Local government finance: vehicle license fee: administration.

The Vehicle License Fee Law establishes, in lieu of any ad valorem property tax upon vehicles, an annual license fee for any vehicle subject to registration in this state. Under existing law, the Controller is required to allocate vehicle license fee revenues in the Motor Vehicle License Fee Account in a specified order, as provided. Existing law further requires that the amount appropriated by the Legislature for the use of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Franchise Tax Board for the enforcement of that law shall be transferred from the Motor Vehicle License Fee Account in the Transportation Tax Fund to the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund, and requires that amount be determined so that the appropriate costs for registration and motor vehicle license fee activities are apportioned between the recipients of revenues in proportion to the revenues that would have been received by those recipients if the total fee imposed under this part was 2% of the market value of a vehicle. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2011, limit any increase in the payment of administrative costs to the Department of Motor Vehicles to 2% per year. Existing law provides that a statute that imposes a requirement that a state agency submit a periodic report to the Legislature is inoperative on a date four years after the date the first report is due. This bill would, notwithstanding that requirement, also require the Department of Motor Vehicles to annually report to the Legislature regarding the administrative costs paid under those provisions.