BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2303
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Date of Hearing: April 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 2303
(Holden) - As Amended April 14, 2016
SUBJECT: Vehicles: specialized license plates
SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
sponsor a bicycle pathway license plate program. Allocates the
revenues generated the bicycle pathway license plate program to
the Active Transportation Program and specifies that the design
of the license plates be identical to the design utilized by DMV
between 1982 and 1987 that featured blue, orange, and red
lettering, a white background, the phrase "Golden State" and a
sunset design.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Allows any state agency to apply to DMV to sponsor a
specialized license plate program.
2)Requires DMV to issue specialized license plates for that
program if the agency complies with all statutory
requirements.
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3)Prohibits DMV from establishing a specialized license plate
program for an agency until it has received not less than
7,500 paid applications for that agency's specialized license
plates.
4)Requires the agency to collect and hold applications for the
plates. Once the agency has received at least 7,500
applications, it must submit the applications, along with the
necessary fees, to DMV.
5)Prohibits advance payment to DMV of its estimated or actual
administrative costs associated with the issuance of a
particular specialized license plate from constituting
compliance with the 7,500 application threshold requirement.
6)Requires funds accruing to a sponsoring state agency from the
sale of specialized license plates to be expended exclusively
for projects and programs that promote that agency's official
policy, mission, or work.
7)Allows specialized license plates to feature a distinctive
design, decal, or distinctive message in a two-inch by
three-inch space to the left of the plate's numerical sequence
and a space not larger than 5/8-inch in height below the
numerical series.
8)Establishes the Active Transportation Program for the purpose
of encouraging increased use of active modes of
transportation, such as biking and walking.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
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COMMENTS: Prior to 2007, any new specialty license plate
required specific legislative authorization. That practice was
held to be unconstitutional by the federal courts, as the
Legislature approved some plates and rejected others, without
using any standardized or objective criteria for those
decisions. 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. The current specialized license plate
program permits a state agency to initiate the development and
sponsorship of a specialized plate, thus no additional
legislation is required to authorize the creation of a new
plate.
Plates created under the current program and the revenue they
generate must publicize or promote a state agency, or the
official policy, mission, or work of a state agency.
Furthermore, the process requires that at least 7,500 paid
applications must be received by the state agency prior to
notifying DMV. This 7,500-application threshold was previously
put into statute in an attempt to ensure that DMV's startup
costs would be fully covered by the portion of the registration
fee surcharge that is directed to DMV and to avoid a
proliferation of different types of plates, which can be
troublesome from a law enforcement perspective.
In regards to this bill, the author intends to provide
additional resources to the State Highway Account's
oversubscribed Active Transportation Program. The author states
that 28% of Californians ride a bicycle as an outdoor activity
and California bicyclists and pedestrians face much higher death
rates relative to the rest of the United States.
The Active Transportation Program was established in its current
form in 2013 with the following goals: increase the proportion
of trips accomplished by biking and walking, increase safety and
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mobility for non-motorized users, advance the active
transportation efforts of regional agencies to achieve
greenhouse gas reduction goals, enhance public health, ensure
that disadvantaged communities fully share in the benefits of
the program, and provide a broad spectrum of projects to benefit
many types of active transportation users. In every year since
2013, the Active Transportation Program has consistently
received project applications for a total amount of money
greater than the amount available to the program. For example,
in the second cycle of grants, awarded in 2015, 617 applications
were submitted, requesting over $1 billion in funds. In that
cycle approximately 207 projects were awarded totaling $359
million.
This bill would dedicate any revenues generated by the new
specialized license plate program to the Active Transportation
Program, providing an additional stream of resources.
Related legislation: Currently there are five other bills in
the legislative process that would direct a state agency to
sponsor a specialized license plate for a specific cause. Three
bills, AB 63 (Bonilla) to raise money for school safety, AB 270
(Nazarian) to raise money for diabetes awareness, and AB 932
(Daly) to raise money for local parks and recreation grant
programs passed out of this Committee with no 'No' votes and are
currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 1884
(Harper) to raise money for mental health awareness was passed
by this Committee on March 14, 2016, with a 16-0 vote, and is
currently awaiting a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee. AB 2131 (Maienschein) would raise money for local
food banks is scheduled to be heard by this committee on April
11, 2016.
AB 2253 (Grove) would require DMV to design and issue a special
interest license plate in consultation with In God We Trust -
America, Inc. AB 2253 is scheduled to be heard by this
committee on April 11, 2016.
Previous legislation: Since 2011, 12 bills have been introduced
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directing a state agency to sponsor a specialized license plate
for a variety of causes. Since 2014, four were passed by the
Legislature and signed by the Governor. These bills would raise
funds for 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]. None have yet gathered the necessary number of
applications to enter production.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Bicycle Coalition (Sponsor)
Bike East Bay
Bike Santa Cruz County
Bike SLO County
Chico Velo
Inland Empire Biking Alliance
Livable Communities, Inc.
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Marin County Bicycle Coalition
Napa County Bicycle Coalition
San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Justin Behrens / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
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