Amended in Senate April 26, 2016

Amended in Senate April 11, 2016

Senate BillNo. 1399


Introduced by Senator Hueso

February 19, 2016


An act to amend Section 4853 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1399, as amended, Hueso. Department of Motor Vehicles: license plate alternatives pilot program.

Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue license plates for vehicles, as specified, and authorizes the department to issue one or more stickers, tabs, or other suitable devices in lieu of the license plates, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the department to establish a pilot program, to be completed no later than January 1, 2017, to evaluate the use of alternatives to stickers, tabs, license plates, and registration cards, subject to certain requirements, and to report the results of the pilot program, as specified, to the Legislature no later than July 1, 2018.

This bill would instead require the department to complete any pilot program established pursuant to those provisions no later than January 1,begin delete 2018,end deletebegin insert 2019,end insert and to report the results of the pilot program to the Legislature by July 1,begin delete 2019.end deletebegin insert 2020.end insert

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 4853 of the Vehicle Code is amended to
2read:

3

4853.  

(a) The department may issue one or more stickers, tabs,
4or other suitable devices in lieu of the license plates provided for
5under this code. Except where the physical differences between
6the stickers, tabs, or devices and license plates by their nature
7render the provisions of this code inapplicable, all provisions of
8this code relating to license plates may apply to stickers, tabs, or
9devices.

10(b) The department may establish a pilot program to evaluate
11the use of alternatives to the stickers, tabs, license plates, and
12registration cards authorized by this code, subject to all of the
13following requirements:

14(1) The alternative products shall be approved by the Department
15of the California Highway Patrol.

16(2) The pilot program shall be limited to no more than 0.5
17percent of registered vehicles for the purpose of road testing and
18evaluation.

19(3) The alternative products to be evaluated shall be provided
20at no cost to the state.

21(4) Any pilot program established by the department pursuant
22to this subdivision shall be completed no later than January 1,
23
begin delete 2018.end deletebegin insert 2019.end insert

24(5) Any pilot program established by the department pursuant
25to this subdivision shall be limited to vehicle owners who have
26voluntarily chosen to participate in the pilot program.

27(c) In the conduct of any pilot program pursuant to this section,
28any data exchanged between the department and any electronic
29device or the provider of any electronic device shall be limited to
30begin delete thatend deletebegin insert thoseend insert data necessary to display evidence of registration
31compliance. The department shall not receive or retain any
32information generated during the pilot program regarding the
33movement, location, or use of a vehicle participating in the pilot
34program.

35(d) If the department conducts a pilot program authorized in
36subdivision (b), the department shall, no later than July 1,begin delete 2019,end delete
37begin insert 2020,end insert submit a report of the results of the pilot program to the
P3    1Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
2 Code, to include, but not be limited to, the following:

3(1) An evaluation of the cost effectiveness of the alternatives
4used in the pilot program when compared to the department’s
5current use of stickers, tabs, license plates, and registration cards.

6(2) A review of all products evaluated in the pilot program and
7of the features of those products. The report shall note if the devices
8evaluated in the pilot program are available with the ability to
9transmit and retain information relating to the movement, location,
10or use of a vehicle, and if a product contains that feature, the report
11shall also note if the product includes any security features to
12protect against unauthorized access to information.

13(3) Recommendations for subsequent actions, if any, that should
14be taken with regard to alternatives evaluated in the pilot program.



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