Existing law establishes a specialized license plate program and requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialized license plates if a sponsoring state agency meets certain requirements. Existing law requires that the DMV charge specified additional fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of specialized license plates, and requires the DMV to deposit the fees, less the DMVs costs, into the Specialized License Plate Fund. Existing law requires that moneys in the fund be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each sponsoring agency in proportion to the amount that is attributable to the agencys specialized license plate program. Existing law requires the sponsoring state agency to use these moneys to fund projects and programs that promote the state agencys official policy, mission, or work, except as specified.

This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to apply to the DMV to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program, as specified. The bill would establish the Housing Supportive Services Account in the Specialized License Plate Fund and would, notwithstanding the fee provisions described above, require the DMV to deposit fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the housing supportive services license plates in that account. The bill would require funds in the account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be used by the Department of Housing and Community Development to award grants to entities participating in the Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program and the No Place Like Home Program to provide fund the supportive services to the targeted populations served by those housing programs. the Housing for a Healthy California program.

Existing law, with certain exceptions, imposes certain design criteria for specialized license plates, including, among other things, that the license plate provide a space not larger than two 2 inches by three 3 inches to the left of the numerical series and a space not larger than five-eighths⁵/₈ of an inch in height below the numerical series for a distinctive design, decal, or descriptive message.

This bill, notwithstanding these provisions, would authorize the inclusion of the hashtag symbol within the alpha-numeric sequence of the license plate for purposes of the housing supportive services license plate, as specified. The bill would authorize an applicant for a housing supportive services specialized license plate to request a specialized license plate character sequence determined by the applicant that includes the hashtag symbol, as specified. The bill would require DMV to cooperate with representatives of the Department of the California Highway Patrol and the Prison Industry Authority to design the final shape and dimension of the symbol for these license plates.

Existing law establishes a specialized license plate program and requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialized license plates if a sponsoring state agency meets certain requirements. Existing law requires that the department charge specified additional fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of specialized license plates. Existing law requires that the DMV charge specified additional fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of specialized license plates, and requires the DMV to deposit the fees, less the DMVs costs, into the Specialized License Plate Fund. Existing law requires that moneys in the fund be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each sponsoring agency in proportion to the amount that is attributable to the agencys specialized license plate program. Existing law requires the sponsoring state agency to use these moneys to fund projects and programs that promote the state agencys official policy, mission, or work, except as specified.

Existing law establishes a specialized license plate program and requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue specialized license plates if a sponsoring state agency meets certain requirements. Existing law requires that the department charge specified additional fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of specialized license plates.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Date of Hearing: August 8, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1112

Author:(Roth) – As Amended Ver:May 25, 2018

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program and direct the fee revenue generated by the plate program to fund supportive services to the target populations served by the Housing for a Healthy California (HHC) program. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires HCD to sponsor a specialized license plate that would contain a hashtag symbol.
2. Requires the hashtag to be considered an empty space that can go anywhere in the numerical sequence, but should be considered a blank space and not an additional character for the purposes of the alpha-numeric sequence.
3. Requires DMV to cooperate with representatives from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Prison Industry Authority in the final shape and dimension of the symbol.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Potential one-time costs to DMV in the range of $540,000 to $590,000 (special funds) to establish the specialized license plate program. This amount includes $440,000 for computer programming changes and updating forms and $100,000 to $150,000 for administrative costs. Pursuant to current law, DMV will make computer programming and form changes only after program applications meet a 7,500-application threshold. Therefore, the DMV will incur these costs only if it receives enough applications to require the SCC to implement the program. The DMV will incur minor ongoing costs to continue issuing specialty license plates and renewals under the program. All of the DMV's initial and ongoing costs will be reimbursed by a portion of the additional $50 fee paid for original specialized license plates and the additional $40 fee to renew such plates.
2. Significant GF costs for HCD to design the specialized plate, collect applications and fees, and design a new supportive housing program. Specifically, HCD estimates the cost to develop a supportive housing program to be funded from the specialized license plate revenues will exceed $500,000 in one-time costs. Additionally, startup costs for the license plate include $148,000 in the first year and $130,000 in the second year for staff to perform programming necessary to accept applications and fees. Lastly, HCD expects to incur costs of $25,000 to design the specialized plate.
3. Unknown costs, likely in the tens of thousands of dollars, to the California Highway Patrol and Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconfigure information technology systems to recognize a hashtag symbol. For example, DOJ reports onetime costs of $37,000.

