BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1815
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1815 (Emmerson) - As Amended: April 6, 2010
SUBJECT : Special interest license plates
SUMMARY : Allows the issuance of NASCAR license plates prior to
the receipt of 7,500 applications. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), on behalf of the
High Polluter Repair or Removal Account, to apply to the
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to cosponsor a program with
the NASCAR Foundation for a series of officially licensed
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR)
driver-specialized license plates.
2)Requires DMV to issue, or cause to be issued, specialized
plates for that program, if BAR complies with all statutory
requirements.
3)Allows the NASCAR plates to bear emblems, seals, or other
symbols or designs displaying themes of professional stock car
auto racing, or professional stock car auto racing drivers.
4)Prohibits DMV from issuing NASCAR plates for a vehicle that is
exempt from the payment of registration fees.
5)Prohibits DMV from establishing this program until one of the
following occurs:
a) DMV has received an advance payment from, or on behalf
of, BAR pursuant to a direct contract with DMV that
represents DMV's estimated or actual initial setup and
programming costs associated with the establishment of this
program, with the contract providing for the repayment of
the advance payment to the party or parties who advanced
the funds as part of the initial revenues distributed to
BAR from proceeds from the sale of NASCAR plates;
b) DMV has received not less than 7,500 applications for
NASCAR plates, with BAR collecting and holding applications
for the plates and submitting them to DMV along with the
necessary fees once it has received at least 7,500
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applications, to DMV. DMV would not issue NASCAR plates
until BAR had received and submitted not less than 7,500
applications within six years; or,
c) DMV has received a certain number of applications,
together with an advance payment from, or on behalf of,
BAR, in amounts it deems sufficient to cover its estimated
or actual initial setup and programming costs. BAR would
be required to collect and hold applications for the plates
and, once it had received the specified applications and
the advance payment, submit the applications and fees, and
the advance payment, to DMV. DMV would not issue any
NASCAR plates until BAR had received and submitted the
applications, fees, and advance payment within six years.
The contract would be required to provide for the repayment
of the advance payment to the party or parties who advanced
the funds as part of the initial revenues distributed to
BAR.
6)Allows DMV and BAR to contract with third-party vendors or the
Prison Industry Authority for the manufacture, processing, and
distribution of NASCAR plates.
7)Requires DMV to cause to be issued any plate in this series
without a minimum number of applications for a specific
design.
8)Provides that if, five years after the program has been
established, the number of outstanding and valid NASCAR plates
is less than 7,500, DMV must notify BAR and inform it that if
the number is less than 7,500 one year from the date of that
notification, DMV will no longer issue or replace any such
plates.
9)Allows any plates issued prior to the discontinuation of the
program under those circumstances to continue to be used and
attached to the vehicles for which they were issued and to be
renewed, retained, or transferred.
10)Establishes a $60 fee for the original issuance of NASCAR
plates and a $50 for the renewal of the plates.
11)Requires funds collected by DMV from the original sale of
NASCAR plates be distributed no less frequently than each
quarter annually, with $20 from each new plate going to DMV,
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$10 to BAR's High Polluter Repair or Removal Account, and $30
to the NASCAR Foundation.
12)Provides that the funds from the renewal of each NASCAR plate
will be distributed with $20 going to DMV, $7 to BAR's High
Polluter Repair or Removal Account, and $23 to the NASCAR
Foundation.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows any state agency to apply to DMV to sponsor a
specialized license plate program.
2)Requires DMV to issue specialized license plates for that
program, if the agency complies with all statutory
requirements.
3)Prohibits DMV from establishing a specialized license plate
program for an agency until it has received not less than
7,500 applications for that agency's specialized license
plates.
4)Requires the agency to collect and hold applications for the
plates. Once the agency has received at least 7,500
applications, it must submit the applications, along with the
necessary fees, to DMV.
5)Prohibits advance payment to DMV of its estimated or actual
administrative costs associated with the issuance of a
particular specialized license plate from constituting
compliance with the 7,500 application threshold requirement.
6)Requires funds accruing to a sponsoring state agency from the
sale of special interest license plates to be expended
exclusively for projects and programs that promote that
agency's official policy, mission or work.
7)Establishes a repair assistance program for individuals who
have a maximum income level of 185% of the federal poverty
level and own a motor vehicle that has failed a smog check
inspection and for individuals who own a motor vehicle that
has failed a smog check inspection and are directed to a
test-only smog station.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
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COMMENTS : Prior to 2007, any new special interest license plate
required specific legislative authorization. This practice was
held to be unconstitutional in that the Legislature approved
some of the plates, and rejected others, using no standardized
or objective criteria for those decisions. Subsequently, as a
result of AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter 91, Statutes of 2006, an
administrative process has been established wherein DMV will
issue specialized license plates when they are sponsored by a
state agency, the plate's message and the revenues it generates
support that agency's program, and at least 7,500 paid
applications have been received. The 7,500-application
threshold was previously put into statute for special interest
license plates and was arrived at in an attempt to assure that
DMV's startup costs would be fully covered by the portion of the
registration fee surcharge that is directed to the department.
This bill would provide a separate process for the establishment
of a NASCAR plate, allowing the 7,500 application threshold to
be temporarily bypassed if DMV receives an advanced payment to
cover its startup costs. It would also allow a portion of the
proceeds from the sales of these plates to be directed to the
NASCAR Foundation, as opposed to the state program associated
with the plate, which in this case is the High Polluter Repair
or Removal Program. Unlike other specialized license plates,
these plates would highlight NASCAR racing, rather than the
state agency (BAR) to which the revenues generated by the plates
would be allocated.
The sponsor of this bill points out that NASCAR plates have
recently been offered in nine other states, where they have been
proven to be extremely popular (certainly more so than a BAR
plate would be). In those states, the number of NASCAR plates
in circulation ranges from 3,600 to over 150 thousand. Based on
these rates of sales, it is estimated that a California NASCAR
plate could be expected to generate $1.5 million for the High
Polluter Repair or Removal Program in its first year and $1.1
million annually thereafter. "If we consider that all
government-sponsored programs are suffering because of the
current economic climate, this is a wonderful opportunity to
provide a new and continuing funding source for this clean air
program," says the sponsor. The sponsor further reports that
since 2006, the NASCAR Foundation "has saved more than 35,000
lives through its national Blood & Marrow Drive, granted 275
NASCAR-themed wishes, sent more than 500 kids to Victory
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Junction, recruited 9,256 fans to become part of a Volunteer
Network, and dedicated over $6.25 million in donations and
non-profit programming."
Suggested Committee amendments : In order to be consistent with
established policy on specialized license plates, the bill
should be amended to delete the provisions allowing issuance of
any plates before 7,500 paid applications are submitted to DMV
(an unnecessary provision, given the projected popularity of the
plates), and to direct all fee revenue in excess of DMV's costs
to the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account. The bill should
also be amended to make clear that the design of the plate must
meet the approval of DMV and the California Highway Patrol.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Race Plate Marketing, LLC
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093