BILL ANALYSIS
AB 286
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 286 (Salas) - As Introduced: February 13, 2009
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:5-2
Transportation 8-5
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill extends, from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2018, the
sunset date on provisions authorizing county-adopted vehicle
registration fee surcharges. Specifically, this bill:
1)Extends for 8 years the statute that authorizes counties to
adopt an annual $1 vehicle registration service charge for
passenger vehicles and an annual $2 vehicle registration
service charge for commercial vehicles where that charge is
used exclusively to fund programs that enhance the capacity of
local police and prosecutors to deter, investigate, and
prosecute vehicle theft crimes.
2)Expands the existing annual reporting requirement for counties
that adopt these service charges to include an accounting of
expenditures for salaries and expenses, purchase of equipment
and supplies, and any other expenditure listed by type, with
an explanatory comment.
FISCAL EFFECT
Continuation of the program would maintain the registration fee
service charge at current levels, resulting in about $30 million
revenues per year for local vehicle theft prevention programs.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The purpose of the bill is to extend funding for
successful local vehicle theft programs, which currently exist
in 48 of the state's counties.
AB 286
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2)Background . Existing law establishes a basic vehicle
registration fee of $31, plus a $10 surcharge for additional
personnel for the CHP, for the new or renewal registration of
most vehicles or trailer coaches. Existing law also
authorizes local agencies to impose separate vehicle
registration fee surcharges in their respective jurisdictions
for a variety of special programs, such as abating abandoned
vehicles and deterring, investigating, and prosecuting vehicle
theft.
The vehicle theft program may be established through a
resolution by a county board of supervisors imposing a $1
surcharge on every new or renewal vehicle registration, plus
another $2 on commercial vehicles. Smaller counties adopting
vehicle theft programs (those with a population of less than
250,000) may also use the resulting funds to prosecute
specified driving-under-the-influence and vehicular
manslaughter crimes. Each quarter, participating counties
must submit to CHP a report on the expenditures and activities
as well as submitting a fiscal year end report to the State
Controller.
3)Previous legislation . This bill is similar to AB 860 (Salas)
from last year, which was vetoed by the Governor, who cited
the late budget and the lack of time for review.
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081