Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialized license plates. Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. The DMV is required to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to apply to the DMV to sponsor a domestic violence and sexual assault awareness license plate program, and establishes the California Domestic Violence Prevention Fund in the State Treasury for the deposit of the revenue derived from these license plates. These funds are allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to OES for purposes of funding the Family Violence Prevention Program.

This bill would establish the survivors of human trafficking grant program administered by OES to benefit survivors of human trafficking and would require the OES to apply to the DMV to sponsor a human trafficking awareness license plate program. The bill would establish the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund for the deposit of revenue derived from these license plates and would require that funds from these license plates be allocated, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to the OES for the purpose of funding the survivors of human trafficking grant program. The bill would require the OES to provide grants to community-based organizations, as specified, that provide direct services to vulnerable individuals in areas with high concentrations of human trafficking, and would require OES to submit a report annually to the Legislature, as specified. The bill would state that this act may be cited as Blair and Kendras Law.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialized license plates. Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. The DMV is required to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to apply to the DMV to sponsor a domestic violence and sexual assault awareness license plate program, and establishes the California Domestic Violence Prevention Fund in the State Treasury for the deposit of the revenue derived from these license plates. These funds are allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to OES for purposes of funding the Family Violence Prevention Program.

This bill would establish the survivors of human trafficking grant program administered by OES to benefit survivors of human trafficking and would require the OES to apply to the DMV to sponsor a human trafficking awareness license plate program. The bill would establish the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund for the deposit of revenue derived from these license plates and would require that funds from these license plates be allocated, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to the OES for the purpose of funding the survivors of human trafficking grant program. The bill would require the OES to provide grants to community-based organizations, as specified, that provide direct services to vulnerable individuals in areas with high concentrations of human trafficking, and would require OES to submit a report annually to the Legislature, as specified.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Sabrina Cervantes, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular Session

SB 1018 (Grove) - Human trafficking: specialized license plates

Bill Summary:

AB 1018 would require the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a Survivors of Human Trafficking specialized license plate program, as specified. The bill would also require OES to administer a grant program for the benefit of survivors of human trafficking, and require OES and DMV to accept donations for the program on their respective websites.

Fiscal Impact:

• OES estimates costs of $539,000 in the first year and $359,000 annually thereafter for staff time and contract costs to implement the bill, including contract costs for designing the plate, implementing an outreach program to promote the plate to the public, and developing an online donation collection portal on the OES website. Ongoing costs would be incurred to administer the new grant program, upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature. (General Fund)
  
• Assuming 7,500 pre-paid applications are collected by OES, DMV would incur one-time costs to make necessary IT programming changes to implement the new specialized license plate program. DMV notes that the plate program would likely qualify after the department’s IT modernization efforts are complete, so it is unable to accurately predict programming costs to modify the new system. Staff assumes these one-time costs would be in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, which would likely be offset by pre-paid application fees. (Motor Vehicle Account)
  
• DMV would incur one-time costs to create an online portal to collect donations for deposit into the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund. Staff notes that the online donation portal must be implemented regardless of whether the license plate program is established. The department has yet to determine these costs, but staff assumes these costs would be in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Motor Vehicle Account)
  
• Upon full implementation of the proposed plate program, there would be ongoing revenues of approximately $300,000 annually available for the new grant program established by this bill (based on 7,500 plate renewals). These revenues could be higher to the extent additional domestic violence and sexual assault awareness plates are issued. (Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund)
  
• There would be unknown, likely minor to moderate additional revenues, to the extent donations are collected through the OES and DMV websites for deposit into the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund.

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), Ch. 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: $48 for original issuance, $38 for renewal, and $38 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.

According to Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), human trafficking refers to the commercial exploitation of people through force, fraud, or coercion. The California Department of Justice reports that California, in part due to its position as a populous border state with a significant immigrant population, is one of the nation's top destination states for trafficking human beings. CalOES currently administers the Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Program, which is a grant program intended to help human trafficking victims/survivors recover from the trauma they experienced and assist them with reintegrating into society through comprehensive safety and supportive services using a trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, victim/survivor-centered approach.

Proposed Law:

SB 1018 would require OES to apply to DMV to sponsor a human trafficking awareness license plate pursuant to the requirements of the specialized license plate program in existing law. The bill would require additional fees derived from the plate program, after DMV deducts its administrative costs, to be deposited into the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund (SHTLP Fund), established by this bill. Revenues would be allocated to OES, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for funding a new survivors of human trafficking grant program.

This bill would also require OES to administer a grant program for the benefit of survivors of human trafficking, and require grants to be awarded from the SHTLP Fund. SB 1018 requires OES to establish a balanced regional distribution of funds and award grants to community-based organizations that are led by survivors of human trafficking or guided by substantial survivor input and that provide direct services to vulnerable individuals in areas with a high concentration of human trafficking. The bill would require OES, by January 1, 2028 and annually thereafter, to report to the Legislature on the amount of revenues deposited into the SHTLP Fund, the amount of each grant, and the identity of each recipient.

Lastly, the bill would require both OES and DMV to accept donations to the SHTLP Fund on their respective websites, without requiring the purchase of a specialized license plate.

Related Legislation:

AB 2321 (Gomez), Chap. 358/2014, required CalOES to apply to DMV to sponsor a domestic violence and sexual assault awareness license plate program and established the California Domestic Violence Prevention Fund for the deposit of the revenue derived from these license plates.

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 the COES to sponsor a plate at its discretion, this bill would require the department to apply to DMV to sponsor a human trafficking awareness license plate program.

As a sponsoring entity, existing law requires OES 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, OES 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 the OES 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 notes that only two of the 12 specialized plate programs signed into law since 2000 have successfully met the minimum threshold of 7,500 pre-paid applications (California 1960s Legacy plates and Breast Cancer Awareness plates). Existing law, as enacted by AB 2321 (Gomez), Chap. 358/2014, requires OES to establish a specialized license plate program that promotes awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault. OES reports that only about 100 commitments were made to purchase the license plates. Since this was well short of the 7,500 minimum threshold, the commitments were refunded.

Staff notes that the new program established by this bill appears to be duplicative of the Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Program, which is also administered by OES (Gov. Code Sections 8590.6-8590.7). The Committee may wish to consider an amendment to direct any new funding related to this bill, through the proposed specialized license plate program and website donations, to the existing human trafficking grant program, rather than establishing a new program with similar beneficiaries.

The DMV indicates that the necessary automation workload related to establishing the new license plate program would likely occur after the department’s modernization efforts are complete, to the extent sufficient pre-paid applications are collected by OES to establish the program. The vehicle registration component of the Digital eXperience Platform Project (DXP) is expected to be ready for rollout in the fall of 2026. DMV cannot predict the costs to modify the new system at this time, but staff assumes costs associated with these programming efforts could be in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, which would likely be offset by revenues from the pre-paid applications for the new plate. Costs to develop a new online portal for collecting donations to the SHTLP Fund, which would be implemented regardless of whether the license plate program is established, have yet to be determined, but staff assumes one-time costs in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Motor Vehicle Account (MVA) is the primary funding source for the California Highway Patrol and DMV. The MVA has had a structural deficit since the 2021-22 fiscal year, with expenditures exceeding revenues by approximately $60 million in the current year, and approximately $112 million in the budget year (projected). Absent further actions to address the MVA fund condition, approving any new proposals that increase MVA expenditures would exacerbate the current structural imbalance of the fund. The Budget Summary published for the Governor’s proposed 2026-27 Budget notes that “the MVA will be insolvent as soon as 2028-29. Given the ongoing fiscal constraints in the MVA, the Administration will continue to limit new workload or initiatives, including those with delayed implementation dates that would create additional cost pressures over time.”

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Senator Jesse Arreguín, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular

Bill No: SB 1018 Hearing Date: April 21, 2026

Subject: Human trafficking: specialized license plates

HISTORY

Source: California Survivor Coalition

Prior Legislation: SB 374 (Ashby), Ch. 602, Stats. of 2023

AB 2321 (Gomez), Ch. 358, Stats. of 2023

AB 1338 (Gomez), Ch. 268, Stats. of 2015

AB 49 (Buchanan), Ch. 351, Stats. of 2014

AB 84 (Leslie), Ch. 351, Stats. of 2006

Support: 3strands Global Foundation; Breaking the Chains; California Massage Therapy Council; Central Valley Justice Coalition; Chino Police Department; City of McFarland; Community Action Partnership of Kern; County of Tulare; Crime Victims United; Empowerment (dess Perkins Foundation); Farmersville Police Department; Fresno County Board of Supervisors; Fresno County District Attorneys Office; Fresno Police and Fire Chaplaincy; Fresno Police Department; Kern Coalition Against Human Trafficking; Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Kern County Sheriff's Office; Monterey County District Attorney’s Office - ODA - Salinas, CA; San Diego County District Attorney’s Office; San Luis Obispo County District Attorney; The California Baptist Capitol Ministry; The Open Door Network; Treasures; Tulare County Child Abuse Prevention Council; Tulare County District Attorney’s Office; Tulare County Probation Department; Woodlake Police Department; 4 Individuals

Opposition: None known

PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to establish the survivors of human trafficking grant program administered by the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and to require OES to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a human trafficking awareness license plate program to fund the grant program.

Existing law allows a state agency to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a specialized license program. Requires the DMV to issue specialized license plates for the program if the agency complies with the requirements below. (Veh. Code, § 5156, subd. (a).)

Existing law requires that specialized license plates issued under this article have a design or contain a message that publicizes or promotes a state agency, or the official policy, mission, or work of a state agency. (Veh. Code, § 5154.)

Existing law allows the DMV to establish a specialized license plate program for an agency only once the DMV has received at least 7,500 applications for that agency’s specialized license plates. Requires the agency to collect and hold applications for the plates. Requires that once the agency has received at least 7,500 applications, it must submit the applications, along with the necessary fees, to the DMV. (Veh. Code, § 5156, subd. (b).)

Existing law requires that if the number of outstanding and valid specialized license plates in a particular program is less than 7,500, the DMV must notify the sponsoring agency of that fact and must 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. (Veh. Code, § 5156, subd. (c)(1).)

Existing law requires that in addition to the regular fees for an original registration or renewal of registration, the following additional fees must be paid for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the specialized license plates:

• For the original issuance of the plates, fifty dollars ($50).
• For a renewal of registration with the plates, forty dollars ($40).
• For transfer of the plates to another vehicle, fifteen dollars ($15).
• For each substitute replacement plate, thirty-five dollars ($35). (Veh. Code, § 5157.)

This bill directs OES to apply to the DMV to sponsor a human trafficking awareness license plate program.

This bill creates the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund in the State Treasury.

This bill requires the DMV, after deducting administrative costs, to deposit the revenue from the additional fees into the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund. Requires that upon appropriation by the Legislature, the moneys in that fund must be allocated to OES for the purpose of funding the survivors of human trafficking grant program described below.

This bill requires OES to administer a grant program for the benefit of survivors of human trafficking. Requires that grants be awarded from the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund. Requires OES to accept donations to the fund on its website.

This bill requires the grants to be awarded to community-based organizations that are led by survivors of human trafficking or that are guided by substantial survivor input and that provide direct services to vulnerable individuals in areas with a high concentration of human trafficking. Requires that in awarding grants, OES must establish a balanced regional distribution of funds.

This bill requires that OES report to the Legislature the amount of revenues received into the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund, the amount of each grant, and the identity of each recipient, by no later than January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter.

COMMENTS

1. The Need for This Bill

The author writes:

SB 1018 establishes a Human Trafficking Awareness specialized license plate to create a sustainable funding source for survivor-led and survivor-informed community organizations. California continues to face significant challenges combating human trafficking, and survivors often struggle to access consistent support services. This bill leverages the state’s successful specialized license plate program to both raise public awareness and distribute grant funding administered by the Office of Emergency Services to directly assist survivors across California.

1. Special-Interest License Plates

Historically, the Vehicle Code required DMV 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 pays specified fees, provided that the sponsoring organization met certain conditions. These conditions included that the sponsor of a special-interest license plate had to be a nonprofit organization and 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.

In 2004, a federal court decision, Women’s Resource Network v. Gourley, E.D. Cal 2004, F.Supp.2d, 2004 U.S. Dist., invalidated these provisions of the Vehicle Code. In the Gourley decision, the court declared California’s special-interest license plate statutes unconstitutional because they violated the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The court specifically objected to the Legislature “picking and choosing” special license plates that private organizations propose, in essence promoting the message of some organizations while denying this right to others. The court did allow the 10 special-interest license plates existing at the time of its decision to remain in use and available to new applicants, as they are today.

