Bill Text: CA SB899 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Vehicles: license plates: 8-letter license plates.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-06-15 - Re-referred to Com. on RLS. [SB899 Detail]
Download: California-2011-SB899-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 899 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 14, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 31, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 17, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator La Malfa
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Sections 19620 and 19620.1 of the
Business and Professions Code, and to add Section 3205 to, the Food
and Agricultural Code, relating to fairs. 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 899, as amended, La Malfa. Fairs.
Vehicles: license plates: 8-letter license plates.
(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 2 3/4 inches, a minimum width of 1 1/4 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 and other specialized
license plates to provide revenue for the California Environmental
License Plate Fund, the Specialized License Plate Fund, and other
specified license plate funds or accounts that indicate on the
plates, among other design criteria, 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 requires that the department not
establish a specialized license plate program for an agency, as
defined, until the department has received 7,500 applications.
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 a specialized license plate 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 in the State Treasury. The bill
would require that all revenue derived from the fees, after deducting
the department's administrative costs, 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.
Existing law divides the state into agricultural districts and
authorizes residents of a district to form a district agricultural
association for the purpose of holding fairs, expositions, and
exhibitions to exhibit the industries, resources, and products of the
state and for the purpose of constructing, maintaining, and
operating recreational and cultural facilities of general public
interest.
Existing law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to
exercise oversight of activities carried out by California fairs,
including conducting fiscal and performance audits of county fairs
and citrus fruit fairs that are requested by the fair that is the
subject of the audit and that the department deems necessary.
This bill would remove county fairs from the department's duty to
conduct fiscal and performance audits and for which the Legislature
is authorized to appropriate specified revenue to the department. The
bill would instead permit an audit of a county fair to be performed
upon the agreement of the county board of supervisors and the
governing body of the county fair. The bill would require, if an
audit is performed, that a copy be provided to the department, and
that costs associated with the audit are the responsibility of the
fair. The bill would permit 2 or more fairs to contract for a single
audit with the approval of the department. The bill would permit
district agricultural associations and the California Exposition and
State Fair to be relieved of specified requirements regarding
competitive bidding with the approval of the department.
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 one-quarter
three-sixteenths inches, and a minimum spacing between
characters of five-sixteenths 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.
5171.5. The department shall not establish the 8-letter license
plate program until the department has received not less than 7,500
applications. The department shall collect and hold applications for
the license plates. The department shall not issue an 8-letter
license plate until it has received not less than 7,500 applications
for this particular license plate within the time period prescribed
in this section. The department shall have 24 months, following the
date of enactment of this section, to receive the required number of
applications. If, after 24 months, 7,500 applications have not been
received, the department shall immediately refund to all applicants
all fees or deposits that have been collected.
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, after deduction of the department's costs in administering
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 in the State Treasury 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.
SECTION 1. Section 19620 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
19620. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the Department
of Food and Agriculture is responsible for ensuring the integrity of
the Fair and Exposition Fund, administering allocations from the
fund to the network of California fairs, as defined in Sections 19418
to 19418.3, inclusive, and providing oversight of activities carried
out by each California fair.
(b) Oversight shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Monitoring the solvency of the Fair and Exposition Fund.
(2) Distributing available state resources to the network of
California fairs based on criteria for state allocations approved by
the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. The criteria for the
distribution of available state resources to the network of
California fairs shall not include a consideration of the structure
that governs the fair.
(3) Creating a framework for administration of the network of
California fairs allowing for maximum autonomy and local
decisionmaking authority, and conducting, or causing to be conducted,
annual fiscal audits and periodic compliance audits.
(4) Conducting fiscal and performance audits of citrus fruit fairs
that are requested by the fair that is the subject of the audit and
that the Department of Food and Agriculture deems to be necessary.
(5) Guiding and providing incentives to fairs to seek matching
funds and generate new revenue from a variety of sources.
(6) Supporting continuous improvement of fair programming to
ensure that California fairs remain highly relevant community
institutions.
SEC. 2. Section 19620.1 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
19620.1. From the total revenue received by the department,
exclusive of money received pursuant to Sections 19640 and 19641, the
Legislature shall annually appropriate to the department those sums
as it deems necessary for the following purposes:
(a) For the oversight of the network of California fairs receiving
money from the fund.
(b) For reviewing annual audits submitted by all district
agricultural association fairs and citrus fruit fairs.
SEC. 3. Section 3205 is added to the Food and
Agricultural Code, to read:
3205. (a) Upon the agreement of the county board of supervisors
and the governing body of the county fair, an audit of the county
fair may be performed. If an audit is performed pursuant to these
provisions, a copy of the audit shall be provided to the department.
Costs associated with an audit are the responsibility of the fair.
(b) With the approval of the department, two or more fairs may
contract for a single audit by the same certified public accountant
in order to be more cost effective.
(c) With the approval of the department, district agricultural
associations and the California Exposition and State Fair are
relieved of any requirements to abide by the provisions of the State
Contracting Manual which may apply to competitively bidding an audit
service contract as developed by the Department of General Services.
