If your car wasn't registered in California before April 6, you might not be eligible for Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed statewide gas rebate.
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In the text of a proposed budget bill published late last week, a vehicle must have been registered by April 6 in order to qualify for Newsom's proposed $400 rebate.
Californians with pending, revoked, suspended or canceled registrations as of that date would have until June 30 to pay all fees, finish their applications and complete any other Department of Motor Vehicles requirements in order to be eligible.
H.D. Palmer, a spokesperson for the California Department of Finance, told KCBS Radio in an interview on Monday afternoon that those dates were working backward from the assumption legislation would be passed in time for Newsom’s proposed state budget revision by May 14, which would allow it to go into effect on July 1.
"It is the governor's continued hope and expectation that we will be able to achieve early action to get this package adopted in whatever the final form is," he said.
Newsom last month proposed offering California car owners $400 per vehicle for as many as two registered in their name, pledging $9 billion in direct payments.
Legislative language published last Friday through the state Department of Finance didn't outline either amount, but would appropriate money from the state’s general fund to create a "Tax Relief Fund" that would distribute the money to registered car owners.
Under the proposal, vehicles valued above a certain amount wouldn’t be eligible for the rebate, but the draft published last week also didn't specify the threshold.
Palmer said those portions were left blank "by design," due to forthcoming negotiations with lawmakers.
"While the governor’s proposal still reflects $400 per vehicle owner, we realize that this is an issue for debate and discussion with the Legislature," Palmer told KCBS Radio.
Republicans in the state assembly blasted Newsom's proposal on Monday, alleging in a press release the legislation "didn't even bother to include a dollar amount for the rebate or the total cost of the program." Palmer told KCBS Radio "briefed the legislative leadership of both houses" of the California State Legislature before the text was published last Friday.
Newsom's proposal would provide direct payments to "about 22 million" owners of registered vehicles, including motorcycles and electric cars, according to Palmer. He said executive and legislative staffers are still meeting during the Legislature’s spring recess this week in an effort to "resolve as many of the technical issues as we can" when both chambers reconvene a week from Monday.
The legislation would need two-thirds approval in both chambers in order to be enacted.
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