Vehicles: special interest license plates.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on how much money will be collected or what exact projects will receive funding.

Special Interest License Plates: Environmental Design

This law changes how fees from special environmental license plates are split between two funds to support beach and coastal projects in California.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to design and make available special license plates with a California coastal theme.
• Sets fees for getting, renewing, changing, or transferring these special plates.
• Changes how extra money from these plate fees is split between two funds: half goes to the Beach and Coastal Enhancement Account in the Environmental License Plate Fund and half goes to the new Coastal Access Account.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who buy or renew special environmental license plates in California.
• The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the California Coastal Commission.
• The State Coastal Conservancy, which gets funds to support its grant programs.

Terms To Know

California Environmental License Plate Fund

A fund that collects money from special license plate fees for environmental projects.

Coastal Access Account

An account created to support grant programs for coastal projects managed by the State Coastal Conservancy.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much money will be collected or what exact projects will receive funding.
• It is unclear if there are any limits on how long these special plates can remain available to drivers.
• This law only affects California and its residents.

Official Summary Text

AB 2734, as amended, Hart.
Vehicles: special interest license plates.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, in consultation with the California Coastal Commission, to design and make available for issuance special environmental design license plates that bear a graphic design depicting a California coastal motif. The department is required to impose certain fees for the issuance, renewal, substitution, and transfer of the plates, in addition to the regular fees for an original registration or renewal of registration. Existing law requires that certain additional fees be allocated to the California Environmental License Plate Fund. The department, after deducting its administrative costs, is required to deposit any additional revenue derived from the issuance, renewal, transfer, and substitution of the special environmental design license plates, in the amount of
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in the California Beach and Coastal Enhancement Account in the California Environmental License Plate Fund and
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in the California Environmental License Plate Fund.
Existing law requires the Controller to allocate the funds in the California Beach and Coastal Enhancement Account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, first to the California Coastal Commission for expenditure for the specified public beach and coastal maintenance programs and second, from funds remaining after the first allocation, to the State Coastal Conservancy for coastal natural resource restoration and enhancement projects and for other coastal projects.
This bill would, for fees collected on or after January 1, 2027, allocate
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of all additional revenue to the California Beach and Coastal Enhancement Account and would require the Controller, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to allocate the moneys to the California Coastal Commission for beach and coastal maintenance programs and
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to the Coastal Access Account for the support of grant programs administered by the State Coastal Conservancy, as specified.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF