California Assembly Bill AB1096 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1096AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 14, 2013 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nestande FEBRUARY 22, 2013 An act to amend  Section 5205.5   Sections 5155 and 5156  of  , and to add Section 5162 to,  the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1096, as amended, Nestande. Vehicles:  high-occupancy vehicle lanes.   specialized license plates: Salton Sea.  Existing law  authorizes the Department of Transportation to designate certain lanes for the exclusive use of high-occupancy vehicles (HOV), which may also be used, until January 1, 2015, by certain eligible low-emission and hybrid vehicles not carrying the requisite number of passengers otherwise required for the use of HOV lanes if the vehicle displays a valid identifier issued by   requires  the Department of Motor Vehicles  to issue specialized license plates for a specialized license plate program sponsored by a   state   agency that complies with certain requirements. Existing law also requires the department to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates  . This bill would  make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions   require the department, in consultation with the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority, to design and make available for issuance special Salton Sea environmental interest license plates bearing a full-plate graphic design, as specified, upon payment of an additional fee by a person applying for the special p   late. The bill would also create the Salton Sea Restoration Account in the Specialized License Plate Fund for expenditure, upon appropriation, to provide efforts to restore the Salton Sea . Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 5155 of the   Vehicle Code   is amended to read:  5155. The design criteria for a specialized license plate are as follows: (a) Except as provided in  Section   Sections  5161  and 5162  , the license plate for a passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, or trailer shall provide a space not larger than two inches by three inches to the left of the numerical series and a space not larger than five-eighths of an inch in height below the numerical series for a distinctive design, decal, or descriptive message as authorized by this article. The license plates shall be issued in sequential numerical order or, pursuant to Section 5103, in a combination of numbers or letters. (b) Specialized license plates authorized under this article may be issued for use on a motorcycle. That license plate shall contain a five-digit configuration issued in sequential numerical order or, pursuant to Section 5103, in a combination of numbers or letters. There shall be a space to the left of the numerical series for a distinctive design or decal and the characters shall contrast sharply with the uniform background color. A motorcycle plate containing a full plate graphic design is not authorized. (c) Specialized license plates may be issued as environmental license plates, as defined in Section 5103.  SEC. 2.   Section 5156 of the   Vehicle Code   is amended to read:  5156. (a) (1) A state agency may apply to the department to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the department shall issue specialized license plates for that program, if the agency complies with all of the requirements of this article. (2) The department shall not issue specialized license plates to a state agency for a vehicle that is exempt from the payment of registration fees pursuant to Section 9101 or 9103. (b) Except as provided in subdivision (d), the department shall not establish a specialized license plate program for an agency until the department has received not less than 7,500 applications for that agency's specialized license plates. The agency shall collect and hold applications for the plates. Once the agency has received at least 7,500 applications, it shall submit the applications, along with the necessary fees, to the department. The department shall not issue a specialized license plate until the agency has received and submitted to the department not less than 7,500 applications for that particular specialized license plate within the time period prescribed in this section. Advance payment to the department by the agency representing the department's estimated or actual administrative costs associated with the issuance of a particular specialized license plate shall not constitute compliance with this requirement. The agency shall have 12 months, following the date of approval of the agency's initial application to sponsor a specialized license plate program, to receive the required number of applications. If, after that 12 months, 7,500 applications have not been received, the agency shall immediately do either of the following: (1) Refund to all applicants all fees or deposits that have been collected. (2) Contact the department to indicate the agency's intent to undertake collection of additional applications and fees or deposits for an additional period, not to exceed 12 months, in order to obtain the minimum 7,500 applications. If the agency elects to exercise the option under this subparagraph, it shall contact each applicant who has submitted an application with the appropriate fees or deposits to determine if the applicant wishes a refund of fees or deposits or requests the continuance of the holding of the application and fees or deposits until that time that the agency has received 7,500 applications. The agency