BILL ANALYSIS
AB 286
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Date of Hearing: April 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Anna Marie Caballero, Chair
AB 286 (Salas) - As Introduced: February 13, 2009
SUBJECT : Vehicles: additional registration fees.
SUMMARY : Extends until 2018 the existing provisions that allow
counties to impose a $1 vehicle registration fee, and adds
additional reporting requirements for those counties that have
adopted a resolution to impose the fee. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Extends, until January 1, 2018, existing provisions that allow
counties to impose a $1 annual vehicle registration fee to be
used to enhance the capacity of local police and prosecutors
to deter, investigate, and prosecute vehicle theft crimes.
2)Requires the year-end reports that counties compile on the
usage of the fees to also include details of the expenditures
made by the county, including salaries and expenses, purchase
of equipment and supplies, and any other expenditures made
listed by type with an explanatory comment.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows counties, until January 1, 2010, to impose a $1 annual
vehicle registration fee in order to fund programs that
enhance the capacity of local police and prosecutors to deter,
investigate, and prosecute vehicle theft crimes.
2)Requires a county board of supervisors to adopt a resolution
in order to impose the $1 fee.
3)Requires a county that has adopted a resolution to impose the
$1 fee to provide a quarterly expenditure and activity report
to the designated statewide Vehicle Theft Investigation and
Apprehension Coordinator in the Department of the California
Highway Patrol (CHP).
4)Requires a county that has adopted a resolution to impose the
$1 fee to issue a fiscal year-end report to the Controller by
August 31 of each year summarizing:
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a) The total revenues received by the county from the fee;
b) The total expenditures made by the county;
c) A summary of vehicle theft abatement activities and
other vehicle theft programs funded by the fee;
d) The total number of stolen vehicles recovered and the
value of those vehicles;
e) A comparison of stolen vehicles from the last fiscal
year to the year preceding the last fiscal year; and,
f) Any additional, unexpended fee revenues.
5)Requires the Controller to suspend the fee for one year if the
county fails to submit the fiscal year-end report by November
30 of each year.
6)Authorizes the Controller, in consultation with the CHP, to
suspend the fee for one year if it is determined that the fee
revenues are not being utilized appropriately.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)This bill extends the sunset date on the vehicle theft
prevention fee from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2018, and
makes minor changes to an associated year-end report that
counties submit to the State Controller.
2)Existing law establishes a basic vehicle registration fee of
$31, plus a $10 surcharge for additional personnel for the
California Highway Patrol as well as several other
county-based surcharges for various other programs. Under SB
2139 (Davis), Chapter 1670, Statutes of 1990, counties are
authorized to impose a $1 fee to fund a program to deter,
investigate and prosecute vehicle theft. Subsequent
legislation has extended the sunset date three times, with the
most recent extension signed into law in 2004 [AB 1663
(Dutra), Chapter 514].
3)The author notes that since 1990, over 44 counties have
established vehicle theft suppression programs to combat the
high incidence of auto theft in their regions. Some of the
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larger regions, including Los Angeles and San Diego, have
established regional multi-jurisdictional task forces to
coordinate law enforcement efforts against auto thieves.
4)In 2007, the Los Angeles County Sheriff sponsored AB 878
(Davis), which Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed. AB 878 would
have allowed any county to increase the fee within its
jurisdiction from $1 to $2 to fund vehicle theft prevention,
investigation, and prosecution programs. Additionally, AB 878
would have extended the sunset on this program until 2013.
Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 878 noting that "on numerous
previous bills attempting to raise registration fees, I have
held that fees such as these should be approved by a vote of
the people. This measure does not include such a provision."
AB 286 does not propose to increase the fee like AB 878, but
instead would extend the sunset date by eight years, from 2010
to 2018.
5)In 2008, AB 860 (Salas), a bill substantially similar to AB
286, was vetoed by the Governor. The veto message said that
"the historic delay in passing the 2008-2009 State Budget has
forced me to prioritize the bills sent to my desk at the end
of the year's legislative session. Given the delay, I am only
signing bills that are the highest priority for California.
This bill does not meet that standard and I cannot sign it at
this time."
Committee staff notes that the authority for counties to
impose this fee will expire January 1, 2010, and if the
Legislature desires to keep the authority and funding
mechanism in place, legislation to extend the sunset must be
signed into law in 2009.
6)This bill is double-referred to the Committee on
Transportation.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office [CO-SPONSOR]
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department [CO-SPONSOR]
San Diego County District Attorney's Office [CO-SPONSOR]
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
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Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
CA District Attorneys Association
CA State Association of Counties
CA State Sheriffs' Association
City Police Departments of: Azusa, La Verne, and Monrovia
County Sheriff's Office of: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Contra
Costa, Del Norte, Sacramento,
San Diego, Shasta, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo
Opposition
Cal-Tax
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958