CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 21

Introduced by Senators Glazer and Hurtado
(Principal coauthor: Senator Rubio)
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Mathis)
(Coauthors: Senators Archuleta, Bates, Caballero, Dahle, Dodd, Grove, Hertzberg, and Wiener)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Carrillo, Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Lackey, Rodriguez, and Ting)

December 07, 2020

An act to add Section 5166 to the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 21, as introduced, Glazer. Specialized license plates: mental health awareness.
Under existing law, a state agency is authorized to apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sponsor a specialized license plate program, and the DMV is required to issue those license plates if the agency meets certain requirements. Existing law also requires the DMV to charge specified fees for certain services related to the issuance of those plates.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to apply to the DMV to sponsor a mental health awareness license plate program, and would require the DMV to issue the license plates if the State Department of Education meets certain requirements. The bill would also establish the Mental Health Awareness Fund in the State Treasury and would require the revenue generated from the license plates to be deposited in the fund for use, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the State Department of Education, for mental health services in public schools.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 5166 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

5166.
 (a) The State Department of Education shall apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles, pursuant to Section 5156, to sponsor a mental health awareness license plate program. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall issue specialized license plates for that program if the State Department of Education complies with the requirements of this article.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 5157, the additional fees prescribed by Section 5157 for the issuance, renewal, or transfer of the specialized license plates shall be deposited, after the Department of Motor Vehicles deducts its administrative costs, in the Mental Health Awareness Fund, which is hereby established in the State Treasury. The funds in the account shall be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the State Department of Education, for mental health services in public schools.
(c) The School Health and Safety Office within the State Department of Education shall accept and use donated artwork from California artists in the license plate design. Specifically, a license plate issued pursuant to this section shall consist of mental health awareness artwork to the left of the numerical series and a mental health awareness message, such as “You Are Not Alone,” below the numerical series.