BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1884
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1884 (Harper) - As Amended March 10, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
to apply to the DMV to create a specialized license plate
program to promote mental health awareness.
FISCAL EFFECT:
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1)Potential one-time special fund costs of approximately
$440,000 to DMV to establish the specialized license plate
program, including computer programming changes and updating
forms. Pursuant to current law, DMV will make computer
programming and form changes only after program applications
meet a 7,500-application threshold. Therefore, the DMV will
incur these costs only if it receives enough applications to
require the DHCS to implement the program. The DMV will incur
minor ongoing costs to continue issuing specialty license
plates and renewals under the program. All of the DMV's
initial and ongoing costs will be covered by a portion of the
additional $50 fee paid for original specialized license
plates and the additional $40 fee to renew such plates.
2)Minor costs to DHCS to submit the program application and
license prototype to DMV, design and print the license plate
application, and collect and hold applications and fees until
7,500 applications are received.
3)Potential ongoing revenue to DHCS, subject to appropriation by
the Legislature, to fund mental health awareness and
education.
COMMENTS:
1)Specialized License Plates. Prior to 2007, any new special
interest license plate required specific legislative
authorization. This practice was held to be unconstitutional
in that the Legislature approved some of the plates, and
rejected others, using no standardized or objective criteria
for those decisions. Pursuant to AB 84 (Leslie)/Statutes of
2006, the DMV will issue specialized license plates when
sponsored by a state agency, the plate's message and resulting
revenues support that agency's program, and at least 7,500
paid license applications have been received. The
7,500-application threshold attempts to assure that DMV's
startup costs are fully covered, by the portion of the
registration fee surcharge directed to the department, and to
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avoid a proliferation of different types of plates, which can
be troublesome from a law enforcement perspective.
2)Purpose. This bill is intended to promote awareness and
encourage the de-stigmatization of mental health illnesses.
According to Every Mind Matters, 50% of Californians will
experience a mental health challenge in their lifetime and
between 70% and 90% of individuals report reduced symptoms and
improved quality of life with treatment and support.
According to the author, "Awareness is an important part of
treating mental health issues in California. This bill will
let Californians spread the word about this critical issue
every time they get in their cars."
3)Related Legislation. There are three bills, all pending in
Senate Appropriations, that establish a specialized license
plate program: AB 63 (Bonilla) for school safety, AB 270
(Nazarian) for diabetes awareness, and AB 932 (Daly) for local
parks and recreation grant programs.
4)Prior Legislation. Since 2011, 12 bills have been introduced
establishing specialized license plate program, of which four
have been chaptered: 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].
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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