shall refund the fees or deposits to an applicant so requesting. The agency shall not collect and hold applications for a period exceeding 24 months following the date of approval of the agency's initial application to sponsor a specialized license plate program. (c) (1) If the number of outstanding and valid specialized license plates in a particular program, except as provided in subdivision (d), provided for in this article is less than 7,500, the department shall notify the sponsoring agency of that fact and shall inform the agency that if that number is less than 7,500 one year from the date of that notification, the department will no longer issue or replace those specialized license plates. (2) Those particular specialized license plates that were issued prior to the discontinuation provided by paragraph (1) may continue to be used and attached to the vehicle for which they were issued and may be renewed, retained, or transferred pursuant to this code. (d) (1) The Department of Veterans Affairs may sponsor a Gold Star Family specialized license plate program and the department may establish this specialized license plate program in the absence of 7,500 paid applications as provided in subdivision (d) of Section 5157. (2) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall, upon receiving proof of eligibility from an applicant, authorize the department to issue Gold Star Family specialized license plates for a vehicle owned by an eligible family member of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who was killed in the line of duty while on active duty during wartime service, or during an international terrorist attack that has been recognized by the United States Secretary of Defense as an attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States, or during military operations while serving outside the United States, including commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States, or as part of a peacekeeping force, which includes personnel assigned to a force engaged in a peacekeeping operation authorized by the United Nations Security Council. An eligible family member is defined as all of the following: (A) A person who is otherwise eligible under this article to register a motor vehicle. (B) A person who shows proof from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense that the member who was in the Armed Forces of the United States was killed in the line of duty while on active duty in the military. (C) A person who bears, and shows proof satisfactory to the Department of Veterans Affairs of, one of the following relationships to the member of the Armed Forces killed in the line of duty while serving on active duty: (i) Widow. (ii) Widower. (iii) Biological parent. (iv) Adoptive parent. (v) Stepparent. (vi) Foster parent in loco parentis. (vii) Biological child. (viii) Adoptive child. (ix) Stepchild. (x) Sibling. (xi) Half-sibling. (xii) Grandparent. (xiii) Grandchild. (3) Upon the death of a person issued a Gold Star Family specialized license plate, the license plate shall be transferred to the surviving spouse, if he or she requests, or shall be returned to the department within 60 days after the death of the plateholder or upon the expiration of the vehicle registration, whichever occurs first.  (e) For purposes of this section, "state agency" includes the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority.   SEC. 3.   Section 5162 is added to the   Vehicle Code   , to read:   5162. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 5154 and 5155, the department, in consultation with the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority, shall design and make available for issuance pursuant to this article special Salton Sea environmental design license plates as described in this section. The special Salton Sea environmental design license plates shall bear a full-plate graphic design that the department determines, in consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, does not obscure the readability of the license plate depicting an image to be designated by the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority. Any person described in Section 5101 may, upon payment of the additional fees set forth in subdivision (b), apply for and be issued a set of special Salton Sea environmental design license plates. The special Salton Sea environmental design license plates may be issued as environmental license plates, as defined in Section 5103. (b) In addition to the regular fees for an original registration or renewal of registration, the following additional fees shall be paid for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the special Salton Sea environmental design license plates authorized pursuant to this section: (1) For the original issuance of the plates, fifty dollars ($50). (2) For a renewal of registration with the plates, forty dollars ($40). (3) For transfer of the plates to another vehicle, fifteen dollars ($15). (4) For each substitute replacement plate, thirty-five dollars ($35). (5) In addition, for the issuance of environmental license plates, as defined in Section 5103, with a full-plate graphic design described in subdivision (a), the additional fees prescribed in Sections 5106 and 5108. The additional fees prescribed in Sections 5106 and 5108 shall be deposited in the California Environmental License Plate Fund. (c) Except as provided in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b), and after deducting its administrative costs under this section, the department shall deposit the additional revenue derived from the issuance, renewal, transfer, and substitution of special environmental design license plates in the Salton Sea Restoration Account, which is hereby created in the Specialized License Plate Fund. The funds in the account shall be used by the Salton Sea Joint Powers Authority, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for providing restoration efforts to the Salton Sea.   