BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2321
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2321 (Gomez) - As Amended: April 24, 2014
Policy Committee:
TransportationVote:15-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to
apply to the DMV to sponsor a domestic violence and sexual
assault awareness specialized license plate, and to use net
proceeds to supplement funding for the Family Violence
Prevention Program (FVPP).
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential one-time special fund costs of approximately
$440,000 to DMV to establish the specialized license plate
program, including computer programming changes and updating
forms. Pursuant to current law, DMV will make computer
programming and form changes only after program applications
meet a 7,500-application threshold. Therefore, the DMV will
incur these costs only if it receives enough applications to
require the board to implement the program. The DMV will incur
minor ongoing costs to continue issuing specialty license
plates and renewals under the program. All of the DMV's
initial and ongoing costs will be covered by a portion of the
additional $50 fee paid for specialized license plates.
2)Minor costs to OES to submit the program application and
license prototype to DMV, design and print the license plate
application, and collect and hold applications and fees until
7,500 applications are received.
3)Potential ongoing revenue to OES to supplement funding for the
FVPP, depending on the number of participants in the license
plate program. Recent annual funding for the program has been
$45,000 General Fund and $100,000 in federal funds.
AB 2321
Page 2
COMMENTS
1)Specialized License Plates . 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. Pursuant to AB 84 (Leslie)/Statutes of
2006, the DMV will issue specialized license plates when
sponsored by a state agency, the plate's message and resulting
revenues support that agency's program, and at least 7,500
paid license applications have been received. The
7,500-application threshold attempts to assure that DMV's
startup costs are fully covered, by the portion of the
registration fee surcharge directed to the department, and to
avoid a proliferation of different types of plates, which can
be troublesome from a law enforcement perspective.
It should be noted that 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 and 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.
2)Purpose . According to the author, "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."
3)Related Legislation .
a) AB 2450 (J. Perez and Logue), pending in Assembly
Transportation, requires the Department of Public Health to
apply to DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate that
promotes awareness of kidney disease.
AB 2321
Page 3
b) AB 49 (Buchanan), pending in Senate Rules, requires the
Department of Health Care Services to apply to DMV to
establish a specialized license plate that promotes breast
cancer awareness.
c) AB 1096 (Nestande), pending in Senate Rules, would
require DMV, in consultation with the Salton Sea Joint
Powers Authority, to design and make available a Salton Sea
environmental specialized license plate.
1)Prior Legislation .
a) AB 244 (Bonilla)/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.
b) AB 482 (Atkins)/Statutes of 2013, requires the
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.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081