AB 3138: License plates and registration cards: alternative devices.

Existing law requires a vehicle to display a license plate, issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, with tabs that indicate the month and year the vehicle registration expires. Existing law requires the department to issue a registration card upon registering a vehicle that includes, among other information, the name of the owner and the vehicle registration number. Existing law authorizes the department to establish a program allowing an entity to issue devices as alternatives to the conventional license plates, stickers, tabs, and registration cards, subject to specific requirements that include limitations on how vehicle location technology is used with an alternative device and how an alternative device may display certain specialized license plates. Existing law imposes requirements and restrictions on electronic information generated by an alternative device.

Commencing January 1, 2027, this bill would modify the limitations on the use of vehicle location technology.

This bill would authorize any vehicle, beginning on January 1, 2027, to be offered an alternative device to a license plate or registration card that includes vehicle location technology. The bill would specify requirements for how vehicle location technology is disabled or enabled and prohibit an alternative device from recording or transmitting personal identifiable information, as specified. The bill would require the department to delete data from an alternative device or the provider of an alternative device that the department is not authorized to receive. The bill would expand the types of specialized license plates that may be replicated on an alternative device.