SECTION 1.   Section 5205.5 of the Vehicle Code, as added by Section 1 of Chapter 37 of the Statutes of 2010, is amended to read: 5205.5. (a) For the purposes of implementing Section 21655.9, the department shall make available for issuance, for a fee determined by the department to be sufficient to reimburse the department for the actual costs incurred pursuant to this section, distinctive decals, labels, and other identifiers that clearly distinguish the following vehicles from other vehicles: (1) A vehicle that meets California's super ultra-low emission vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV) evaporative emission standard, as defined in Part 88 (commencing with Section 88.101-94) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (2) A vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model-year or earlier and meets California's ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal ILEV standard. (b) The department shall include a summary of the provisions of this section on each motor vehicle registration renewal notice, or on a separate insert, if space is available and the summary can be included without incurring additional printing or postage costs. (c) The Department of Transportation shall remove individual HOV lanes, or portions of those lanes, during periods of peak congestion from the access provisions provided in subdivision (a), following a finding by the Department of Transportation as follows: (1) The lane, or portion thereof, exceeds a level of service C, as discussed in subdivision (b) of Section 65089 of the Government Code. (2) The operation or projected operation of the vehicles described in subdivision (a) in these lanes, or portions thereof, will significantly increase congestion. The finding also shall demonstrate the infeasibility of alleviating the congestion by other means, including, but not limited to, reducing the use of the lane by noneligible vehicles, or further increasing vehicle occupancy. (d) The State Air Resources Board shall publish and maintain a listing of all vehicles eligible for participation in the programs described in this section. The board shall provide that listing to the department. (e) For purposes of subdivision (a), the Department of the California Highway Patrol and the department, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, shall design and specify the placement of the decal, label, or other identifier on the vehicle. The decal, label, or other identifier issued for a vehicle shall display a unique number, and that number shall be printed on, or affixed to, the vehicle registration. (f) If the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, serving as the Bay Area Toll Authority, grants toll-free and reduced-rate passage on toll bridges under its jurisdiction to any vehicle pursuant to Section 30102.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, it shall also grant the same toll-free and reduced-rate passage to a vehicle displaying an identifier issued by the department pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a). (g) If the Director of Transportation determines that federal law does not authorize the state to allow vehicles that are identified by distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers on vehicles described in subdivision (a) to use highway lanes or highway access ramps for high-occupancy vehicles regardless of vehicle occupancy, the Director of Transportation shall submit a notice of that determination to the Secretary of State. (h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2011. (i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2015, or only until the date the Secretary of State receives the notice described in subdivision (g), whichever occurs first, and as of that date is repealed.   SEC. 2.   Section 5205.5 of the Vehicle Code, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 674 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to read: 5205.5. (a) For purposes of implementing Section 21655.9, the department shall make available for issuance, for a fee determined by the department to be sufficient to reimburse the department for the actual costs incurred pursuant to this section, distinctive decals, labels, and other identifiers that clearly distinguish the following vehicles from other vehicles: (1) A vehicle that meets California's super ultra-low emission vehicle (SULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal inherently low-emission vehicle (ILEV) evaporative emission standard, as defined in Part 88 (commencing with Section 88.101-94) of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (2) A vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model-year or earlier and meets California ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) standard for exhaust emissions and the federal ILEV standard. (3) A hybrid vehicle or an alternative fuel vehicle that meets California's advanced technology partial zero-emission vehicle (AT PZEV) standard for criteria pollutant emissions and has a 45 miles per gallon or greater fuel economy highway rating. (4) A hybrid vehicle that was produced during the 2004 model-year or earlier and has a 45 miles