Vehicles: specialized license plates: Veterans' organizations.

Under existing law, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issues environmental and other specialized license plates, including veterans' organization license plates. Those license plates are required to have a distinctive design or decal. The issuance of those license plates is subject to additional fees, the revenue from which, less the DMV's costs, is required to be deposited in the Veterans Service Office Fund, except that 12 of a specified additional fee is required to be deposited in the California Environmental License Plate Fund. Existing law requires money in the Veterans Service Office Fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Veterans Affairs for allocation and disbursement to counties for the operation of county veterans service offices. This bill would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs to modify the distinctive design or decal for those veterans' organization license plates. The bill would authorize those newly designed plates or decals to be issued only after all existing plates or decals have been issued. The bill also would delete the requirement that 12 of the specified additional fee be deposited in the California Environmental License Plate Fund, and, instead, would require all revenue from those additional fees, less the DMV's costs, to be deposited in the Veterans Service Office Fund. The bill would require the DMV, by July 1, 2011, to maintain on its Internet Web site, a link to order online the veterans' organization license plates.