COMMENTS:

1. Background. Prior to 2007, any new specialized license plate required specific legislative authorization. This practice was held to be unconstitutional in that the Legislature approved some of the plates, and rejected others, using no standardized or objective criteria for those decisions. Pursuant to AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter 545, Statutes of 2006, the DMV will issue specialized license plates when sponsored by a state agency. In addition, the plate's message and resulting revenues must support that agency's program and the agency must receive at least 7,500 paid license applications. The 7,500-application threshold attempts to assure that DMV's startup costs are fully covered by the portion of the registration fee surcharge directed to the department and to avoid a proliferation of different types of plates, which can be troublesome from a law enforcement perspective.
2. Related legislation. SB 1455 (Stern), of the current legislative session, requires the State Coast Conservancy to apply to the DMV to sponsor an “Endless Summer” license plate for the coastal conservancy awareness program. SB 1455 is set to be heard by this committee on August 8, 2018.

Analysis Prepared by: Jessica Peters / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 25, 2018

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Jim Frazier, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1112

Author:(Roth) – As Amended Ver:May 25, 2018

SENATE VOTE: 38-0

SUBJECT: Specialized license plates: support services.

SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program and direct the fee revenue generated by the plate program to fund the supportive services to the target populations served by the Housing for a Healthy California (HHC) program. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires HCD to sponsor a specialized license plate that would contain a hashtag.
2. Requires the hashtag to be considered an empty space that can go anywhere in the numerical sequence, but should be considered a blank space and not an additional character for the purposes of the alpha-numeric sequence.
3. Requires DMV to cooperate with representatives from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Prison Industry Authority in the final shape and dimension of the symbol.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides for a specialized license plate program, under which the DMV may issue new special-interest license plates. Special-interest license plates may only be issued on behalf of state agencies and only if:
   1. The license plate has “a design or contains a message that publicizes or promotes a state agency, or the official policy, mission, or work of a state agency.” The design shall also be confined to the left of and below the numerical series (i.e., no full-plate designs allowed).
   2. The state agency submits 7,500 applications and accompanying fees to DMV for the license plate. The state agency has 12 months to collect these applications and fees, but it can extend that to a maximum of 24 months if it notifies and offers to refund fees to those who applied during the first 12 months. Once a plate is issued, DMV stops issuing that plate for the agency if the number of plates drops below 7,500.
2. Authorizes DMV to charge, in addition to the usual registration and license fees, the following additional fees for specialized license plates: $50 for the initial issuance, $40 for annual renewal, and $98 to personalize. DMV deducts its administrative costs from the revenues generated. The net revenues derived from a specialized license plate are then available upon appropriation for the sponsoring state agency to expend exclusively on projects and programs that promote the state agency’s official policy, mission, or work.
3. Establishes the HHC within HCD. The purpose of the HHC program is to create supportive housing.
4. Defines eligibility to receive assistance under a grant awarded under the HHC program as a county resident who meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Is homeless upon initial eligibility;
   2. Is a Medi-Cal beneficiary;
   3. Is eligible for Supplemental Security Income;
   4. Is eligible to receive services under either the Whole Person Care pilot or the Health Home Program, or a locally controlled services program funding or providing services in supportive housing; and,
   5. Is likely to improve his or her health conditions with supportive housing.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

Specialized License Plates: California allows individuals to request a specialized license plate for their vehicle for an additional fee of $50 and for a renewal fee of $40. These plates generally have a different design than the standard plate, and are sponsored by a state agency that receives the additional fees after DMV has received enough funds to reimburse the agency for the costs of issuing the specialized plates.

