BILL ANALYSIS
AB 873
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 873 (Price) - As Amended: March 26, 2009
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:14-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill reenacts provisions that were allowed to sunset that
permitted licensed registration services to apply for duplicate
certificates of ownership or duplicate license plates.
Specifically, the bill:
1)Authorizes DMV to accept, at its discretion, applications that
are made by a licensed registration on behalf of (a) a dealer
or an agent of the dealer, (b) a dismantler, (c) an insurer or
agent of an insurer, (d) a salvage pool, (e) a recognized
business entity, (f) a court-appointed bankruptcy referee, or
an individual that presents an application with a signature
that is validated by a notary public
2)Requires registration services to maintain full and complete
records of transactions and to make those records available
for inspection by law enforcement agencies for the purpose of
a stolen vehicle investigation.
FISCAL EFFECT
DMV indicates that, since this bill reinstates a process that
DMV had previously had in place, any costs to implement the bill
are minor and absorbable. The department may realize ongoing
savings by allowing registration services to process
transactions.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. The bill is intended to reenact provisions of law
that allowed for more efficient processing for duplicate title
AB 873
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or replacement license plates of car dealers and other
businesses that are legal, but not registered, owners of
autos. The sponsor indicates that many of the concerns that
were raised during deliberation of the previous bill were
addressed through safeguards included in this bill. DMV
reports that many of the fraud concerns that were previously
raised did not materialize over the three year period in which
the previous law was in place.
2)Background. This bill reenacts provisions originally contained
in AB 2606 (Plescia), Chapter 430, Statutes of 2004, which
included a sunset date of January 1, 2008. Under the law in
effect today and prior to 2005, DMV is prohibited from issuing
a duplicate title or replacement license plate if the address
shown on the application is different from the address on DMV
records. In order to obtain these items, the registered owner
has to apply in person and show specific items that prove
ownership of the vehicle. Duplicate title and replacement
license plate applications submitted by legal owners who are
not registered owners, such as dealers, dismantlers, and
insurers, are exempt from the requirement. AB 2606 provided
the same exemption to licensed registration services from 2005
through 2007.
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081