SB 1158

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law establishes the "Have a Heart, Be a Star, Help Our Kids" specialized license plate program. Existing law establishes fees for those specialized license plates, including a $50 fee for initial license plates with a character sequence determined by the applicant and a $20 fee for initial license plates with a character sequence determined by the department. Existing law requires those and other fees, less specified expenses, to be deposited in the Child Health and Safety Fund, and makes moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation, for child safety and licensing administration for child day care facilities. This bill would increase the fees for those initial "Have a Heart, Be a Star, Help Our Kids" license plates to $98 and $50, respectively. Existing law requires that 50% of the funds received from the "Have a Heart, Be a Star, Help Our Kids" specialized license plate program be expended for licensing administration for child day care facilities. Existing law requires the balance of funds remaining in the fund derived from the license plate program, upon appropriation, to be used for programs that address specified child health and safety concerns. This bill would revise those allocations to instead require, of the moneys in that fund derived from the license plate program that are collected on and after January 1, 2019, that 20% of those funds be used for licensing administration for child day care facilities by the State Department of Social Services, and that 20% of those funds be used by the Emergency Medical Services Authority to support the function of child care licensee primary care and safety training program support. The bill would further require that 25% of the moneys in the fund derived from the license plate program that are collected on and after January 1, 2019, be used by the State Department of Social Services for child abuse prevention, as specified. The bill would require the remaining 35% of those moneys to be used by the State Department of Public Health for other child health and safety concerns. The bill would include in that list of specified child health and safety concerns, among other concerns, pedestrian safety, sleep suffocation, and sports-related concussions. The bill would require the continued allocation of funds collected before January 1, 2019, upon appropriation, for those purposes that existed prior to January 1, 2019, as specified, until those funds are exhausted.