In the past, California allowed private organizations to sponsor specialized license plates by making an application to DMV and allowed DMV to refuse to issue a plate based on its content. A U.S. District Court determined that the process for creating the plates was a freedom of speech violation as the court had determined that the process California used for creating specialized license plates was private speech and DMV could not turn down sponsorships based on content.

In response, the Legislature passed and Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter 454, Statutes of 2006, which restricted DMV to only issue specialized license plates if they were sponsored by a state agency that received 7,500 commitments from individuals to purchase the plates.

The fees generated from 7,500 plates are necessary to ensure there are enough funds to reimburse DMV for the costs of producing a new plate.

Since the passage of AB 84, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, determined that specialized license plates are government speech, not private speech, and upheld a Texas law that was similar to California’s previous process of establishing specialized license plates.

A Bill Is Not Necessary to Create a New Specialized Plate: A new specialized license plate does not require legislation. A state department just needs to sponsor a plate, and members of the Legislature or private individuals can ask state agencies to sponsor a new plate. If there is a good plan in place to get to the 7,500 commitments, an agency would likely be happy to sponsor a plate because it would mean additional revenue for that agency.

A good example of sponsors successfully switching their efforts from legislation to the administrative process would be the current effort to create an “Imagine No Hunger” plate with an image of John Lennon. The plate is currently being sponsored by the California Department of Social Services. AB 2131 (Maienschein) of 2016, would have required the Department of Food and Agriculture to sponsor a similar plate, but was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.

The current process has not stopped members of the Legislature from introducing bills requiring agencies to sponsor plates. These bills have largely been unsuccessful. Of the 12 legislatively-sponsored plates approved since 2000, only two have met the 7,500 commitment threshold. Of the four that have passed since 2014, only one reached the threshold. In the 2015-16 Legislative Session, seven bills were introduced directing a state agency to sponsor a specialized license plate. All seven died in either the Senate or Assembly Appropriations Committee.

#Healthy California Program: This bill requires the specialized license plate sponsored by HCD to have a hashtag (#). The hashtag has become popular in recent years as a means of highlighting subjects on social media to make them easily searchable and raise awareness to an issue or event by having it come up as a trending topic. For example, #vota has been used to promote voter turnout. #PortugalvsSpain had been tweeted over 42,000 times in the last week, expressing excitement for what media outlets are calling one of the best World Cup games in recent memory.

For the purposes of this plate, the hashtag will not be considered an alpha numeric symbol. This means that if someone already has a “vota” plate, another individual could not get a “#vota” plate.

After deducting administrative costs, the revenue generated by the plate would go toward the HCC grant program. HCC is a new program established under AB 74 (Chiu), Chapter 777, Statutes of 2017, which funds competitive grants to pay for housing construction or operating costs for chronically homeless Medi-Cal beneficiaries who meet specified criteria, including people who are eligible for Supplemental Security Income.

Related Legislation: SB 1189 (Newman) requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to apply to DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate bearing the officially licensed logo, emblem or trademark of a California professional sports franchise to fund operations and maintenance of state parks and recreation grant programs. SB 1189 is awaiting a hearing by this committee.

SB 1357 (Gaines) requires The Department of Veteran Affairs to replace the “Honoring Veterans” specialized license plate with a “Veteran” specialized license plate and restricts the plate’s sale exclusively to veterans. SB 1357 is set to be heard by this committee on June 25, 2018.

SB 1455 (Stern) requires the State Coast Conservancy (SCC) to apply to the Department DMV to sponsor an “Endless Summer” license plate for the coastal conservancy awareness program. SB 1455 is set to be heard by this committee on June 25, 2018.

AB 1251 (T. Allen) requires the SCC to apply to DMV to sponsor an “Endless Summer” license plate for a coastal conservancy awareness program. AB 1251 was set to be heard by this committee but the hearing was cancelled at the request of the author.

