(a) (1) Until December 31, 2013, a person described in Section 5101 may also apply for a set of commemorative Olympic reflectorized license plates and the department shall issue those special license plates in lieu of regular license plates. The commemorative Olympic reflectorized license plates shall be of a distinctive design and shall be available in a special series of letters or numbers, or both, as determined by the department after consultation with the United States Olympic Committee. The department may issue the commemorative Olympic reflectorized license plates as environmental license plates, as defined in Section 5103, in a combination of numbers or letters, or both, as requested by the owner or lessee of the vehicle.
(2) On or after January 1, 2014, original, substitute, or duplicate Olympic license plates, including those issued as environmental license plates, shall not be available. However, the holder of Olympic license plates may thereafter renew or retain those plates, or transfer them to another vehicle, subject to this section. Unless otherwise provided by this code, regular series plates shall be issued for the fee provided in Section 9265 whenever substitute or duplicate plates are requested.
(3) On or after January 1, 2014, the holder of Olympic license plates issued as environmental license plates, as defined in Section 5103, may apply for other special license plates using the exact combination of numbers or letters, or both, if authorized by this code, whenever the holder requests substitute or duplicate plates.
(b) In addition to the regular fees for an original registration or renewal of registration, the following special fees shall be paid:
(1) Fifteen dollars ($15) for the transfer of the special plates to another vehicle.
(2) Thirty dollars ($30) for the annual renewal of the special plates.
(c) When payment of renewal fees is not required as specified in Section 4000, or when the person determines to retain the plates upon sale, trade, or other release of the vehicle upon which the special plates have been displayed, the person shall notify the department and the person may retain the special plates.
(d) All revenue 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 General Fund.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 523, Sec. 24. (SB 788) Effective January 1, 2014.)