(The Center Square) – A license plate bill formerly introduced by the late U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa is moving forward in the California Legislature this year.
Assembly Bill 1091, which allows for eight characters to appear on California license plates, passed out of the Assembly Transportation Committee earlier this month and cleared the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday. Current plates have seven characters, but the bill would allow motorists to apply for eight-character plates.
The bill’s previous form was introduced by LaMalfa, a Republican, in 2012 during his time as a member of the California State Assembly. LaMalfa was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives later that year, where he served California’s 1st Congressional District until his death on Jan. 5.
Assemblymember James Gallagher, R-East Nicolaus, introduced the bill.
“This is one of Doug’s unique ideas that would give people something they would want and help support rural issues like the Williamson Act and county fairs,” Gallagher wrote in an email to The Center Square.
In its current form, AB 1091 would expand the characters allowed on California license plates to eight characters while simultaneously establishing a voluntary specialty plate program, according to Gallagher’s office. Money generated from the specialty plate program would pay for open space preservation, agricultural lands, local fairs and outdoor recreation programs.
The cost of an eight-letter license plate would be $48, according to the text of the bill. Renewal of a license plate that contains eight letters would be $38 a year. The same amount would be charged for transferring the plates to another vehicle.
Changes to the license plate system, operated by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, might prove challenging, considering that the fund that pays for the department has dealt with issues of insolvency in recent years, lawmakers familiar with the DMV’s operations told The Center Square.
In 2019, the Legislative Analyst’s Office issued a report that warned that the state’s Motor Vehicle Account, which paid for 95% of the DMV’s expenses, would be insolvent if the Legislature allocated more funds to that account. Expenses for both the DMV and California Highway Patrol have continued to exceed funds in that account, according to another report released by the Legislative Analyst’s Office in October 2025.
The issues have been consistent for the last several years, according to a legislator with knowledge of the state’s transportation system.
“We’ve had to pump funds from the general fund to be able to keep it solvent year after year,” Assemblymember Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City and chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, told The Center Square on Thursday.
The California Highway Patrol is also funded out of the Motor Vehicle Account, Wilson said. She noted that’s the primary reason the account has faced chronic insolvency issues for the last several years.
“It’s actually not the business of DMV that’s causing its insolvency. It’s because we cover our CHP officers. That’s a rising cost,” Wilson told The Center Square. “It’s worth the dollars we put into it, because it keeps us all safe on our highways and byways. It’s made it so that DMV has not had the resources they need to innovate and update the system.”
Officials from the Department of Motor Vehicles were unavailable on Thursday to answer questions.
Transportation-related organizations, including Transportation California, did not return calls to The Center Square on Wednesday.
In part, the license plate bill is meant as a tribute to LaMalfa, according to Gallagher’s office, and was passed out of committee with bipartisan support.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a special election to fill LaMalfa’s seat will take place Aug. 4.
