(a) The department, in coordination with the Department of Finance, shall do all of the following:
(1) Search its records to identify the registered owner or lessee. Except as required under Section 1673.4, the department shall mail to the registered owner or lessee a refund notification form notifying the registered owner or lessee that he or she is eligible for a refund of the smog impact fee. This form shall identify the vehicle make and year, and include a refund claim that shall be signed, under penalty of perjury, and returned to the department.
(2) Shall acknowledge by mail claims for refund from registered owners or lessees received prior to the effective date of this section.
(3) Except as provided in Section 1673.4, shall verify whether the information provided in any claim is true and correct and shall refund the three hundred dollar ($300) smog impact fee, plus the amount of any penalty collected for late payment of the smog impact fee, and any interest earned on those charges, to the person shown to be the registered owner or lessee.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, interest shall be paid on all claims at a single annual rate, calculated by the Department of Finance, that averages the annualized interest rates earned by the Pooled Money Investment Account for the period beginning October 1990 and ending on the effective date of this section. Interest on each refund shall be calculated from the date the smog impact fee and vehicle registration transaction was completed to the date the refund is issued. Accrual of interest shall terminate one year after the effective date of this section.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, those who paid the smog impact fee between October 15, 1990, and October 19, 1999, may file a claim for refund.
(2) Claims for refund by a registered owner or lessee shall be filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles within three years of the effective date of this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 719, Sec. 64. (SB 856) Effective October 19, 2010.)