In 2006, in response to the court decision, AB 84 (Leslie), Chapter 351, Statutes of 2006, established the current specialized license plate program to provide a forum for government speech that promotes California’s state policies. AB 84 excluded private organizations from seeking specialized license plates as a forum for private speech and thus addresses the court’s objection. Newly created plates and the revenue they generate must publicize or promote a state agency or the official policy, mission, or work of a state agency.

1. Existing Law Governing Special-Interest License Plates

Under existing law, a state agency can apply to the DMV to sponsor a specialized license plate program. (Veh. Code, § 5156, subd. (a).) The DMV must issue specialized license plates for the program once the DMV has received at least 7,500 applications for that agency’s specialized license plates. The agency must collect and hold applications for the plates. Once the agency has received at least 7,500 applications, it must submit the applications, along with the necessary fees, to the DMV. (Veh. Code, § 5156, subd. (b).)

Existing law requires that if the number of outstanding and valid specialized license plates in a particular program is less than 7,500, the DMV must notify the sponsoring agency of that fact and must 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. (Veh. Code, § 5156, subd. (c)(1).)

1. The Effect of This Bill

This bill directs OES to apply to the DMV to sponsor a human trafficking awareness license plate program to fund a grant program to support survivors of human trafficking.

This bill establishes the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund in the State Treasury. The DMV, after deducting administrative costs, must deposit the revenue from the additional fees into the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the moneys in that fund must be allocated to OES for the purpose of funding the survivors of human trafficking grant program described below. OES must also accept donations to the fund on its website.

The grants must be awarded to community-based organizations that are led by survivors of human trafficking or that are guided by substantial survivor input and that provide direct services to vulnerable individuals in areas with a high concentration of human trafficking. In awarding grants, OES must establish a balanced regional distribution of funds.

This bill requires that OES by no later than January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, report to the Legislature the amount of revenues received into the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund, the amount of each grant, and the identity of each recipient.

1. Argument in Support

Crime Victims United writes:

SB 1018 establishes a specialized license plate program to support survivors of human trafficking and creates a dedicated fund administered by the California Office of Emergency Services. Revenue generated from the plate and voluntary donations will provide grants to community-based organizations that are led by survivors or guided by substantial survivor input. These grants will be distributed geographically to ensure services reach areas with high concentrations of human trafficking and provide direct support to vulnerable individuals. By creating a sustainable funding source and prioritizing survivor-led programs, SB 1018 strengthens access to critical services, promotes healing, and raises statewide awareness of human trafficking.

-- END –

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Senator Dave Cortese, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular

Bill No: Hearing Date: 4/7/2026

SUBJECT:

DIGEST: This bill requires the Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a human trafficking awareness license plate with proceeds used to fund a survivors of human trafficking grant program.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Provides for a specialized license plate program, under which DMV may issue specialized license plates only on behalf of state agencies and 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 not be larger than two inches by three inches and shall be confined to the left of and below the numerical series (i.e., no full-plate designs allowed).
   2. The agency submits a minimum of 7,500 applications and accompanying fees to DMV for the license plate. The 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.

This bill:

1. Requires CalOES to apply to DMV to sponsor a human trafficking awareness license plate with proceeds used by CalOES for the purpose of funding a survivors of human trafficking grant program.
2. Requires DMV to accept donations to the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund on its internet website without requiring the purchase of a specialized license plate.
3. Establishes a grant program for the benefit of survivors of human trafficking administered by CalOES with funds awarded from the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund.
4. Specifies that grants shall be awarded to community-based organizations that are led by survivors of human trafficking or that are guided by substantial survivor input and that provide direct services to vulnerable individuals in areas with a high concentration of human trafficking. CalOES must administer a balanced regional distribution of funds.
5. Requires CalOES to, by no later than January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, report to the Legislature the amount of revenues received into the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund, the amount of each grant, and the identity of each recipient.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose of the bill. According to the author’s office, “SB 1018 establishes a Human Trafficking Awareness specialized license plate to create a sustainable funding source for survivor-led and survivor-informed community organizations. California continues to face significant challenges combating human trafficking, and survivors often struggle to access consistent support services. This bill leverages the state’s successful specialized license plate program to both raise public awareness and distribute grant funding administered by the Office of Emergency Services to directly assist survivors across California.”
2. Special interest license plates. Special interest license plates allow drivers the opportunity to support causes or organizations they care about. When you order special interest license plates, a portion of your fees are donated to the associated charity or cause. 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. In response to these legal challenges, AB 84 (Leslie, Chapter 454, Statutes of 2006) 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 adding a new plate. Without meeting the 7,500 commitment threshold, these specialized plates would not serve their purpose of raising additional revenue for the state. 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.

