State Capitol, Sacramento, CA —
Tuesday at approximately 6:35 p.m. AB 84 passed the Senate Transportation Committee with nine votes in favor out of thirteen committee members.
Sierra Nevada Conservancy Board member and former State Senator Byron Sher and Elizabeth Martin of The Sierra Fund, as well as representatives from the Trust for Public Land, the Sierra Casacde Land Trust Council and the California Counil of Lant Trusts spoke in favor of the bill at the hearing.
This bill, introduced in 2005 by Assemblymembers Tim Leslie and John Laird, passed with strong bi-partisan support in the Assembly. Approval of new specialty license plates such as the ones already in existence for the Tahoe Conservancy and Coastal Conservancy was suspended in early 2004 by an order of the California State Supreme Court, until the Legislature created a more constitutionally correct and clear set of guidelines. This bill creates an appropriate remedy for this problem.
DMV withdrew their previous opposition to the bill in response to amendments addressing concerns they raised, including: deleting the provision that non-profit organizations may be hired by the state agency to run a license plate program; prohibiting state agencies from purchasing specialty license plates for exempt vehicles; deleting local agencies from eligibility; and removing the urgency clause.
AB 84 is sponsored by The Sierra Fund, and endorsed by:
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Sierra Nevada Alliance Sierra Cascade Land Trust Council Mono Lake Committee South Yuba River Citizens League Rural Quality Coalition Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch Save Our Historic Canals Mountain Meadows Conservancy Alpine Watershed Group Restore Hetch Hetchy League to Save Lake Tahoe Friends of Deer Creek SVRA Advocates for Smart Growth Wild Places CalTrout Jumping Frog Institute River Ridge Ranch Institute Mountain Lion Foundation Environment California Planning and Conservation League Sierra Buttes/Lakes Basin Coalition Nevada County Land Trust Trust for Public Land Shasta Land Trust Sierra Club |
City of Nevada City City of Grass Valley City of Truckee City of Auburn Alpine County Mono County Placer County Sierra County Sheriff Lee Adams CA/Nevada Operating Engineers Sierra Heritage Magazine Coldwell Banker/Grassroots Realty North Star Printing Yuba Docs Medical Group Sierra Business Council Mariposans for the Environment & Responsible Government Global CINRG, Inc. Placer Land Trust Feather River Land Trust Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Northstar Printing Sugar Bowl Sorensen’s Resort KVMR Radio |
For further information, please contact Izzy Martin at The Sierra Fund 530-265-8454 X11 or izzy.martin@sierrafund.org
To reserve your license plate, please pre-register at: http://www.sierralicenseplate.org/
