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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Nielsen | |----------+------------------------------------------------------| |Version: |3/28/2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant|Manny Leon | |: | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 -- END --