AB 432

This bill requires the Department of Transportation to replace motor vehicle

registration plates on a rolling seven-year basis beginning in 2022 and establishes

requirements for the construction of plates.

Under current law, DOT must establish new designs for plates at intervals

determined by DOT. Subsequently, DOT must issue plates with the new design at

a time determined by DOT. Plates may also be replaced upon application of a vehicle

owner in the case of lost, destroyed, or illegible plates.

Under the bill, beginning with registrations effective February 1, 2022, if the

registration for a vehicle is renewed and plates for that vehicle have not been issued

during the previous seven years, DOT must issue two new registration plates for the

vehicle. The bill requires DOT to assess a $6.50 fee for the replacement plates and

$3.25 for a plate that is lost, destroyed, or illegible.

Under current law, standard plates issued on an annual or biennial basis and

plates issued for motor trucks with a gross weight of not more than 8,000 pounds

must be treated with a reflectorized material or substance. DOT must, in

conjunction with the Department of Corrections and the Department of

Administration, establish the specifications for the reflectorized material and award

a contract for supplying the material through a competitive bidding process.

The bill retains this requirement and provides that all new plates issued by

DOT be constructed with aluminum plates and prismatic sheeting with embedded

security features. The plate sheeting must be a type successfully used by the

manufacturer in multiple jurisdictions and must also meet specified reflectivity and

luminance values.