BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1404 (Feuer) - Vehicle registration fee surcharge for vehicle
theft programs.
Amended: August 6, 2012 Policy Vote: T&H 6-2
as proposed to be amended
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 6, 2012
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1404 would authorize the Counties of Los
Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino to increase the fee
imposed upon registration of a vehicle to fund vehicle theft
programs from $1 to $2. Upon approval of the increase that
applies to all vehicles, the amount imposed upon commercial
vehicles would increase from $2 to $4.
Fiscal Impact:
All administrative costs to the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) and the State Controller's Office (SCO) are
fully recovered from fee revenues collected.
Potential revenue gains of approximately $7.2 million for
Los Angeles County, $2.5 million for San Diego County, and
$1.6 million for San Bernardino County if increases to
vehicle surcharges are approved.
Background: Existing law, SB 2139 (Davis), Chapter 1670,
Statutes of 1990, authorizes counties to establish a separate
annual $1 vehicle registration surcharge to fund programs that
enhance the capacity of local police and prosecutors to deter,
investigate, and prosecute vehicle theft crimes. The fee is
imposed upon adoption of a resolution by the board of
supervisors. Owners of specified commercial vehicles pay an
additional $2. DMV collects these fees and the SCO distributes
the revenues to participating counties. All administrative
costs are recovered from fees collected. Forty-seven counties
have adopted this surcharge, which generates approximately $29
million annually statewide, according to the latest report from
AB 1404 (Feuer)
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the SCO for the 2010-11 fiscal year. The authority to collect
this additional surcharge sunsets on January 1, 2018.
This bill is intended to increase vehicle theft fee in Los
Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino Counties to account for
inflation and to sufficiently fund the local programs. Los
Angeles County, for example, reports that its vehicle theft
program, known as the Taskforce for Regional Auto-theft
Prevention (TRAP) employed 71 personnel to combat auto theft at
a cost of $7.3 million in 2004, but this year the program only
employed 29 personnel at a cost of $7.2 million.
Proposed Law: AB 1404, as proposed to be amended, would
authorize Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino Counties to
increase the vehicle theft surcharge imposed on all vehicles
subject to annual registration in their respective jurisdictions
from $1 to $2, upon adoption of a resolution by the county board
of supervisors. The $2 surcharge that is currently imposed on
commercial vehicles would automatically increase from $2 to $4
upon approval of the resolution that would increase the
surcharge for all vehicles. The bill would require the county
board of supervisors to submit the resolution to DMV at least
six months prior to the operative date of the fee increase.
Related Legislation: AB 878 (Davis), introduced in 2007,
included provisions that would have allowed all counties to
increase vehicle registration surcharges that fund programs for
abandoned vehicle abatement and vehicle theft, prevention,
investigation, and prosecution programs. AB 878 was vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger, who objected to the absence of voter
approval for the fee increase.
Staff Comments: According to the most recent annual report by
the SCO, the vehicle theft surcharge generated approximately
$7.2 million for Los Angeles County, $2.5 million for San Diego
County, and $1.6 million for San Bernardino County in the
2010-11 fiscal year. Upon approval of a resolution by each
county's board of supervisors, this bill would double the amount
of revenues available to each county for vehicle theft programs.
DMV and the SCO would continue to recover administrative costs
for collecting and distributing the fees.
Proposed Author Amendments: The current bill would only apply to
Los Angeles County and would require approval of a separate
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resolution for the imposition of an increased fee for commercial
vehicles. The author has proposed amendments to also authorize
San Diego and San Bernardino Counties to increase the vehicle
theft program surcharge. The proposed amendments would also
make the commercial vehicle surcharge increase automatic upon
approval of the increase that applies to general vehicles.