Amended in Assembly March 10, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1884

Introduced by Assembly Member Harper

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Gallagher and Olsen)

(Coauthor: Senator Cannella)

February 11, 2016

An act to add Section 5166 to the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1884, as amended, Harper. Specialized license plates: mental health awareness.

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

This bill would require the begin delete Mental Health Services Division, within the State Department of Health Care Services, end delete begin insert State Department of Health Care Services end insert to apply to the DMV to sponsor a mental health awareness license plate program, and would require the DMV to issue the license plates if the begin delete Mental Health Services Division end delete begin insert department end insert meets certain requirements. The bill would also establish the Mental Health Awareness Fund in the State Treasury and would require the revenue generated from the license plates, as specified, to be deposited in the fund for use, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the begin delete Mental Health Services Division, end delete begin insert department, end insert for mental health awareness and education.

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 5166 is added to the Vehicle Code, to
read:

5166.  

(a)  begin delete The Mental Health Services Division, within the
State Department of Health Care Services, end delete begin insert The State Department
of Health Care Services end insert shall apply to the begin delete department, end delete begin insert Department
of Motor Vehicles, end insert pursuant to Section 5156, to sponsor a mental
health awareness license plate program. The begin delete department end delete
begin insert Department of Motor Vehicles end insert shall issue specialized license plates
for that program if the begin delete Mental Health Services Division end delete begin insert State
Department of Health Care Services end insert complies with the
requirements of this article.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 5157, the
additional fees prescribed by Section 5157 for the issuance,
renewal, or transfer of the specialized license plates shall be
deposited, after the begin delete department end delete begin insert Department of Motor Vehicles end insert
deducts its administrative costs, in the Mental Health Awareness
Fund, which is hereby established in the State Treasury. The funds
in the account shall be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature
to the begin delete Mental Health Services Division, end delete begin insert State Department of Health
Care Services, end insert for mental health awareness and education.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the begin delete department, end delete
begin insert Department of Motor Vehicles, end insert in consultation with the Mental
Health Services begin delete Division, end delete begin insert Division within the State Department
of Health Care Services, end insert will design and make available for
issuance pursuant to this article special mental health awareness
license plates. Specifically, it is the intent of the Legislature that
the license plates issued pursuant to this section consist of a lime
green mental health awareness ribbon to the left of the numerical
series and a mental health awareness message, such as “Mental
Health Matters,” below the numerical series.