1. Challenging economics of special interest license plates. The 7,500 commitment threshold has proven to be an insurmountable barrier for the vast majority of pending special interest license plates. For example, in 2014 the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed AB 2321 (Gomez, Chapter 358, Statutes of 2014). The bill directed CalOES to establish a special-interest license plate that promotes awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault. CalOES reports that roughly 100 commitments were made to purchase the license plates, far below the 7,500 threshold. Thus, the commitments had to be refunded. Of the 12 legislatively sponsored plates approved since 2000, only two have met the threshold. Of the four that have passed since 2014, only one reached the threshold.

Additionally, this bill requires CalOES to accept donations to the Survivors of Human Trafficking License Plate Fund on its internet website. It is unclear whether enough funding will be donated to cover CalOES’ upfront investment of creating an online donation portal in the first place.

1. A bill is not necessary. Creating a new specialized license plate does not require legislation. 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 prepaid commitments, an agency may be willing to sponsor a plate if it would result in additional revenue for that agency.
2. Assistance for survivors of human trafficking. According to Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), human trafficking refers to the commercial exploitation of people through force, fraud, or coercion. The California Department of Justice reports that California – in part due to its position as a populous border state with a significant immigrant population – is one of the nation's top destination states for trafficking human beings. CalOES currently administers the Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Program, which is a grant program intended to help human trafficking victims/survivors recover from the trauma they experienced and assist them with reintegrating into society through comprehensive safety and supportive services using a trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, victim/survivor-centered approach.^[1]
3. Double Referral. This bill has been double referred to the Senate Public Safety Committee.

Related/previous Legislation:

SB 21 (Glazer, 2020) – This bill would have required the State Department of Education to apply to DMV to sponsor a mental health awareness license plate with proceeds used by the Department of Education for mental health services in public schools. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 1027 (Stern, 2020) – This bill would have required the State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) to apply to DMV to sponsor the “Endless Summer” license plate and allocates the proceeds towards project and programs that promote surfing. This bill was held in the Senate Transportation Committee.

SB 140 (Stern, 2019) – This bill would have required SCC to apply to DMV to sponsor the “Endless Summer” license plate and allocates the proceeds towards project and programs that promote surfing. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SB 509 (Portantino, 2019) – This bill would have required the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to apply to DMV to sponsor a housing crisis awareness specialized license plate program, with the fees going to support an existing program for owner-occupied workforce housing. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SB 593 (Umberg, 2019) – This bill would have required the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to apply to DMV to sponsor a professional sports franchise license plate with the net proceeds going to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SB 1455 (Stern, 2018) – This bill would have required SCC to apply to DMV to sponsor the “Endless Summer” license plate and allocates the proceeds towards project and programs that promote surfing. This bill was vetoed.

AB 2058 (Acosta, 2018) –This would have authorized DMV to issue personalized Gold Star Family specialized license plates. This bill was vetoed.

AB 1251 (Allen, 2017) – This bill would have required SCC to apply to DMV to sponsor an Endless Summer license plate for a coastal conservancy awareness program. This bill died in Assembly Transportation.

AB 2321 (Gomez, Chapter 358, Statutes of 2014) – This bill required CalOES to apply to DMV to sponsor a domestic violence and sexual assault awareness license plate program and established the California Domestic Violence Prevention Fund in the State Treasury for the deposit of the revenue derived from these license plates.

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

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.)

SUPPORT:

None received

OPPOSITION:

None received

-- END --

1. https://www.caloes.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/Grants/Documents/RFA/2023-24-Human-Trafficking-Victim-Assistance-HV-Program-RFA.pdf ↑