---
type: "Bill"
title: "Vehicles: license plates: obstruction or alteration."
description: "(1) Existing law prohibits a person from displaying upon a vehicle a license plate altered from its original markings. Existing law also prohibits a person from selling a product or device that obscures, or is intended to obscure, the reading or recognition of a license plate, as specified. A violation of these provisions is an infraction and the penalty for the first conviction of an infraction under the Vehicle Code is a fine not exceeding $100."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20112012"
identifier: "AB 2489"
citation: "California AB 2489 (20112012)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Vehicles: license plates: obstruction or alteration."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hall"]
version_count: 8
action_count: 27
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2012-02-24"
last_action: "2012-09-28"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ed43420a-30aa-4b31-86f0-07e5e327b1c8"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB2489"
source_hash: "0f8f349af1c3e19eea542e656d9212af5d052816c4ff5fb505b6238039e2c01f"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 2489 (20112012) — Vehicles: license plates: obstruction or alteration.

(1) Existing law prohibits a person from displaying upon a vehicle a license plate altered from its original markings. Existing law also prohibits a person from selling a product or device that obscures, or is intended to obscure, the reading or recognition of a license plate, as specified. A violation of these provisions is an infraction and the penalty for the first conviction of an infraction under the Vehicle Code is a fine not exceeding $100.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/24/12 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB2489&version=20110AB248999INT)
2. **03/27/12 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB2489&version=20110AB248998AMD)
3. **05/08/12 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB2489&version=20110AB248997AMD)
4. **06/15/12 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB2489&version=20110AB248996AMD)
5. **08/22/12 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB2489&version=20110AB248995AMD)
6. **09/28/12 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB2489&version=20110AB248993CHP)
7. **AB2489** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB2489)
8. **09/11/12 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB2489&version=20110AB248994ENR)

## Votes

- 3rd Reading AB2489 Hall By Pavley — **35–3** (pass) · upper
- AB 2489 HALL Consent Calendar Second Day — **76–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass as amended, to Consent Calendar. — **17–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass and re-refer to Committee on Appropriations with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. — **14–0** (pass) · lower
- AB 2489 HALL Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **79–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass, but re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations. — **7–1** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Hall — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2012-02-24** Introduced. To print. `introduction`
- **2012-02-26** From printer. May be heard in committee March 27.
- **2012-02-27** Read first time. `reading-1`
- **2012-03-15** Referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee`
- **2012-03-27** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended. `reading-2, amendment-introduction, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2012-03-28** Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee`
- **2012-04-17** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: to consent calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (April 16). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2012-05-07** From committee: Do pass as amended. To consent calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (May 2). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2012-05-08** Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-2, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2012-05-09** Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2012-05-14** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 4829.) `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2012-05-14** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2012-05-24** Referred to Com. on T. & H. `referral-committee`
- **2012-06-13** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2012-06-15** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on T. & H. `reading-2, amendment-introduction, reading-1, amendment-passage, referral-committee`
- **2012-06-27** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 1.) (June 26). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2012-08-06** From committee: Be placed on second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. `committee-passage`
- **2012-08-07** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2012-08-22** Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-3, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2012-08-23** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2012-08-28** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 35. Noes 3. Page 4905.). `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2012-08-28** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 30 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
- **2012-08-29** Assembly Rule 77 suspended. (Page 6488.)
- **2012-08-29** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 6565.). `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2012-09-13** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2:30 p.m.
- **2012-09-28** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2012-09-28** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 702, Statutes of 2012.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ed43420a-30aa-4b31-86f0-07e5e327b1c8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).