BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1725
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1725 (Lowenthal) - As Introduced: February 16, 2012
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:13-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
print, upon request, an appropriate insignia upon the driver's
license or identification card of a veteran of the armed forces.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires DMV to issue a driver's license (DL) or an
identification card (ID) marked with a "V" or other
appropriate insignia to a qualified applicant who presents to
the department a Certificate of Release or Discharge from
Active Duty (DD Form 214) or verification from the county
veterans service office that the applicant has received a DD
Form 214.
2)Requires DMV application forms to provide opportunity to
indicate veteran status.
3)Directs DMV to charge additional fees to an applicant for a DL
or ID that denotes veteran status, sufficient to cover the
department's administrative costs to produce the DL or ID.
4)Requires DMV to forward $1 of the additional fee to the
Controller for deposit in the Veterans Service Officer Fund
(VSOF), to be used for, upon appropriation, for support of
county veterans' service offices.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs, ranging from $700,000 to $1.5 million, to DMV
to revise forms and make computer programming and design
changes to provide applicants the opportunity to indicate
AB 1725
Page 2
veteran status. (Motor Vehicle Account (MVA).)
2)Annual costs of approximately $800,000-equivalent to 15
employees-to DMV to collect information and applications in
field offices and to investigate status of applicant's
applying for veteran's insignia. (MVA.)
3)Annual fee revenue to DMV of an unknown amount but presumably
sufficient to cover DMV's one-time and ongoing costs. (MVA.)
1)Annual fee revenue of an unknown but minor amount to the VSOF,
to be used for, upon appropriation, for support of county
veterans' service offices.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. Sponsors contend this bill will allow veterans
seeking benefits offered by private parties, such as
department stores and service stations, to easily and
accurately verify their status as veterans. The sponsors also
contend DLs and IDs with veteran-specific insignia will better
enable law enforcement officers and other public agents to
identify as veterans individuals with whom they interact and
refer them to veterans' services, if appropriate.
2)Background. California is home to approximately 2 million
veterans.
The Department of Defense (DOD) issues to each active member
of the armed forces an identification card that demonstrates
the person's current participation in the military. The DOD,
however, does not issue identification indicating a person's
status as a veteran. Rather, DOD issues such a person DD form
214, a letter-sized document that contains several types of
personal information. Veteran's groups contend that, in the
past, this form adequately served the needs of veterans, who
needed to present the document only on those generally rare
occasions when veterans interacted with the federal Veterans'
Affairs system.
More recently, an increasing number of private organizations
have offered benefits, such as price discounts, to veterans.
A person could verify eligibility for such benefits by
AB 1725
Page 3
presenting DD Form 214. Because of its size, the document is
unlikely to be carried routinely by veterans. In addition,
because the document contains sensitive personal information,
many are reluctant to keep the form with them, in any case.
According to the policy committee analysis, 12 states in 2011
enacted laws to add insignia to DLs to identify a person's
status as a veteran.
3)Bill Complicates Mission of DMV. The DMV exists, primarily,
to register vehicles and license drivers, a complex job given
its sensitivity and the size of state's population and
economy. As recently noted by the Legislative Analyst, DMV
has made considerable efforts to improve customer service
recently, with some success.
This bill complicates the work of DMV in a number of ways.
First, DMV would need to verify the claims of applicants
asserting veteran status. It is unclear how DMV would do
this. The bill deems sufficient presentation of DD Form 214,
or verification from the county veterans service office that
the applicant has received a DD Form 214. However, DD Form
214 itself is not a secure document: fraudulent DD Form 214s
can be obtained online. DMV would need to develop a protocol
for verifying a person's veteran status, likely a costly,
burdensome process to develop and to implement.
In addition, this bill establishes the precedent of using DLs
and IDs as verifiers of a person's occupation, or previous
occupation. The arguments that justify inclusion on the DL
and ID of identifying insignia for veterans apply equally, or
nearly equally, to members of other occupations, such as
police officers and fire fighters, who sometimes receive
private benefits resulting from their occupation. It seems
reasonable to expect calls to expand the insignia program to
cover other occupations and groups, should this bill become
law.
4)Support. This bill is supported by the American
Legion-Department of California, AMVETS-Department of
California, the California Association of County Veterans
Service officers, the California State Commanders Veterans
Council and the Vietnam Veterans of America-California State
Council, all of which are sponsors of the bill.
AB 1725
Page 4
5)There is no opposition formally registered to this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081