Prior Legislation: AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter 454, Statutes of 2006, restricts specialized license plates to only be issued if sponsored by a state agency that received 7,500 commitments from individuals to purchase the plates.

AB 244 (Bonilla), Chapter 690, Statutes of 2013, directed CalVet to sponsor a “Veteran” specialized license plate.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

American Legion-Department of California

California Apartment Association

OneVet OneVoice

Sacramento Stand Down Association

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: David Sforza / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular Session

SB 1112 (Roth) - Specialized license plates: support services

Bill Summary:

SB 1112 would require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program, as specified.

*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********

The following information is revised to reflect amendments

adopted by the committee on May 25, 2018

Fiscal Impact:

:

• Estimated HCD costs of $25,000 in 2018-19 for plate design, and up to $100,000 in 2019-20 for staff time to collect the initial 7,500 applications and fees for the establishment of the plate program (General Fund). These costs could continue into 2020-21 if the requisite applications and fees are not collected within the first year and HCD applies to DMV for a 12-month extension. There could be additional costs if HCD executes a marketing strategy to attract applicants.
  
• If the license plate program is implemented, HCD would incur additional unknown one-time costs, potentially in the low hundreds of thousands, to design a new grant program, as the department does not currently have an existing program that provides grants to supportive service providers in the bill’s specified programs. HCD would incur additional moderate ongoing administrative costs to distribute grant funding. Actual costs would depend on the volume of available revenues. (General Fund)
  
• Assuming 7,500 pre-paid applications are collected by HCD, DMV would incur initial administrative costs in the range of $100,000 to $150,000 to produce the plates and process the applications, (depending on how many plates are personalized), and an additional $460,000 in programming and other implementation costs, likely in 2020-21 or 2021-22, partially offset by pre-paid application fees of $375,000, leaving a net cost in the range of $185,000 to $235,000 in the first year (Motor Vehicle Account). These net costs would be reimbursed in the following fiscal year by registration renewal fees from holders of the reproductive freedom plates. All ongoing costs thereafter would be fully offset by fees from renewals and issuance of new plates.
  
• Upon full implementation of the proposed plate program, there would be ongoing revenues of approximately $300,000 annually for supportive services grants to entities participating in the specified program (based on 7,500 plate renewals, and not accounting for administrative costs).

Committee Amendments:

Direct funds to the Housing for a Health California Program, rather than the Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention and No Place Like Home Programs.

-- END --

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 1112

Author:

:

Vote:

SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/24/18

AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Dodd, Gaines, Galgiani, McGuire, Roth, Skinner, Vidak, Wiener

NO VOTE RECORDED: Morrell, Wieckowski

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/25/18

AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Nielsen, Wiener

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program, with the fees going to support a specified HCD program.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Provides for a specialized license plate program, under which the DMV may issue new special-interest license plates. Special-interest license plates may only be issued on behalf of state agencies and only provided that:
   1. The license plate has “a design or contains a message that publicizes or promotes a state agency, or the official policy, mission, or work of a state agency.” The design shall also be confined to the left of and below the numerical series (i.e., no full-plate designs allowed).
   2. The state agency submits 7,500 applications and accompanying fees to DMV for the license plate. The state agency has 12 months to collect these applications and fees, but it can extend that to a maximum of 24 months if it notifies and offers to refund fees to those who applied during the first 12 months. Once a plate is issued, DMV stops issuing that plate for the agency if the number of plates drops below 7,500.
2. Authorizes DMV to charge, in addition to the usual registration and license fees, the following additional fees for specialized license plates: $50 for the initial issuance, $40 for annual renewal, and $98 to personalize. DMV deducts its administrative costs from the revenues generated. The net revenues derived from a specialized license plate are then available upon appropriation for the sponsoring state agency to expend exclusively on projects and programs that promote the state agency’s official policy, mission, or work.
3. Establishes the Housing for a Healthy California program (HHC) within HCD. The purpose of the HHC program is to create supportive housing.
4. Defines eligibility to receive assistance under a grant awarded under the HHC program as a county resident who meets all of the following requirements:
   1. Is homeless upon initial eligibility;
   2. Is a Medi-Cal beneficiary;
   3. Is eligible for Supplemental Security Income;
   4. Is eligible to receive services under either the Whole Person Care pilot or the Health Home Program, or a locally controlled services program funding or providing services in supportive housing; and
   5. Is likely to improve his or her health conditions with supportive housing.

