The vote was 32-3 with 5 senators not voting... strong bipartisan support like in the Transportation and Appropriation Committees. The bill now goes to the California Assembly, and make no mistake, opposing forces are rallying to kill this bill and strong grassroots support is needed to overcome the lobbyists and special interests who want it dead!
There's a lot of misinformation on the Web... newspaper articles and social media sites like Facebook, and the biggest misinformation involves the Historical Vehicle License Plate driving restrictions. Bogus reports claim that HV plate cars "...may be driven in historical exhibitions, parades, or historical club activities only". This statement is from an old, obsolete version of form REG 17A, Special License Plate Application (REV. 7/2011), which was replaced by REV. 11/17 that changed the operative word to primarily, and this version was replaced by REV. 2/2025 that just showed up on the Web a week or two ago, which carries over the operative word, primarily. Applicants need to sign Section B, top of page 2 of the three page form that states in part:
"Vehicle is primarily operated or moved over the highway in historical exhibitions, parades, or historical vehicle club activities."
An informal cars and coffee gathering at a shopping center qualifies as a "historical exhibition", but the restrictions do not preclude a Sunday afternoon pleasure drive. The real intent is to prevent drivers from using 35-year old or older "beater cars" as daily drivers.
The following California DMV Web site link is the latest version (REV. 2/2025) of the REG 17A special plate application form. Obsolete versions are still floating around the Web. Do not read or download this form from any other source other than the following:
Other HV plate misinformation floating around the Web is the $25 fee. Yes, there is this fee, but it's a one time only fee at the time of application. Many reports imply that it's an annual fee, and such reports usually fail to explain the reduction in the VLF.
The California annual registration bill contains several different line items. First is the "registration fee", which is currently $106 for cars. Other fees include "license fee", "weight fee" , "special plate fee", "county/district fees", and "owner responsibility fee".
The second line item is often referred to as the VLF or "vehicle license fee". It's a "tax" (deductible as a state and local tax if you itemize and are below the SALT limit) based on the value DMV places on your car. The current rate is 0.65 percent, but has been as high as 2.00 percent in the past. When you buy a new or used car the VLF is 0.65 percent of the price you pay. It remains the same for the first registration renewal, then goes down by 10 percent per year as DMV depreciates your car 10 percent of the purchase price every year until the depreciated value is down to 10 percent of the original value upon the tenth registration renewal, and there it stays as long as you own the car.
If you buy a qualifying vintage car or install HV plates on an existing car the VLF is TWO DOLLARS regardless of what you paid or the VLF with your current plates, and it stays there as long as you own the car car and keep the HV plates. So HV plates offer an often considerable savings on annual registration fees! But press reports and internet buzz rarely explain this fact.
SB 712 is now in the hands of the California Assembly's 80 members. The likely committee path is, like the Senate, Transportation and Appropriations, then second and third readings followed by a floor vote, and this will likely play out in the next two to four weeks.
The way to keep up with what's going on is to go to the following link:
This is a California Legislature Web site, and it has the latest information on bills in progress. Use the buttons to see the current text and history of changes and votes, and other information. Any activity will either be posted the day of the change or at least within 24 hours. This is near real time, primary source information about what's going on with SB 712. Don't waste your time reading newspaper articles or Web sites (except this one) to know the latest status and information.
Duke
There's a lot of misinformation on the Web... newspaper articles and social media sites like Facebook, and the biggest misinformation involves the Historical Vehicle License Plate driving restrictions. Bogus reports claim that HV plate cars "...may be driven in historical exhibitions, parades, or historical club activities only". This statement is from an old, obsolete version of form REG 17A, Special License Plate Application (REV. 7/2011), which was replaced by REV. 11/17 that changed the operative word to primarily, and this version was replaced by REV. 2/2025 that just showed up on the Web a week or two ago, which carries over the operative word, primarily. Applicants need to sign Section B, top of page 2 of the three page form that states in part:
"Vehicle is primarily operated or moved over the highway in historical exhibitions, parades, or historical vehicle club activities."
An informal cars and coffee gathering at a shopping center qualifies as a "historical exhibition", but the restrictions do not preclude a Sunday afternoon pleasure drive. The real intent is to prevent drivers from using 35-year old or older "beater cars" as daily drivers.
The following California DMV Web site link is the latest version (REV. 2/2025) of the REG 17A special plate application form. Obsolete versions are still floating around the Web. Do not read or download this form from any other source other than the following:
Other HV plate misinformation floating around the Web is the $25 fee. Yes, there is this fee, but it's a one time only fee at the time of application. Many reports imply that it's an annual fee, and such reports usually fail to explain the reduction in the VLF.
The California annual registration bill contains several different line items. First is the "registration fee", which is currently $106 for cars. Other fees include "license fee", "weight fee" , "special plate fee", "county/district fees", and "owner responsibility fee".
The second line item is often referred to as the VLF or "vehicle license fee". It's a "tax" (deductible as a state and local tax if you itemize and are below the SALT limit) based on the value DMV places on your car. The current rate is 0.65 percent, but has been as high as 2.00 percent in the past. When you buy a new or used car the VLF is 0.65 percent of the price you pay. It remains the same for the first registration renewal, then goes down by 10 percent per year as DMV depreciates your car 10 percent of the purchase price every year until the depreciated value is down to 10 percent of the original value upon the tenth registration renewal, and there it stays as long as you own the car.
If you buy a qualifying vintage car or install HV plates on an existing car the VLF is TWO DOLLARS regardless of what you paid or the VLF with your current plates, and it stays there as long as you own the car car and keep the HV plates. So HV plates offer an often considerable savings on annual registration fees! But press reports and internet buzz rarely explain this fact.
SB 712 is now in the hands of the California Assembly's 80 members. The likely committee path is, like the Senate, Transportation and Appropriations, then second and third readings followed by a floor vote, and this will likely play out in the next two to four weeks.
The way to keep up with what's going on is to go to the following link:
This is a California Legislature Web site, and it has the latest information on bills in progress. Use the buttons to see the current text and history of changes and votes, and other information. Any activity will either be posted the day of the change or at least within 24 hours. This is near real time, primary source information about what's going on with SB 712. Don't waste your time reading newspaper articles or Web sites (except this one) to know the latest status and information.
Duke
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