BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2321
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 2321 (Gomez) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Specialized license plates
SUMMARY : Requires the California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board (Board) to apply to the California
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a domestic
violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking awareness
specialized license plate program. Establishes the California
Domestic Violence Prevention Fund and specifies funds shall be
allocated to the Board to fund a competitive grant program to
finance projects that raise awareness about domestic violence.
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 paid 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 specialized license plates to be expended exclusively
for projects and programs that promote that agency's official
policy, mission, or work.
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7)Allows specialized license plates to feature a distinctive
design, decal, or distinctive message in a two-inch by
three-inch space to the left of the plate's numerical sequence
and a space not larger than 5/8-inch in height below the
numerical series.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Prior to 2007, any new specialized license plate
required specific legislative authorization. That practice was
held to be unconstitutional by the federal courts in that the
Legislature approved some of the plates and rejected others,
while using no standardized or objective criteria for those
decisions. In response to the court decision, AB 84 (Leslie),
Chapter 454, Statutes of 2006, established the current
specialized license plate program to provide a forum for
government speech that promotes California's state policies. AB
84 excludes private organizations from seeking specialized
license plates as a forum for private speech, and thus addresses
the court's objection.
Plates now created and the revenue they generate must publicize
or promote a state agency, or the official policy, mission, or
work of a state agency. Furthermore, the process requires that
at least 7,500 paid applications must be received by the state
agency prior to notifying DMV. The 7,500-application threshold
was previously put into statute for specialized 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 DMV and to avoid a
proliferation of different types of plates, which can be
troublesome from a law enforcement perspective.
With respects to this bill, the author asserts that a
significant number of Californians have unfortunately
experienced crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault. The
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault reports that on
average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical
violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United
States. Additionally, the California Partnership to End
Domestic Violence further reports that 40% of California women
experience physical violence with a partner over their lifetime.
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The author further notes, "California has a responsibility to
these victims to take preventive measures against these crimes.
Increasing the funding to preventative programs and service
should be prioritized in order to help prevent these crimes.
Raising public awareness through the issuance of this special
interest license plate may help reduce the occurrence of these
horrendous crimes with the hope of promoting healthy, respectful
relationships."
Related legislation :
AB 49 (Buchanan) of 2013, requires the Department of Health Care
Services to apply to DMV to establish a specialized license
plate that promotes breast cancer awareness on a light pink
background that CHP determines does not obscure the readability
of the license plate. That bill is currently in the Senate
Rules Committee.
AB 2450 (Perez and Logue) of 2014, requires the State Department
of Public Health to apply to DMV to sponsor a specialized
license plate that promotes awareness of kidney disease and
bears the name and official logo of the National Kidney
Foundation. That bill will be heard in this committee on April
28, 2014.
SR 28 (Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing) of 2014,
requests that the DMV create a task force made up of DMV, CHP,
and local law enforcement to study and make recommendations by
July 1, 2015, on license plate designs appropriate for traffic
safety and effective law enforcement in today's environment;
declares a moratorium on legislation to increase the number of
license plate types that DMV may issue until the Legislature can
assess the full and long-term impact of the ongoing increase in
license plate types. That bill passed out of the Senate on
April 10, 2014 with a vote of 34-0.
Previous legislation:
AB 244 (Bonilla), Chapter 690, Statutes of 2013, requires the
Department of Veterans Affairs to apply to DMV to sponsor a
veterans specialized license plate, and would require the DMV to
issue the veterans specialized license plates if the Department
of Veterans Affairs specific requirements.
AB 482 (Atkins), Chapter 590, Statutes of 2013, requires the
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California Cultural and Historical Endowment, if it creates a
competitive grant program as specified, to apply to DMV for the
purpose of creating a specialized license plate program using
the cartoon character Snoopy.
AB 853 (Brown and Linder) of 2013, would have authorized CHP to
apply to DMV to sponsor a
program for a series of motorsports and auto-enthusiast themed
license plates. That bill died in the Assembly Transportation
Committee.
AB 1096 (Nestande) of 2013, would require DMV, in consultation
with the Salton Sea
Joint Powers Authority, to design and make available a Salton
Sea environmental specialized license plate bearing a full-plate
graphic design. That bill is currently in the Senate Rules
Committee.
SB 789 (Price), Chapter 221, Statutes of 2013, authorizes the
California Arts Council to use funds generated by specialized
license plate applications for administrative purposes that was
previously prohibited.
AB 610 (Solorio), Chapter 9, Statutes of 2012, allows the
Veterinary Medical Board an additional 12 months to accumulate
the required 7,500 applications for the establishment of a Pet
Lover's specialized license plate.
AB 1242 (Achadjian) of 2012, would have authorized the
Foundation for California Community Colleges to apply to DMV to
sponsor specialized license plates for the National Association
for stock car Auto Racing (NASCAR). That bill died in the
Assembly Transportation Committee.
AB 1539 (Hayashi) of 2012, would have authorized an
anti-bullying license plate program in support of persons who
are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community. That bill died in the Assembly Transportation
Committee.
SB 1018 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 39,
Statutes of 2012, among other provisions of the budget trailer
bill, authorizes DMV, in consultation with the California
Department of Parks and Recreation, to design and make available
for issuance special state parks environmental license plates
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bearing a full-plate graphic design.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Academy of Pediatrics
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
California Police Chiefs Association
Peace Over Violence
Wild Iris Family Counseling & Crisis Center
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093