This bill requires HCD to apply to the DMV to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program, with the fees going to support for participants in the HHC program. This specialized plate will be distinguished by the insertion of hashtag (#) at any position in the alpha-numeric sequence on the plate.

Comments

1. Purpose. The author notes that California accounts for 30% of the nation’s homeless veteran population. This bill empowers California drivers to help address this crisis by creating a funding stream for transitional and supportive services through the purchase of specialized license plates.
2. History of special-interest license plates. The DMV is required to issue, upon legislative authorization, a special-interest license plate bearing a distinctive design or decal of a sponsoring organization to any vehicle owner that paid specified fees, provided that the sponsoring organization met certain conditions. These conditions included that the sponsor of a special-interest license plate had to collect 7,500 applications and fees for a special license plate in order to pay DMV’s costs of creating a new plate, which are approximately $375,000 or 7,500 applications times the $50 fee.
3. No duplicates. This bill provides that the hashtag be read as a blank for purposes of the alpha-numeric sequence on the license plate. This means that, for example, the following license plate sequences would be identical for DMV registration purposes: ABC1234 #ABC1234 ABC#1234. Only one of these three license plate sequences would be allowed.
4. I see. If this bill is enacted, the California Highway Patrol will determine whether the hashtag impermissibly impairs the readability of the license plate. License plates need to be readable during all hours of the day and under all lighting conditions.
5. One more. California currently offers 14 specialty license plates: Breast Cancer Awareness, California Agriculture, Arts Council, California Museums, Collegiate, Environmental, Help Our Kids, Lake Tahoe Conservancy, Memorial, Pet Lovers, Veterans Organizations, Whale Tail (Coastal Commission), Yosemite Conservancy, and 60’s Legacy.
6. Outlook is poor. The track record of specialty license plates reaching the 7,500 threshold is poor. Of the 12 legislatively sponsored plates approved in the last two decades, only two have met the threshold (60’s Legacy, Breast Cancer Awareness).

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• Estimated HCD costs of $25,000 in 2018-19 for plate design, and up to $100,000 in 2019-20 for staff time to collect the initial 7,500 applications and fees for the establishment of the plate program (General Fund). These costs could continue into 2020-21 if the requisite applications and fees are not collected within the first year and HCD applies to DMV for a 12-month extension. There could be additional costs if HCD executes a marketing strategy to attract applicants.
• If the license plate program is implemented, HCD would incur additional unknown one-time costs, potentially in the low hundreds of thousands, to design a new grant program, as the department does not currently have an existing program that provides grants to supportive service providers in the bill’s specified programs. HCD would incur additional moderate ongoing administrative costs to distribute grant funding. Actual costs would depend on the volume of available revenues. (General Fund)
• Assuming 7,500 pre-paid applications are collected by HCD, DMV would incur initial administrative costs in the range of $100,000 to $150,000 to produce the plates and process the applications, (depending on how many plates are personalized), and an additional $460,000 in programming and other implementation costs, likely in 2020-21 or 2021-22, partially offset by pre-paid application fees of $375,000, leaving a net cost in the range of $185,000 to $235,000 in the first year (Motor Vehicle Account). These net costs would be reimbursed in the following fiscal year by registration renewal fees from holders of the reproductive freedom plates. All ongoing costs thereafter would be fully offset by fees from renewals and issuance of new plates.
• Upon full implementation of the proposed plate program, there would be ongoing revenues of approximately $300,000 annually for supportive services grants to entities participating in the specified program (based on 7,500 plate renewals, and not accounting for administrative costs).

