(a) The California Environmental License Plate Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury, and consists of the moneys deposited in the fund pursuant to any law. The annual fee for environmental license plates is fifty-three dollars ($53) for the issuance or forty-three dollars ($43) for the renewal of the plates.

(b) The Controller shall transfer from the California Environmental License Plate Fund to the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund the amount appropriated by the Legislature for the reimbursement of costs incurred by the Department of Motor Vehicles in performing its duties pursuant to Sections 5004, 5004.5, and 5022 and Article 8.5 (commencing with Section 5100) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of the Vehicle Code. The reimbursement from the California Environmental License Plate Fund shall only include those additional costs that are directly attributable to any additional duties or special handling necessary for the issuance, renewal, or retention of the environmental license plates.

(c) The Controller shall transfer to the post fund of the Veterans’ Home of California, established pursuant to Section 1047 of the Military and Veterans Code, all revenue derived from the issuance of prisoner of war special license plates pursuant to Section 5101.5 of the Vehicle Code less the administrative costs of the Department of Motor Vehicles incurred in issuing and renewing those plates.

(d) The Director of Motor Vehicles shall certify the amounts of the administrative costs of the Department of Motor Vehicles in subdivision (c) to the Controller.

(e) The balance of the moneys in the California Environmental License Plate Fund shall be available for expenditure only for the exclusive trust purposes specified in Section 21190, upon appropriation by the Legislature. However, all moneys derived from the issuance of commemorative 1984 Olympic reflectorized license plates in the California Environmental License Plate Fund shall be used only for capital outlay purposes.

(f) All proposed appropriations for the California Environmental Protection Program shall be summarized in a section in the Governor’s Budget for each fiscal year and shall bear the caption “California Environmental Protection Program.” The section shall contain a separate description of each project for which an appropriation is made. Each of these appropriations shall be made to the department performing the project and accounted for separately.

(g) The budget the Governor presents to the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 12 of Article IV of the California Constitution shall include, as proposed appropriations for the California Environmental Protection Program, only projects and programs recommended for funding by the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 21193. The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall consult with the Secretary for Environmental Protection before making any recommendations to fund projects pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 21190.

(h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2017.

(Repealed (in Sec. 36) and added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 340, Sec. 36.5. (SB 839) Effective September 13, 2016. Section operative July 1, 2017, by its own provisions.)