California Assembly Bill AB2303 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2303AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2016 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Holden (Coauthor: Assembly Member Gatto) FEBRUARY 18, 2016 An act to add  Sections 5004.4 and 5076   Section 5170  to the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2303, as amended, Holden. Vehicles: specialized license plates. Existing law  requires   authorizes a state agency to apply to  the Department of Motor Vehicles  (DMV)  to  establish a California Legacy License Plate Program that creates a series of   sponsor a  specialized license  plates that replicate plates from the state's past. Existing law also requires the department to issue various other special-interest license plates sponsored by nonprofit organizations, as specified.   plate program, and requires the DMV to issue those license plates if the sponsoring state agency meets certain requirements. Existing law requires the DMV to charge specified fees related to the issuance of those plates and to deposit the fees, less the DMV's costs, in the Specialized License Plate Fund. Existing law requires that moneys in the fund be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the sponsoring agency in proportion to the amount that is attributable to the agency's specialized license plate program. Existing law authorizes the sponsoring agency to use these moneys to fund projects an   d programs that promote the state agency's official policy, mission, or work.   Existing law also establishes the Active Transportation Program in the Department of Transportation for the purpose of encouraging increased use of active modes of transportation, such as biking and walking.  This bill would require  the department, if 7,500 applications are received before January 1, 2019, to add a specified license plate design utilized by the department between 1982 and 1987 to the California Legacy License Plate Program. The bill would also require the department, in consultation with the California Bicycle Coalition, Inc., to make available for issuance bicycle awareness license plates if certain conditions are satisfied.   the Department of Transportation to apply to the DMV, as specified, to sponsor a bicycle pathway license plate program, and would require the DMV to issue specialized license plates for that program if the Department of Transportation satisfies certain requirements. Notwithstanding the above-described provisions regarding fees for specialized plates, the bill would require the additional fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of these specialized license plates to be deposited, after the DMV deducts its administrative costs, in the State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund, to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for the purpose of funding the Active Transportation Program.  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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Twenty-one million adults walked for fun, exercise, or transportation and 2,970,000 youth walked, biked, or skated from school one or more times a week. (b) There are 9,863 licensed professional cyclists who live in California, which is 16 percent of the national total and more than any other state. (c) Death rates for California bicyclists and pedestrians are much higher than in the United States as a whole. (d) The Active Transportation Program has had more project applications submitted than available funding every year since it was formed in 2013.  (e) The Legacy License Plate Program has been well-received with the 1960s' Vintage Plate entering production in 2015.   (f) It is the intent of the Legislature to further support bikeway planning-related activities through the Active Transportation Program.   (g) The Legislature further intends to initiate a statewide program to raise bicycle awareness.   SEC. 2.   Section 5004.4 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read: 5004.4. (a) Subject to subdivision (c), the department shall add to the California Legacy License Plate Program, authorized pursuant to Section 5004.3, the license plate design utilized by the department between 1982 and 1987 that featured blue, orange, and red lettering, a white background, the phrase "Golden State" and a sunset design. (b) An applicant for the specialized license plates described in subdivision (a), who shall be the owner or lessee of the vehicle on which the plates will be displayed, may choose to either accept a license plate character sequence assigned by the department or request a combination of letters or numbers, or both. (c) 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, retention, or transfer of the specialized license plates: (1) Fifty dollars ($50) for the original issuance of the plates. (2) Forty dollars ($40) for a renewal of registration with the plates. (3) Fifteen dollars ($15) for transfer of the plates to another vehicle. (4) Thirty-five dollars ($35) for each substitute replacement plate. (5) Thirty-eight dollars ($38), when the payment of renewal fees is not required as specified in Section 4000 and the holder of the specialized license plates retains the plates. The fee shall be due at the expiration of the registration year of the vehicle to which the specialized license plates were assigned. This paragraph shall not apply when a plate character sequence is assigned by the department pursuant to subdivision (b). (d) The department shall not issue California Legacy License Plates for a vehicle that is exempt from the payment of registration fees pursuant to Section 9101 or 9103. (e) (1) The department shall not add the license plate authorized by subdivision (a) until the department has received not less than 7,500 paid applications for plates. The department shall collect and hold applications for the plates. The department shall not issue the specialized plate authorized by subdivision (a) until it has received not less than 7,500 paid applications for plates within the time period prescribed in paragraph (2). (2) The department shall have until January 1, 2019, to receive the required number of applications. If, after that date, 7,500 paid applications have not been received for the plate described in subdivision (a), the department shall immediately refund to all applicants all fees or deposits that have been collected. (f) (1) Upon determination by the department that there are sufficient funds for the program, moneys gathered pursuant to this section shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department for the necessary administrative costs incurred pursuant to this section. (2) After deducting its administrative costs pursuant to paragraph (1), the department shall deposit any additional revenue derived from the issuance, renewal, retention, transfer, and substitution of the specialized license plates into the State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund, to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for the purpose of funding active transportation planning.   SEC. 3.   Section 5076 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read: 5076. (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Bicycle Awareness License Plate Act. (b) Notwithstanding Section 5060.1, the department, in consultation with the California Bicycle Coalition, Inc., shall make available for issuance pursuant to this article bicycle awareness license plates if the requirements of this article are satisfied. (c) In addition to the regular fees for an original registration or renewal of registration, the following additional fees shall be paid for the issuance, transfer, or renewal of the bicycle awareness license plates: (1) For the original issuance of the plates, fifty dollars ($50). (2) For a renewal of registration of the plates, forty dollars ($40). (3) For the transfer of the special plates to another vehicle, fifteen dollars ($15). (d) All fees collected under this section, after deduction of the department's costs in administering this section, shall be deposited in the California Bicycle Coalition Fund, which is hereby established in the General Fund. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the funds shall be allocated to the California Bicycle Coalition, Inc., to establish a statewide program to raise bicycle awareness, which shall include, but not be limited to, state and local educational activities promoting safety for bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.   SEC. 2.   Section 5170 is added to the   Vehicle Code   ,  immediately following Section 5168  , to read:   5170. (a) The Department of Transportation shall apply to the department, pursuant to Section 5156, to sponsor a bicycle pathway license plate program. The department shall issue specialized license plates for that program if the Department of Transportation complies with the requirements of Section 5156. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 5157, the additional fees prescribed by Section 5157 for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the specialized license plates issued pursuant to this section shall be deposited, after the department deducts its administrative costs, in the State Highway Account in the State Transportation Fund, to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for the purpose of funding the Active Transportation Program established pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 2380) of Division 3 of the Streets and Highways Code.