California Senate Bill SB1454 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1454AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 11, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Senator La Malfa FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to amend Section 4852 of  , and to add Article 8.7 (commencing with Section 5170) to Chapter 1 of Division 3 of,  the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1454, as amended, La Malfa.  Vehicles: license plates: number and character specifications.   Vehicles: license plates: 8   -letter license plates.   Existing   (1)     Existing  law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon registering a vehicle, to issue to the owner two partially or fully reflectorized license plates or devices for a motor vehicle and requires that the number and letter characters on the plates have a minimum height of 23/4 inches, a minimum width of 11/4 inches, and a minimum spacing of characters of 5/16 of an inch. This bill would instead require that the number and letter characters on the license plates have a minimum width of 13/16 inches, and a minimum spacing of characters of 1/4 of an inch.  (2) Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue or renew environmental license plates to provide revenue for the California Environmental License Plate Fund that indicate on the plates the combination of letters or numbers, or both, requested as a registration number by the applicant, to be displayed on the applicant's vehicle in lieu of regular license plates. Existing law also establishes procedures for the cancellation, transfer, or retention of the license plates and for the charging of additional fees.   This bill would establish an identical program to be known as the "8-letter license plate" program for the support of the Natural and Agricultural Open Space and State Recreational Support Fund which would be created by the bill. The bill would require that all revenue derived from the fees be deposited in the fund for specified purposes that include, among other things, subventions for open-space land programs, assistance to California fairs, and support of programs administered by the Department of Parks and Recreation.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 4852 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read: 4852. (a) License plates issued for motor vehicles, other than motorcycles, shall be rectangular in shape, 12 inches in length and six inches in width. The number and letter characters on the plates shall have a minimum height of two and three-quarter inches, a minimum width of one and three-sixteenths inches, and a minimum spacing between characters of one-quarter of  an   one  inch. (b) Motorcycle license plates shall measure seven inches in length and four inches in width, and the characters on the plates shall have a minimum height of one and one-half inches and a minimum width of nine-sixteenths  inches   of one inch  , and shall have a minimum spacing between characters of three-sixteenths of  an   one  inch.  SEC.   2   .   Article 8.7 (commencing with Section 5170) is   added to Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the   Vehicle Code   , to read:   Article 8.7. 8-Letter License Plates 5170. The purpose of this article is to provide revenue for the Natural and Agricultural Open Space and State Recreational Support Fund. 5171. Any person who is the registered owner or lessee of a passenger vehicle, commercial motor vehicle, motorcycle, trailer, or semitrailer registered or certificated with the department, or who makes application for an original registration or renewal registration of that vehicle, may, upon payment of the fee prescribed in Section 5176, apply to the department for 8-letter license plates, in the manner prescribed in Section 5175, which plates shall be affixed to the passenger vehicle, commercial motor vehicle, motorcycle, trailer, or semitrailer for which registration is sought in lieu of regular license plates. 5172. The 8-letter license plates shall be the same color and design as regular passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, motorcycle, or trailer license plates, and shall consist of any combination of numbers or letters, not exceeding eight positions and not less than eight positions, if there are no conflicts with existing passenger, commercial, trailer, motorcycle, or special license plates series or with Section 4851. 5173. As used in this article, "8-letter license plates," means license plates or permanent trailer identification plates that have displayed upon them the registration number assigned to the passenger vehicle, commercial motor vehicle, motorcycle, trailer, or semitrailer for which a registration number was issued in a combination of letters or numbers, or both, requested by the owner or lessee of the vehicle. 5174. The 8-letter license plates shall be issued only to the registered owner or lessee of the vehicle on which they are to be displayed. 5175. (a) An applicant for issuance of 8-letter license plates or renewal of those plates in the subsequent year, pursuant to this article, shall file an application therefor in the form and by the date that the department may require, indicating the combination of letters or numbers, or both, requested as a registration number. There shall be no duplication of registration numbers, and the department may refuse to issue any combination of letters or numbers, or both, that may carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency or which would be misleading or a duplication of license plates provided for in Article 8 (commencing with Section 5000). (b) The department may cancel and order the return of any 8-letter license plate before or after it is issued, containing any combination of letters, or numbers, or both, which the department determines carries connotations offensive to good taste and decency or that would be misleading. When the department orders any person to return any 8-letter license plate, containing any combination of letters or numbers, or both, which the department determines carries connotations offensive to good taste and decency or which would be misleading, the person so ordered may, in writing and within 10 days after receiving the order, demand a hearing, which shall be granted. Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code shall apply to hearings provided for in this subdivision. A person ordered to return the plates shall either be reimbursed for any additional fees he or she paid for the plates pursuant to Section 5176 or 5178 for the registration year in which they are recalled, or be given, at no additional cost, replacement 8-letter license plates, the issuance of which is in compliance with this code. (c) The department may cancel and order the return of any 8-letter license plate, without opportunity to be heard, as specified in subdivision (b), if the license plate issued is a duplication of license plates provided for in Article 8 (commencing with Section 5000) or if the fee specified under subdivision (c) of Section 5176 has not been paid. 5176. (a) In addition to the regular registration fee or a permanent trailer identification fee, the applicant shall be charged a fee of forty-eight dollars ($48) for issuance of 8-letter license plates. (b) In addition to the regular renewal fee or a permanent trailer identification fee for the vehicle to which the plates are assigned, an applicant for a renewal of 8-letter license plates shall be charged an additional fee of thirty-eight dollars ($38). An applicant with a permanent trailer identification plate shall be charged an annual fee of thirty-eight dollars ($38) for renewal of 8-letter license plates. (c) When payment of renewal fees is not required as specified in Section 4000, the holder of any 8-letter license plate may retain the plate upon payment of an annual fee of thirty-eight dollars ($38). The fee shall be due at the expiration of the registration year of the vehicle to which the 8-letter license plate was last assigned. (d) Notwithstanding Section 9265, an applicant for a duplicate 8-letter license plate shall be charged a fee of thirty-eight dollars ($38). 5177. (a) All revenue derived from the fees provided for in this article shall be deposited in the Natural and Agricultural Open Space and State Recreational Support Fund. (b) Not more than fifty cents ($0.50) of the amount collected from each applicant pursuant to Section 5176 shall be set aside for use, upon appropriation by the Legislature, by the appropriate agency for the purpose of increasing public awareness of the 8-letter license plate program. 5178. When a person who has been issued 8-letter license plates applies to the department for transfer of the plates to another passenger vehicle, commercial motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer, a transfer fee of thirty-eight dollars ($38) shall be charged in addition to all other appropriate fees. 5179. When a person who has been issued 8-letter license plates sells, trades, or otherwise releases ownership of the vehicle upon which the 8-letter license plates have been displayed, that person shall immediately report the transfer of those plates to an acquired passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, or trailer pursuant to Section 5178, unless the person determines to retain the plates pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 5176. 5180. (a) The director may adopt rules and regulations as necessary to carry out the purposes of this article. (b) When two or more separate series of special plates are authorized under this article in a period of one year, the director shall coordinate the administrative and technical procedures for preparation and issuance of the plates in order to control costs to the maximum extent practicable. 5181. (a) The department shall revise its Internet Web site to provide a direct link on the homepage to information on ordering 8-letter license plates. (b) When existing supplies of forms, publications, and signs have been depleted, or if those forms, publications, and signs are required to be revised in the normal course of operations, the department shall include in the replenishing supplies or the revised forms, publications, and signs information regarding 8-letter license plates and the procedures for applying for those plates. This subdivision applies only to forms, publications, and signs that advertise, facilitate the application for, or are an application for 8-letter license plates. 5182. The Natural and Agricultural Open Space and State Recreational Support Fund is hereby created and the revenues deposited in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be allocated equally for all of the following purposes: (a) Subventions for open-space land programs authorized pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 16140) of Part 1 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. (b) Assistance to the Department of Food and Agriculture for California fairs, including the California Exposition and State Fair and county fairs and citrus fruit fairs, and district agricultural associations pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with Section 19620) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code. (c) Support of the Department of Parks and Recreation pursuant to Section 504 of the Public Resources Code.