AB 2099 - California Red License Plate Defeated

The proposal’s details indicated that only persons having received a DUI in a ten year span would be effected. If passed, the proposition would require those drivers to purchase the specialized red license plates and attach them to each vehicle they are registered to operate. The red plates would be mandatory for two years, after which point the driver would be issued new California plates. Mr. Hays feels that the red plates would allow the public to be more cautious around repeat offenders and would potentially alert police – hoping a car with red plates leaving a bar parking lot at midnight might attract more attention from patrol cars cruising the area. While the support for the proposition is certainly justified, there have been several problems raised in regards to AB 2099, and they may prove impenetrable.

Initially, there is concern in involving the cost of these red plates. According to the proposal, once a person is sentenced to don the specialized plates, they must purchase them out-of-pocket for $250 a piece, and they must be put on each vehicle that person drives. Not all repeat offenders will be able to afford the plates, at which point the bill may be passed to the California Department of Motor Vehicles – a burden which may end up costing the state after all is said and done, considering about 33,000 people each year become repeat DUI offenders in the state of California.

Another drawback emerges when family members of the offender are registered drivers on the same cars. There has been much apprehension involving the stigma to which these individuals may be subjected, not to mention the potential for unwarranted stops by patrol cars.

After both sides pled their case on April 4, 2006, the Assembly Public Safety Committee voted against AB 2099 by a vote of 5 – 2. Committee members concluded that they are always open to any proposals which aim to combat drunk driving, but they maintained the strategy behind Mr. Hays’ proposal was unproven and may do more harm than good. Assemblyman Mark Leno, committee chairman, said he would prefer a bill that aimed “in the direction of dealing with the illness.” Mr. Hays tried passing a similar bill unsuccessfully in 1997.

Interestingly, Ohio has been practicing a similar law for the past several years with their DUI repeat offenders using yellow license plates. State officials disclose, however, that it is still too soon to wage whether the change in policy has made any significant impact on deterring drinking and driving in those individuals who have already been found guilty twice.