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/25/18)

American Legion-Department of California

California Apartment Association

Riverside Downtown Partnership

Sacramento Stand Down Association

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/25/18)

None received

Prepared by:

5/29/18 10:44:15

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular Session

SB 1112 (Roth) - Specialized license plates: support services

This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.

Bill Summary:

SB 1112 would require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program, as specified.

Fiscal Impact:

• Estimated HCD costs of $25,000 in 2018-19 for plate design, and up to $100,000 in 2019-20 for staff time to collect the initial 7,500 applications and fees for the establishment of the plate program (General Fund). These costs could continue into 2020-21 if the requisite applications and fees are not collected within the first year and HCD applies to DMV for a 12-month extension. There could be additional costs if HCD executes a marketing strategy to attract applicants.
  
• If the license plate program is implemented, HCD would incur additional unknown one-time costs, potentially in the low hundreds of thousands, to design a new grant program, as the department does not currently have an existing program that provides grants to supportive service providers in the bill’s specified programs. HCD would incur additional moderate ongoing administrative costs to distribute grant funding. Actual costs would depend on the volume of available revenues. (General Fund)
  
• Assuming 7,500 pre-paid applications are collected by HCD, DMV would incur initial administrative costs in the range of $100,000 to $150,000 to produce the plates and process the applications, (depending on how many plates are personalized), and an additional $460,000 in programming and other implementation costs, likely in 2020-21 or 2021-22, partially offset by pre-paid application fees of $375,000, leaving a net cost in the range of $185,000 to $235,000 in the first year (Motor Vehicle Account). These net costs would be reimbursed in the following fiscal year by registration renewal fees from holders of the reproductive freedom plates. All ongoing costs thereafter would be fully offset by fees from renewals and issuance of new plates.
  
• Upon full implementation of the proposed plate program, there would be ongoing revenues of approximately $300,000 annually for supportive services grants to entities participating in existing specified programs (based on 7,500 plate renewals, and not accounting for administrative costs).

Background:

Prior to 2007, any new special interest license plate required specific legislative authorization. This practice was held to be unconstitutional in that the Legislature approved some of the plates, and rejected others, using no standardized or objective criteria for those decisions. Current law, as enacted by AB 84 (Leslie), Chap. 454/2006, authorizes any state agency to sponsor a special interest license plate, and apply to DMV to establish a new license plate program after collecting at least 7,500 applications and accompanying fees and submitting them to DMV. The applications must be collected within one year, with an option to extend that timeframe by an additional year under specified conditions. The new specialized license plate must have a design or contain a message that publicizes or promotes a state agency, or the official policy, mission, or work of the agency.

In addition to the regular fees for an original or renewal registration, existing law requires payment of the following fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the specialized license plate: $50 for original issuance; $40 for renewal; $15 for transfer to another vehicle; and $35 for substitute replacement plates. Once a specialized license plate program has been implemented, all additional fee revenues associated with the plate, after subtracting DMV administrative costs, are deposited into the Specialized License Plate Fund, and made available to the sponsoring agency upon appropriation by the Legislature for projects and programs that promote the agency’s official policy, mission, or work. A sponsoring agency may not spend more than 25 percent of its license plate fee revenues for administrative, marketing, and promotional costs associated with the plate. If an applicant wishes to personalize a specialized license plate, the following additional fees would apply: $53 for original issuance, $43 for renewal, and $43 for transfer to another vehicle. Any fees paid for personalization would be deposited into the California Environmental License Plate Fund for expenditure on various environmental protection purposes.

Existing law stablishes the Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program (VHHP) and the No Place Like Home Program (NPLH) within HCD. The purpose of the VHHP program is to obtain affordable multifamily housing for veterans and their families to allow veterans to access and maintain housing stability. The NPLH program provides funds to counties to acquire, design, construct, rehabilitate, or preserve permanent supportive housing for individuals who are experiencing homelessness, experiencing chronic homelessness, at risk of chronic homelessness, and in need of mental health services.