per gallon or greater fuel economy highway rating, and meets California's ULEV, SULEV, or partial zero-emission vehicle (PZEV) standards. (5) A vehicle that meets California's enhanced advanced technology partial zero-emission vehicle (enhanced AT PZEV) standard. (b) Neither an owner of a hybrid vehicle that meets the AT PZEV standard, with the exception of a vehicle that meets the federal ILEV standard, nor an owner of a hybrid vehicle described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a), is entitled to a decal, label, or other identifier pursuant to this section unless the federal government acts to approve the use of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes by vehicles of the types identified in paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (a), regardless of the number of occupants. (c) The department shall include a summary of the provisions of this section on each motor vehicle registration renewal notice, or on a separate insert, if space is available and the summary can be included without incurring additional printing or postage costs. (d) The Department of Transportation shall remove individual HOV lanes, or portions of those lanes, during periods of peak congestion from the access provisions provided in subdivision (a), following a finding by the Department of Transportation as follows: (1) The lane, or portion thereof, exceeds a level of service C, as discussed in subdivision (b) of Section 65089 of the Government Code. (2) The operation or projected operation of the vehicles described in subdivision (a) in these lanes, or portions thereof, will significantly increase congestion. (e) The State Air Resources Board shall publish and maintain a listing of all vehicles eligible for participation in the programs described in this section. The board shall provide that listing to the department. (f) (1) For purposes of subdivision (a), the Department of the California Highway Patrol and the department, in consultation with the Department of Transportation, shall design and specify the placement of the decal, label, or other identifier on the vehicle. The decal, label, or other identifier issued for a vehicle shall display a unique number, which number shall be printed on, or affixed to, the vehicle registration. (2) Decals, labels, or other identifiers designed pursuant to this subdivision for a vehicle described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) shall be distinguishable from the decals, labels, or other identifiers that are designed for vehicles described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subdivision (a). (g) (1) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), for purposes of subdivision (a), the department shall issue no more than 85,000 distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers that clearly distinguish the vehicles specified in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a). (B) The department may issue a decal, label, or other identifier for a vehicle that satisfies all of the following conditions: (i) The vehicle is of a type identified in paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (a). (ii) The owner of the vehicle is the owner of a vehicle for which a decal, label, or identifier described in subparagraph (A) was previously issued and that vehicle for which the decal, label, or identifier was previously issued is determined by the department, on the basis of satisfactory proof submitted by the owner to the department, to be a nonrepairable vehicle or a total loss salvage vehicle. (iii) The owner of the vehicle applied for a decal, label, or other identifier pursuant to this subparagraph on or before March 31, 2009, or within six months of the date on which the vehicle for which a decal, label, or identifier was previously issued is declared to be a nonrepairable vehicle or a total loss salvage vehicle, whichever date is later. (2) The department shall notify the Department of Transportation immediately after the date on which the department has issued 50,000 decals, labels, and other identifiers under this section for the vehicles described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a). (3) The Department of Transportation shall determine whether significant HOV lane breakdown has occurred throughout the state, in accordance with the following timeline: (A) For lanes that are nearing capacity, the Department of Transportation shall make the determination not later than 90 days after the date provided by the department under paragraph (2). (B) For lanes that are not nearing capacity, the Department of Transportation shall make the determination not later than 180 days after the date provided by the department under paragraph (2). (4) In making the determination that significant HOV lane breakdown has occurred, the Department of Transportation shall consider the following factors in the HOV lane: (A) Reduction in level of service. (B) Sustained stop-and-go conditions. (C) Slower than average speed than the adjacent mixed-flow lanes. (D) Consistent increase in travel time. (5) After making the determinations pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (3), if the Department of Transportation determines that significant HOV lane breakdown has occurred throughout the state, the Department of Transportation shall immediately notify the department of that determination, and the department, on the date of receiving that notification, shall discontinue issuing the decals, labels, or other identifiers for the vehicles