual assault
programs.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)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
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plates may only be issued on behalf of state agencies and only
provided that:
a) 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).
b) 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
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.
1)Requires the Office of Emergency Services to apply to the DMV
to sponsor a domestic violence and sexual assault awareness
specialty license plate program. The net proceeds from this
program will fund an existing family violence prevention
program, as specified.
This bill revises the existing domestic violence and sexual
assault awareness specialty license plate program to expand the
purposes of the net proceeds to include funding an existing
sexual assault services program.
Comments
Purpose. According to the author, in this country, on average,
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24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or
stalking by an intimate partner. This bill is a cleanup bill to
AB 2321 (Gomez, Chapter 358, Statutes of 2014), which adds
sexual assault prevention as one of the intended beneficiaries
of the funds derived from the adoption of the specialty license
plate program created in that bill.
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
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 excluded 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.
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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
Senate Transportation and Housing Committee needs to consult
with others before providing a more definitive opinion.
Challenging track record. 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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
California State Association of Counties
California State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Planned Parenthood
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 5/14/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
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Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
Prepared by:Randy Chinn / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
8/19/15 20:34:38
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