BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
                              Senator Jim Beall, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:          SB 1429           Hearing Date:    4/19/2016
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          |Author:   |Nielsen                                               |
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          |Version:  |3/28/2016                                             |
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          |Urgency:  |No                     |Fiscal:      |Yes             |
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          |Consultant|Manny Leon                                            |
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          SUBJECT:  Vehicles


            DIGEST:  This bill allows a model year vehicle 1980 or older to  
          use a special license plate otherwise known as a "model year  
          date" license plate.  

          ANALYSIS:

          The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), upon initially  
          registering a vehicle, issues the owner license plates, which  
          the owner must affix to the vehicle to identify it.  Since the  
          1920s, California has had many plate background and character  
          color combinations.

          In 1963, California replaced all existing license plates with  
          the yellow-on-black plates.

          From 1963 through 1969, DMV issued both passenger and commercial  
          vehicles the yellow-on-black plates.  DMV continued to issue the  
          yellow-on-black plates to commercial vehicles and pickup trucks  
          until 1972. 

          Beginning in 1970, DMV issued yellow-on-blue plates, and then in  
          the 1980s, began issuing blue-on-white plates.  Many vehicles on  
          the road today that date from the 1960s and 1970s display the  
          yellow-on-black or yellow-on-blue plates. Only those vehicles on  
          the road from that time that lost their plates or had their  
          plates damaged, display blue-on-white plates.








          SB 1429 (Nielsen)                                  Page 2 of ?
          
          
          Existing law:

          1)Establishes the California Legacy License Plate Program,  
            offering vehicle owners the opportunity to purchase replicas  
            of California license plates similar to those issued in the  
            1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.   Only the 1960s plate reached the  
            required 7,500 orders before the statutory January 1, 2015,  
            deadline.

          2)Authorizes an owner of a vehicle that is a 1969 or older  
            model-year or the owner of a commercial vehicle or pickup  
            truck that is a 1972 or older model year to replace the  
            license plates on the vehicle with license plates with the  
            date of the year corresponding to the model-year date when the  
            vehicle was manufactured, as specified. 

          3)Specifies that the above-mentioned plates may only be used if  
            the license plate is legible and serviceable.

          This bill expands the authorization for these special license  
          plates to include the owner of a 1980 or older model-year  
          vehicle.

          COMMENTS:

          1)Purpose.  The author introduced this bill because of a desire  
            from constituents within his district to legally use the "blue  
            and gold" license plates issued the same year as their  
            model-year vehicles manufactured prior to 1980.  The author  
            notes that "SB 1429 extends the same provisions granted to  
            early-model 'black and gold'- era automobiles to vintage 'blue  
            and gold'-era vehicles from the 1970s."  

          2)Previous authorization.  AB 462 (Villines, Chapter 497,  
            Statutes of 2007) enacted the existing authorization that  
            allows an owner of a 1969 or older model year vehicle or a  
            1972 or older model year commercial vehicle to use license  
            plates from the year when the vehicle was manufactured.  At  
            that time, the author introduced AB 462 at the request of  
            vintage/historical car groups to allow "model-year" license  
            plates to be used on restored/customized vehicles.  These  
            groups asserted that without the ability to display vintage  
            license plates on these automobiles, many of which are now  
            collectors' items, their owners are effectively precluded from  
            fully restoring these vehicles to their original condition.  








          SB 1429 (Nielsen)                                  Page 3 of ?
          
          

          3)Same fee structure.  While this bill expands the range of  
            vehicles that may qualify for a "model-year" special plate,  
            this bill does not change or modify the existing fee structure  
            a vehicle owner must pay in order to cover the cost associated  
            with issuing these special license plates.   

          Related Legislation:
          
          AB 462 (Villines, Chapter 497, Statutes of 2007) - allows the  
          owner of a vehicle from the 1969 model year and earlier, or the  
          owner of a commercial vehicle or a pickup truck that is a 1972  
          or older model, to display vintage license plates corresponding  
          to the vehicle's year of manufacture.

          FISCAL EFFECT:  Appropriation:  No    Fiscal Com.:  Yes     
          Local:  No


            POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the committee before noon on  
          Wednesday,
                          April 13, 2016.)
          
            SUPPORT:  

          Association of California Car Clubs 
          Capital City Cruisers Car Club
          El Dorado Early Ford V8 Car Club

          OPPOSITION:

          None received
          
          

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