Sacramento — The Assembly Natural Resources Committee on Monday offered unanimous, bipartisan support in favor of legislation to create a Sierra Nevada License Plate. When implemented, the new license plate could create up to $2 million in annual revenues for the newly created Sierra Nevada Conservancy.
Assembly Bill 84, which would authorize the California Department of Motor Vehicles to design and issue a new state license plate in honor of the Sierra Nevada, passed the often conflicted committee on a 6 – 0 vote.
Assembly Bill 84 continues the bipartisan approach to resource issues in the Sierra Nevada that lead to successful legislation creating a Sierra Nevada Conservancy in 2004. Assemblymembers Tim Leslie (R-Tahoe City) and John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) las year forged compromise legislation in the form of Assembly Bill 2600, signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on the banks of the Bear River in September.
Leslie and Laird are the co-authors of this year's Sierra Nevada License Plate bill as well.
AB 84 passed the Assembly Transportation Committee in March on a 10 – 1 vote. The bill now moves on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for a vote expected in May.
The Sierra Fund — legislative sponsors of both AB 2600 and AB 84 — have teamed up with hundreds of agencies, corporations and non profit organizations to pre-register more than 7,500 Californians who commit to the $50 cost of changing to the new Sierra Nevada License Plate next year.