Vehicle immobilization: illegal dumping violation penalties.

Subdivision (a) simplified the standard for counting failure-to-pay or failure-to-appear notices toward the immobilization threshold. The old version required both that no certificate had been issued by the magistrate or clerk showing the case was adjudicated AND that the court record showed the case had not been disposed. The new version requires only that the court record shows the case has not been disposed, removing the certificate-based prong.

The entire DMV registration refusal provision (former Section 4760.2) was deleted. Previously, the DMV would have been required to refuse to renew a vehicle's registration if the owner or lessee had delinquent illegal dumping penalties. This included payment processing, receipt issuance, a 5% administrative fee deduction, and exemptions for renters/lessors and prior violations.

The bill now adds Section 22651.10 to the Vehicle Code instead of Section 4760.2, repositioning the immobilization authority within a different part of the code.

A new administrative review process was added (subdivision (c)). A registered owner or person lawfully entitled to possession may request a review within two business days. The agency must conduct it in person, by phone, or other means. If the immobilization is found to be in error, the device must be removed at no cost to the owner. If valid, the owner receives a written decision stating the basis.

Proof of an active payment plan for issued penalties can now be accepted as an alternative to full payment of penalties or bail before the vehicle is released from immobilization.

An additional condition was added to the immobilization trigger: the court record must show the case has not been disposed, in addition to the existing requirement that no certificate of adjudication has been issued and the owner's record has not been cleared.

New Vehicle Code Section 22651.10 authorizes a peace officer or salaried code enforcement employee to immobilize a vehicle if the registered owner has five or more delinquent notices for violations of Penal Code 374.3(a) or (b), or two or more delinquent notices for 374.3(h) (commercial quantities). It also applies when the owner has five or more failure-to-pay/appear notices for (a)/(b) or two or more for (h).

Only a peace officer or a regularly employed salaried employee engaged in code enforcement may immobilize a vehicle under this new provision; no other person is authorized to do so.

A vehicle may be held immobilized until the owner provides: proof of identity, a California address, and satisfactory evidence that all penalties have been paid. Alternatively, the owner may demand to be taken before a magistrate in the county where the offense occurred.

The bill's scope expanded from addressing only DMV registration refusal for delinquent illegal dumping penalties to also include physical vehicle immobilization as an enforcement tool, giving local agencies a more immediate mechanism to address repeat illegal dumping offenders.

New provision requires the DMV to deduct no more than 5 percent of collected funds for administrative costs and transmit the remaining funds to the appropriate court that issued the illegal dumping penalty.

Four additional Senate coauthors (Archuleta, Menjivar, Richardson, and Seyarto) were added, indicating broader legislative support.