Section 5101.2 Of Article 8.5. Environmental License Plates From California Vehicle Code >> Division 3. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 8.5.
5101.2
. (a) A person otherwise eligible under this article who is a
firefighter or a retired firefighter may apply for special license
plates for a vehicle under this article. License plates issued
pursuant to this section shall be issued in accordance with Section
5060.
(b) The applicant, by satisfactory proof, shall show all of the
following:
(1) The applicant is, or has retired, in good standing as an
officer, an employee, or a member of a fire department or a fire
service of the state, a county, a city, a district, or any other
political subdivision of the state, whether in a volunteer, partly
paid, or fully paid status.
(2) The applicant is, or was until retirement, regularly employed
as a firefighter or regularly enrolled as a volunteer firefighter.
(3) The applicant's principal duties fall, or fell until
retirement, within the scope of active firefighting and any of the
following activities:
(A) Fire prevention service.
(B) Fire training.
(C) Hazardous materials abatement.
(D) Arson investigation.
(E) Emergency medical services.
(c) The special license plates issued under this section shall
contain the words "California Firefighter" and shall run in a regular
numerical series.
(d) In addition to the regular fees for an original registration,
a renewal of registration, or a transfer of registration, the
following special license plate fees shall be paid:
(1) A fee of fifty dollars ($50) for the initial issuance of the
special license plates. These special license plates shall be
permanent and shall not be required to be replaced.
(2) A fee of thirty-five dollars ($35) for each renewal of
registration that includes the continued display of the special
license plates.
(3) If the special license plates become damaged or unserviceable,
a fee of thirty-five dollars ($35) for the replacement of the
special license plates, obtained from the department upon proper
application therefor.
(4) A fee of fifteen dollars ($15) for the transfer of the special
license plates to another vehicle qualifying as a vehicle owned by a
firefighter who has met the requirements set forth in subdivision
(b).
(5) In addition, for the issuance of environmental license plates,
as defined in Section 5103, with the special firefighter personal
vehicle license plates and distinctive design or decal, the
additional fees prescribed in Sections 5106 and 5108. The additional
fees collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in the
California Environmental License Plate Fund.
(e) (1) Upon the death of a person issued special license plates
pursuant to this section, his or her surviving spouse may retain the
special license plates. Except as provided in paragraph (2), upon the
death of the surviving spouse, the plates shall be returned to the
department or destroyed within 60 days after the death of the
surviving spouse or upon the expiration of the vehicle registration,
whichever occurs first.
(2) In the absence of a surviving spouse or where the surviving
spouse dies while in possession of the special license plates, a
member of the deceased firefighter's family may retain one of the
special license plates as a family heirloom, subject to the
conditions set forth in subdivision (f).
(f) The special license plates issued under this section are not
valid for use for vehicle registration purposes by a person other
than the person issued the special license plates under subdivision
(a) and the surviving spouse of that person.
(g) For purposes of this section, "family" means grandparents,
stepgrandparents, parents, stepparents, siblings, stepsiblings,
stepchildren, natural-born children, or adopted children of the
person issued the special license plates under subdivision (a).
(h) Except as provided in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d), the
revenues derived from the additional special fees provided in this
section, less costs incurred by the department pursuant to this
section, shall be deposited in the California Firefighters' Memorial
Fund established by Section 18802 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.