BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1352
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Date of Hearing: September 8, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 1352 (Logue) - As Amended: August 30, 2011
SUBJECT : Taxation: vehicle license fees.
SUMMARY : Provides that specified vehicle license fee (VLF)
revenues deposited into the Local Revenue Fund of 2011 for local
law enforcement realignment purposes would not be subject to
expenditure requirements of a local ordinance in Nevada County.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)State that designated VLF revenues shall not, for purposes of
an ordinance of the County of Nevada, be deemed VLF revenues
as defined in the California Constitution.
2)Define, for purposes of the bill, the term "designated vehicle
license fee revenues" to mean vehicle license revenues that
are collected and required to be deposited into the Local Law
Enforcement Services Account in the Local Revenue Fund 2011.
3)Declare that a special law is necessary because of the unique
circumstances related to a local ordinance governing the
expenditure of VLF funds received by Nevada County.
4)Provide that no reimbursement is required by the provisions of
the bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for the imposition of an annual VLF for any vehicle
subject to registration in California.
2)Directs that specified VLF revenues collected after July 1,
2011, be distributed to the Local Law Enforcement Services
Account in the Local Revenue Fund 2011 for allocation to
cities, counties and cities and counties for local public
safety
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill granted the State Board of
Equalization, meeting as a public body, discretion to relieve
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interest under specified circumstances.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, there are no state costs as a result of the Nevada
County VLF provisions.
COMMENTS : In March of 1996, Nevada County voters approved
Measure F, an initiative that required that all funds received
from the State of California from VLF funds, as defined in the
State Constitution and in statute, must be segregated into a
separate accounting fund. The initiative required that Nevada
County spend at least half of those funds in each fiscal year
only for public roads, ways, and highways for maintenance
repair, circulation enhancement, general road safety, and fire
access in the unincorporated portion of the county.
Nevada County officials, as a result of additional VLF revenues
contained in the February 2009 budget agreement, believed that
Measure F would require them to make a general fund expenditure
on roads in an amount equal to half of the amount of additional
VLF revenues allocated to the for law enforcement purposes. SB
636 (Ashburn), Chapter 605, Statutes of 2009, was enacted to
ensure that the increased VLF revenues dedicated for local law
enforcement purposes would not be subject to the requirements of
Measure F.
This bill would enact similar provisions to ensure that VLF
revenues dedicated to local law enforcement as part of the
realignment package, as specified in SB 89 (Committee on Budget
and Fiscal Review), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2011, are not
subject to the requirements of Nevada County's local ordinance.
Support arguments: In the years since Measure F was enacted,
two state budgets, in 2009 and 2011, have funded local public
safety programs via a portion of the VLF. This bill ensures
that the additional VLF revenues are not subject to the
requirements of Nevada County's local ordinance.
Opposition arguments: Instead of seeking a legislative remedy,
Nevada County officials may want to consider revising Measure F
to narrow the application of the ordinance to a specified
portion of VLF funds that is not required by law to be used for
law enforcement purposes.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
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Support
Nevada County Board of Supervisors �SPONSOR]
California State Sheriffs' Association
Nevada County Office of the District Attorney
Nevada County Probation Department
Nevada County Sheriff's Office
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958