BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1429|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1429
Author: Nielsen (R)
Amended: 3/28/16
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/19/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 5/16/16
AYES: Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lara
SUBJECT: Vehicles
SOURCE: Author
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:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the California Legacy License Plate Program,
offering vehicle owners the opportunity to purchase replicas
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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
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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.
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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
One-time Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) programming costs
of up to $100,000. (Motor Vehicle Account)
Minor ongoing DMV administrative costs to process applications
would be offset by additional applications fees. (Motor
Vehicle Account)
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/17/16)
Association of California Car Clubs
Capital City Cruisers Car Club
El Dorado Early Ford V8 Car Club
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OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/17/16)
None received
Prepared by:Manny Leon / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
5/18/16 16:28:09
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