Bill Text: CA SB1359 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Vehicles: registration.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-09-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 306, Statutes of 2022. [SB1359 Detail]
Download: California-2021-SB1359-Chaptered.html
Senate Bill
No. 1359
CHAPTER 306
An act to amend Sections 5204 and 40225 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
[
Approved by
Governor
September 13, 2022.
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 13, 2022.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1359, Hueso.
Vehicles: registration.
Existing law prohibits a person from driving, moving, or leaving standing upon a highway, or in an offstreet public parking facility, any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole or pipe dolly or logging dolly, unless it is registered and the appropriate fees have been paid, except as specified. Existing law requires current month and year tabs indicating the month and year expiration of a vehicle’s registration to be attached to the rear license plate assigned to the vehicle for the last preceding registration year in which the licensed plates were issued.
This bill would require a law enforcement officer or a person authorized to enforce parking laws and regulations to verify, using available Department of Motor Vehicles’ records, that no current registration exists for a vehicle before issuing a citation for a violation of the requirement to
attach the appropriate tabs. The bill would prohibit the issuance of a citation against a vehicle in violation of that requirement if the vehicle has a current registration on file with the department or if a person authorized to enforce parking laws and regulations does not have immediate access to the department’s records. By requiring a higher level of service from law enforcement officers, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 5204 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:5204.
(a) Except as provided by subdivisions (b) and (c), a tab shall indicate the year of expiration and a tab shall indicate the month of expiration. Current month and year tabs shall be attached to the rear license plate assigned to the vehicle for the last preceding registration year in which license plates were issued, and, when so attached, the license plate with the tabs shall, for the purposes of this code, be deemed to be the license plate, except that truck tractors, and commercial motor vehicles having a declared gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more, shall display the current month and year tabs upon the front license plate assigned to the truck tractor or commercial motor vehicle. Vehicles that fail to display current month and year tabs or display expired tabs are in violation of this section.(b) The requirement of subdivision (a) that the tabs indicate the year and the month of expiration does not apply to fleet vehicles subject to Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 5301) or vehicles defined in Section 468.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply when proper application for registration has been made pursuant to Section 4602 and the new indicia of current registration have not been received from the department.
(d) This section is enforceable against any motor vehicle that is driven, moved, or left standing upon a highway, or in an offstreet public parking facility, in the same manner as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 4000.
(e) Prior to issuing a citation for a violation of this section, a law enforcement officer shall verify, using
available department records, that no current registration exists for that vehicle. A citation shall not be issued for failure to comply with this section against any vehicle that has a current registration on file with the department.
SEC. 2.
Section 40225 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:40225.
(a) An equipment violation entered on the notice of parking violation attached to the vehicle under Section 40203 shall be processed in accordance with this article. All of the violations entered on the notice of parking violation shall be noticed in the notice of delinquent parking violation delivered pursuant to Section 40206, together with the amount of civil penalty.(b) Whether or not a vehicle is in violation of any regulation governing the standing or parking of a vehicle but is in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 5204, a person authorized to enforce parking laws and regulations shall verify, using available Department of Motor Vehicle records, that no current registration exists for that vehicle. A citation
shall not be issued for failure to comply with subdivision (a) of Section 5204 against any vehicle that has a current registration on file with the department. If the person authorized to enforce parking laws and regulations does not have immediate access to those records, a citation shall not be issued for failure to comply with subdivision (a) of Section 5204. A person authorized to enforce parking laws and regulations shall issue a written notice of parking violation for a vehicle that does not have a tab or a verified current registration, setting forth the alleged violation. The violation shall be processed pursuant to this section.
(c) The civil penalty for each equipment violation, including failure to properly display a license plate, is the amount established for the violation in the Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule, as adopted by the Judicial Council, except that upon proof of the correction to the processing agency, the penalty
shall be reduced to ten dollars ($10). The reduction provided for in this subdivision involving failure to properly display license plates shall only apply if, at the time of the violation, valid license plates were issued for that vehicle in accordance with this code. The civil penalty for each violation of Section 5204 is the amount established for the violation in the Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule, as adopted by the Judicial Council, except that upon proof of the correction to the processing agency, the penalty shall be reduced to ten dollars ($10).
(d) Fifty percent of any penalty collected pursuant to this section for registration or equipment violations by a processing agency shall be paid to the county for remittance to the State Treasurer and the remaining 50 percent shall be retained by the issuing agency and processing agency subject to the terms of the contract described in Section 40200.5.
(e) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not preclude the recording of a violation of subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 4000 on a notice of parking violation or the adjudication of that violation under the civil process set forth in this article.
