(a) A person who, with intent to prejudice, damage, or defraud, commits any of the following acts is guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months, or two or three years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year:

(1) Alters, forges, counterfeits, or falsifies a certificate of ownership, registration card, certificate, license, license plate, temporary license plate, device issued pursuant to Section 4853, special plate, or permit provided for by this code or a comparable certificate of ownership, registration card, certificate, license, license plate, temporary license plate, device comparable to that issued pursuant to Section 4853, special plate, or permit provided for by a foreign jurisdiction, or alters, forges, counterfeits, or falsifies the document, device, or plate with intent to represent it as issued by the department, or alters, forges, counterfeits, or falsifies with fraudulent intent an endorsement of transfer on a certificate of ownership or other document evidencing ownership, or with fraudulent intent displays or causes or permits to be displayed or have in his or her possession a blank, incomplete, canceled, suspended, revoked, altered, forged, counterfeit, or false certificate of ownership, registration card, certificate, license, license plate, temporary license plate, device issued pursuant to Section 4853, special plate, or permit.

(2) Utters, publishes, passes, or attempts to pass, as true and genuine, a false, altered, forged, or counterfeited matter listed in paragraph (1) knowing it to be false, altered, forged, or counterfeited.

(b) A person who, with intent to prejudice, damage, or defraud, commits any of the following acts is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for six months, a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both that fine and imprisonment, which penalty shall not be suspended:

(1) Forges, counterfeits, or falsifies a disabled person placard or a comparable placard relating to parking privileges for disabled persons provided for by a foreign jurisdiction, or forges, counterfeits, or falsifies a disabled person placard with intent to represent it as issued by the department.

(2) Passes, or attempts to pass, as true and genuine, a false, forged, or counterfeit disabled person placard knowing it to be false, forged, or counterfeited.

(3) Acquires, possesses, sells, or offers for sale a genuine or counterfeit disabled person placard.

(c) A person who, with fraudulent intent, displays or causes or permits to be displayed a forged, counterfeit, or false disabled person placard, is subject to the issuance of a notice of parking violation imposing a civil penalty of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), for which enforcement shall be governed by the procedures set forth in Article 3 (commencing with Section 40200) of Chapter 1 of Division 17, or is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for six months, a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both that fine and imprisonment, which penalty shall not be suspended.

(d) For purposes of subdivision (b) or (c), “disabled person placard” means a placard issued pursuant to Section 22511.55 or 22511.59.

(e) A person who, with intent to prejudice, damage, or defraud, commits any of the following acts is guilty of an infraction, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) and not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for a first offense, not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for a second offense, and not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a third or subsequent offense, which penalty shall not be suspended:

(1) Forges, counterfeits, or falsifies a Clean Air Sticker or a comparable clean air sticker relating to high-occupancy vehicle lane privileges provided for by a foreign jurisdiction, or forges, counterfeits, or falsifies a Clean Air Sticker with intent to represent it as issued by the department.

(2) Passes, or attempts to pass, as true and genuine, a false, forged, or counterfeit Clean Air Sticker knowing it to be false, forged, or counterfeited.

(3) Acquires, possesses, sells, or offers for sale a counterfeit Clean Air Sticker.

(4) Acquires, possesses, sells, or offers for sale a genuine Clean Air Sticker separate from the vehicle for which the department issued that sticker.

(f) As used in this section, “Clean Air Sticker” means a label or decal issued pursuant to Sections 5205.5 and 21655.9.

(g) This section shall become operative January 1, 2019.

(Repealed (in Sec. 9) and added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 90, Sec. 10. (AB 516) Effective January 1, 2017. Section operative January 1, 2019, by its own provisions.)