Legislation authored by a South San Francisco state legislator requiring car dealers to install vehicle license plates instead of paper tags on newly bought vehicles was signed into law by the governor earlier this week.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which oversees Bay Area regional transportation planning and financing, supported Assembly Bill 516 from Assembly Speaker pro Tem Kevin Mullin, D-San Francisco, saying it would help catch toll evaders and other lawbreakers.
The bill, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday after getting approved by the Legislature last month, requires the state Department of Motor Vehicles to develop a system by 2019 to allow dealers to electronically report the sale of a vehicle and provide a temporary paper license plate identifying the vehicle.
The MTC estimates that the Bay Area loses roughly $9 million annually in uncollected tolls, while toll roads and express lanes in Southern California lose about $10 million per year.
"Not only will the bill provide critical information to law enforcement agencies to help solve crimes, it will also return millions of dollars in revenue to Californians," Mullin said in a statement.
