Specialized license plates.

Existing law establishes a specialized license plate program and requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue specialized license plates on behalf of a sponsoring state agency that meets certain requirements. Existing law requires that the DMV charge specified additional fees for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of specialized license plates, and requires the DMV to deposit the fees, less the DMV's costs, into the Specialized License Plate Fund. Existing law requires that moneys in the fund be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each sponsoring agency in proportion to the amount that is attributable to the agency's specialized license plate program. Existing law authorizes the sponsoring state agency to use these moneys to fund projects and programs that promote the state agency's official policy, mission, or work. This bill would require the Department of Parks and Recreation to apply to the DMV to sponsor a license plate program for the issuance of license plates bearing the officially licensed logo, emblem, or trademark provided by a California professional sports franchise. The bill would require that the proceeds from those license plates to be deposited into the California State Parks Account created by the bill in the Specialized License Plate Fund, for use, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the Department of Parks and Recreation's Office of Grants and Local Services, for funding operations and maintenance of state parks and recreation grant programs. Existing law, with certain exceptions, imposes certain design criteria for specialized license plates, including, among other things, that the license plate provide a space not larger than two inches by three inches to the left of the numerical series and a space not larger than five-eighths of an inch in height below the numerical series for a distinctive design, decal, or descriptive message. This bill would, notwithstanding those provisions, authorize the Department of Parks and Recreation to accept and use the officially licensed logos, emblems, or trademarks, as applicable, provided by California professional sports franchises for the specialized license plates in a design that the department determines, in consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, does not obscure the readability of the license plate.