BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 2393 (Levine) - Vehicle registration fees: fingerprint
identification programs.
Amended: As Introduced Policy Vote: T&H 7-3
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: June 30, 2014
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2393 would increase the cap on the fee that
counties may impose upon vehicle registrations to fund
fingerprint identification programs. Specifically, the bill
would authorize counties to impose a fee of $2 on vehicles
registered in their respective jurisdictions. If a $2 fee is
imposed, the fee on commercial vehicles would be $4.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) programming
costs of approximately $40,000 for each county that elects
to increase the fee. If a county has never imposed the fee,
DMV's programming costs would be $100,000. All DMV costs
are recoverable from fee revenues.
Unknown local fee revenues, potentially in the millions
annually. Actual local revenue gains would depend upon the
number of counties exercising the authority to impose the
higher fee, and the number of registered vehicles subject to
the fee. Currently 45 counties impose the fee, which
generated $29.8 million in net local revenues in 2012-13.
Background: Existing law establishes a basic vehicle
registration fee of $46 and a $24 surcharge for additional
California Highway Patrol personnel. Local agencies are also
authorized to impose various vehicle registration surcharges in
their respective jurisdictions, including a $1 fee for
fingerprint identification programs. A $2 fee is charged for
the registration of commercial vehicles in those counties that
have adopted the fingerprint identification program fee. The
fee is imposed upon adoption of a resolution by the board of
AB 2393 (Levine)
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supervisors. This surcharge generates approximately $30 million
annually for the 45 participating counties. The funds are
collected by the DMV and continuously appropriated to the State
Controller's Office (SCO) for distribution to participating
counties. All DMV and SCO costs are fully recovered from fee
revenues. The authority to impose this fee was initially
enacted in 1997 and was permanently extended by AB 674
(Bonilla), Chap. 205/2011.
Since 1986, the Department of Justice has operated an automated
fingerprint identification program known as Cal-ID, which is
designed to assist law enforcement agencies in identifying
criminal suspects, arrested persons, and human remains. The
vehicle registration surcharge funds programs that enhance the
capacity of local law enforcement to provide automated mobile
and fixed location fingerprint identification of individuals
arrested for driving under the influence, vehicular
manslaughter, or other vehicle-related crimes.
Proposed Law: AB 2393 would authorize counties that have imposed
a $1 vehicle registration surcharge for fingerprint
identification systems to increase that surcharge to $2, upon
adoption of a resolution by its 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.
Any county that does not currently impose the surcharge would be
authorized to impose either a $1 or $2 surcharge pursuant to the
same procedures. 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 imposition or increase.
Staff Comments: Although the current authority to impose a
vehicle registration fee for fingerprint identification systems
is permanent, the amount of the fee has lost purchasing power
over the 17-year history of the program. This bill would allow
local law enforcement agencies to continue to update and
purchase automated mobile and fixed location fingerprint
identification equipment that is compatible with the Cal-ID
program. Increasing the amount of the surcharge would allow
programs to keep pace with rising costs and account for the
declining purchasing power of the $1 surcharge.
AB 2393 does not include an explicit requirement that proposals
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to increase the fingerprint identification systems surcharge be
presented to county voters for approval. Counties that decide
to impose or increase the surcharge would need to make the
determination of any necessary voter approval requirements.
Recommended Amendments: Staff recommends the following
technical amendment to ensure that the commercial vehicle
surcharge increases to $4 when a county is raising the vehicle
surcharge from $1 to $2, and when it is imposing a $2 surcharge
without ever having imposed a $1 fee:
Amendment 1: On page 3, line 7, delete "subparagraph (A)" and
insert:
paragraph (2)
Amendment 2: On page 3, line 13, delete "subparagraph (A)" and
insert:
paragraph (2)