California Fails to Pass Bill to Expand Legacy License Plate Program

The California state legislature failed to pass SAN-supported legislation (AB 378) to expand the state’s successful Legacy License Plate Program, which is available for all model years of motor vehicles. Under the bill, the DMV would create and issue an additional series of new specialized license plates resembling designs from the state's past: 1950s (black lettering on yellow background) and 1970s (yellow lettering on blue background). Currently, only the style of the 1960s (yellow lettering on black background) is available for a $50 fee. Similar to the 2013 law that launched this program, AB 378—if enacted into law—would require at least 7,500 applications for any one particular plate design to be received by the DMV on or before January 1, 2025, in order to go into production. The bill passed the Assembly Committee on Transportation, but the Assembly Committee on Appropriations failed to advance the bill prior to the required legislative deadline.