Proposed Law:

SB 1112 would require HCD to apply to the DMV to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program, with the fees going to support the VHHP and NPLH programs. This specialized plate will be distinguished by the insertion of hashtag (#) at any position in the alpha-numeric sequence on the plate.

Related Legislation:

SB 1189 (Newman), which is currently pending in this Committee, would require the Department of Parks and Recreation to apply to DMV to sponsor a professional sports franchise specialized license plate program, upon entering into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a California professional sports franchise.

SB 1357 (Gaines), which is currently pending in this Committee, would require the California Department of Veterans Affairs to adopt, and the DMV to implement, two descriptive messages as part of the distinctive design for specialized plates for veterans.

SB 1455 (Stern), which is currently pending in this Committee, would require the California Coastal Commission to apply to DMV to sponsor an “Endless Summer” specialized license plate program.

Staff Comments:

As noted above, any state agency may sponsor a specialized license plate program and apply to DMV to issue the plates upon collection of 7,500 pre-paid applications without legislative action. Rather than allow HCD to sponsor a plate to raise money for supportive services grants at its own discretion, this bill would require the department to apply to DMV to sponsor the plate program, pursuant to the requirements in existing law.

As a sponsoring entity, existing law requires HCD to design a plate, apply to DMV to sponsor a plate program, and collect 7,500 pre-paid applications within 12 months. If the requisite number of applications has not been reached within a year, DHCS has the option of either returning all fees and deposits to applicants, or notifying DMV that it intends to continue collection efforts to obtain the minimum 7,500 applications within the subsequent 12 months. If HCD elects to continue collection efforts, it must contact applicants who submitted applications and fees to determine whether they would prefer to continue the application or have their deposits and fees refunded.

Staff estimates that HCD would incur initial costs of approximately $25,000 in 2018-19 to design the reproductive freedom license plate and apply to DMV to sponsor the plate, and additional costs of up to $50,000 in 2019-20 to collect applications and fees. If 7,500 applications have not been received within 12 months of applying to DMV, HCD may incur similar costs in 2020-21, if it chooses to apply for an extension. Staff notes that there is no requirement that HCD incur costs beyond the 12 month period if less than 7,500 applications have been collected.

All DMV costs are contingent upon receipt of 7,500 pre-paid applications, as specified above. If the requisite number of applications are not received by HCD within the specified timeframes, the supportive services license plate program would not be implemented and there would be no further costs or revenues derived from the bill.

Staff notes that the VHHP and NPLH programs are funded by bonds and pay for new facilities, not supportive services. There are other programs which provide supportive services to the homeless, such as the recently established Housing for a Healthy California program under HCD. This bill would require funds generated from specialized plate sales to be allocated to HCD, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for grants to entities participating in the VHHP and NPLH to provide supportive services to persons served by those programs. It is unclear at this time whether HCD would need to develop a new grant program or whether it could supplement existing awards under VHHP and NPLH and simply require that recipients use the grants provided under this bill for supportive services associated with projects funded by VHHP and NPLH.

HCD would incur some magnitude of one-time and ongoing administrative costs in either case.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING

Senator Jim Beall, Chair

2017 - 2018 Regular

Bill No: Hearing Date: 4/24/2018

SUBJECT:

DIGEST: This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program, with the fees going to support specified HCD programs.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Provides for a specialized license plate program, under which the DMV may issue new special-interest license plates. Special-interest license plates may only be issued on behalf of state agencies and only provided that:
   1. The license plate has “a design or contains a message that publicizes or promotes a state agency, or the official policy, mission, or work of a state agency.” The design shall also be confined to the left of and below the numerical series (i.e., no full-plate designs allowed).
   2. The state agency submits 7,500 applications and accompanying fees to DMV for the license plate. The state agency has 12 months to collect these applications and fees, but it can extend that to a maximum of 24 months if it notifies and offers to refund fees to those who applied during the first 12 months. Once a plate is issued, DMV stops issuing that plate for the agency if the number of plates drops below 7,500.
2. Authorizes DMV to charge, in addition to the usual registration and license fees, the following additional fees for specialized license plates: $50 for the initial issuance, $40 for annual renewal, and $98 to personalize. DMV deducts its administrative costs from the revenues generated. The net revenues derived from a specialized license plate are then available upon appropriation for the sponsoring state agency to expend exclusively on projects and programs that promote the state agency’s official policy, mission, or work.
3. Establishes the Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program (VHHP) and the No Place Like Home Program (NPLH) within the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The purpose of the VHHP program is to obtain affordable multifamily housing for veterans and their families to allow veterans to access and maintain housing stability. The NPLH program provides funds to counties to acquire, design, construct, rehabilitate, or preserve permanent supportive housing for individuals who are experiencing homelessness, experiencing chronic homelessness, at risk of chronic homelessness, and in need of mental health services.

This bill requires HCD to apply to the DMV to sponsor a housing supportive services specialized license plate program, with the fees going to support the VHHP and NPLH programs. This specialized plate will be distinguished by the insertion of hashtag (#) at any position in the alpha-numeric sequence on the plate.

COMMENTS

1. Purpose. The author notes that California accounts for 30% of the nation’s homeless veteran population. This bill empowers California drivers to help address this crisis by creating a funding stream for transitional and supportive services through the purchase of specialized license plates.
2. History of special-interest license plates. The DMV is required to issue, upon legislative authorization, a special-interest license plate bearing a distinctive design or decal of a sponsoring organization to any vehicle owner that paid specified fees, provided that the sponsoring organization met certain conditions. These conditions included that the sponsor of a special-interest license plate had to collect 7,500 applications and fees for a special license plate in order to pay DMV’s costs of creating a new plate, which are approximately $375,000 or 7,500 applications times the $50 fee.
3. No Duplicates. The bill provides that the hashtag be read as a blank for purposes of the alpha-numeric sequence on the license plate. This means that, for example, the following license plate sequences would be identical for DMV registration purposes: ABC1234 #ABC1234 ABC#1234. Only one of these three license plate sequences would be allowed.
4. I See. If this bill is enacted, the California Highway Patrol will determine whether the hashtag impermissibly impairs the readability of the license plate. License plates need to be readable during all hours of the day and under all lighting conditions.
5. A Better Fit? The VHHP and NPLH programs are funded by bonds and pay for new facilities, not supportive services. There are other programs which provide supportive services to the homeless, such as the recently established Housing for a Healthy California program under HCD, which may be a better fit for the goals of this bill.
6. One More. California currently offers 14 specialty license plates: Breast Cancer Awareness, California Agriculture, Arts Council, California Museums, Collegiate, Environmental, Help Our Kids, Lake Tahoe Conservancy, Memorial, Pet Lovers, Veterans Organizations, Whale Tail (Coastal Commission), Yosemite Conservancy, and 60’s Legacy.
7. Outlook is poor. The track record of specialty license plates reaching the 7,500 threshold is poor. Of the 12 legislatively sponsored plates approved in the last two decades, only two have met the threshold (60’s Legacy, Breast Cancer Awareness).

Related Legislation:

SB 1189 (Newman, 2018) — Establishes a professional sports team license plate; pending in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.

SB 1357 (Gaines, 2018) — Establishes a veterans license plate; pending in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.

SB 1455 (Stern, 2018) — Establishes a surfing license plate; pending in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.

SB 309 (Jackson, 2017) — Establishes a reproductive freedom fund license plate; held in the Assembly Appropriations committee.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,

April 18, 2018.)

SUPPORT:

American Legion-Department of California

California Apartment Association

Sacramento Stand Down Association

OPPOSITION:

None received.

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