BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
498 (Hayashi)
Hearing Date: 06/28/2010 Amended: 06/01/2010
Consultant: Mark McKenzie Policy Vote: T&H 8-0
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: AB 498 would exempt a former prisoner of war
(POW) who applies for specified veterans' organization license
plates from the payment of the $30 fee for the plates,
registration and surcharge fees, and the vehicle license fee
(VLF). The bill would also authorize the surviving spouse of a
former POW to retain the plates and the fee exemptions.
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
DMV programming $100-$250 Special*
____________
* Motor Vehicle Account
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Existing law authorizes any registered vehicle owner to apply to
the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for veterans' license
plates, upon payment vehicle registration fees, the VLF, any
applicable local fees, and an additional $30 veterans' license
plate fee. The vehicle owner may choose from over 100 varieties
of veterans' plates and the special plate revenues primarily
benefit county veterans' service organizations. Existing law
also authorizes former POWs to apply for former American POW
special license plates after showing proof of former POW status
to the DMV. These plate holders are exempt from payment of all
registration fees and the VLF. The surviving spouse of a former
POW may retain the special plates and the corresponding fee
exemptions. DMV indicates that there are approximately 1,100
registered vehicles with former POW special license plates.
AB 498 would authorize a former POW to acquire veterans'
organization special license plates instead of former POW plates
and retain the fee exemption associated with the POW plates.
The bill would also allow the surviving spouse of a former POW
who acquires veterans' organization plates to retain the plates
and extend the fee exemption until his or her death.
This bill would require DMV to reprogram their computer systems
to allow for the fee exemption for a sub-class of applicants for
special license plates that are otherwise available to anyone
registering a vehicle and paying the fee. Programming of this
sort to segregate a portion of applicants requires more auditing
controls than would otherwise be required for a general
fee-exempt program. DMV indicates the programming costs could
be as high as $250,000, but may be as low as $100,000. Staff
recommends an amendment to delay implementation of the fee
exemption until January 1, 2012 to allow DMV time to perform the
necessary programming.
Page 2
AB 498 (Hayashi)
The veterans' plate program was created to generate revenues for
veterans' programs and the POW plate program was created so
ex-POWs could show pride in the sacrifices they made for their
country and to provide relief from vehicle fees for those that
have endured such an ordeal. The author indicates that this
bill is intended to provide the existing fee exemption for
ex-POWs who may not be comfortable advertising that they are a
former POW. It is unclear how many ex-POWs would prefer to have
a veterans' organization plate but if ten percent of the current
holders of POW plates opted to instead apply for fee-exempt
veterans' plates, approximately 110 individuals would benefit
from this bill. The Committee may wish to consider whether the
costs associated with the bill justify the benefits it would
provide to this small group.