described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a). (h) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of paragraph (5) of subdivision (a), the department shall issue no more than 40,000 distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers that clearly distinguish a vehicle specified in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a). (2) The department may issue a decal, label, or other identifier for a vehicle that satisfies all of the following conditions: (A) The vehicle is of a type identified in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a). (B) The owner of the vehicle is the owner of a vehicle for which a decal, label, or other identifier described in paragraph (1) was previously issued and that vehicle for which the decal, label, or other identifier was previously issued is determined by the department, on the basis of satisfactory proof submitted by the owner to the department, to be a nonrepairable vehicle or a total loss salvage vehicle. (C) The owner of the vehicle applied for a decal, label, or other identifier pursuant to this paragraph within six months of the date on which the vehicle for which a decal, label, or other identifier was previously issued is declared to be a nonrepairable vehicle or a total loss salvage vehicle. (i) If the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, serving as the Bay Area Toll Authority, grants toll-free and reduced-rate passage on toll bridges under its jurisdiction to a vehicle pursuant to Section 30102.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, it shall also grant the same toll-free and reduced-rate passage to a vehicle displaying an identifier issued by the department pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) and to a vehicle displaying a valid identifier issued by the department pursuant to paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (a) if the vehicle is registered to an address outside of the region identified in Section 66502 of the Government Code. (j) An owner of a vehicle specified in paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (a) whose vehicle is registered to an address in the region identified in Section 66502 of the Government Code and who seeks a vehicle identifier under subdivision (a) in order to have access to an HOV lane within the jurisdiction of the Bay Area Toll Authority shall do both of the following: (1) Obtain and maintain an active account to operate within the automatic vehicle identification system described in Section 27565 of the Streets and Highways Code and shall submit to the department a form, approved by the department and issued by the Bay Area Toll Authority, that contains the vehicle owner's name, the license plate number and vehicle identification number of the vehicle, the vehicle make and year model, and the automatic vehicle identification system account number, as a condition to obtaining a vehicle identifier pursuant to subdivision (a) that allows for the use of that vehicle in HOV lanes regardless of the number of occupants. (2) Be eligible for toll-free or reduced-rate passage on toll bridges within the jurisdiction of the Bay Area Toll Authority only if, at time of passage, the vehicle meets the passenger occupancy rate requirement established for that toll-free or reduced-rate passage. (k) (1) Notwithstanding Section 21655.9, and except as provided in paragraph (2), a vehicle described in subdivision (a) that displays a decal, label, or identifier issued pursuant to this section shall be exempt from toll charges imposed on single-occupant vehicles in high-occupancy toll lanes as described in Section 149.7 of the Streets and Highways Code unless prohibited by federal law. (2) (A) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the imposition of a toll imposed for passage on a toll road or toll highway, that is not a high-occupancy toll lane as described in Section 149.7 of the Streets and Highways Code. (B) On or before March 1, 2014, paragraph (1) does not apply to the imposition of a toll imposed for passage in lanes designated for tolls pursuant to the federally supported value-pricing and transit development demonstration program operated pursuant to Section 149.9 of the Streets and Highways Code for State Highway Route 10 or 110. (C) Paragraph (1) does not apply to the imposition of a toll charged for crossing a state-owned bridge. (l) If the Director of Transportation determines that federal law does not authorize the state to allow vehicles that are identified by distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers on vehicles described in subdivision (a) to use highway lanes or highway access ramps for high-occupancy vehicles regardless of vehicle occupancy, the Director of Transportation shall submit a notice of that determination to the Secretary of State. (m) (1) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2015, or until the date the Secretary of State receives the notice described in subdivision (l), whichever occurs first, and as of that date is repealed. (2) However, with respect to a vehicle described in paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (a), this section shall be operative only until July 1, 2011, or only until the date the Secretary of State receives the notice described in subdivision (l), whichever occurs first. (3) With respect to a vehicle described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a), this section shall become operative on January 1, 2012, and shall be operative only until January 1, 2015, or until the date the Secretary of State receives the notice described in subdivision (l), whichever occurs first.