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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