--- type: "Bill" title: "License plates: obstruction or alteration." description: "Existing law prohibits a person from erasing the reflective coating of, painting over the reflective coating of, or altering a license plate to avoid visual or electronic capture of the license plate or its characters by state or local law enforcement. Existing law prohibits a person from installing or affixing on a vehicle a casing, shield, frame, border, product, or other device that obstructs or impairs the reading or recognition of a license plate by an electronic device operated by state or local law enforcement, an electronic device operated in connection with a toll road, high-occupancy toll lane, toll bridge, or other toll facility, or a remote emission sensing device, as specified. Existing law also prohibits the sale of a product or device that obscures, or is intended to obscure, the reading or recognition of a license plate by visual means, or by an electronic device in violation of the above-described provisions. A conviction for a violation of this provision is punishable by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars $250 per item sold or per violation. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime." jurisdiction: "us/states/ca" legislature: "California Legislature" session: "20252026" identifier: "AB 1085" citation: "California AB 1085 (20252026)" classification: ["bill"] subjects: ["Licenseplates", "obstructionoralteration"] status: "enacted" primary_sponsors: ["Stefani"] version_count: 7 action_count: 25 vote_count: 7 first_action: "2025-02-20" last_action: "2025-10-01" source: "openstates" source_identifier: "ocd-bill/7e31a07e-1993-4463-be7a-5b38bf7c331a" source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1085" source_hash: "f8d56c7fb2ffd009579176ba7215d2d09d922a947b16393c87cc62a06dee9a07" 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 1085 (20252026) — License plates: obstruction or alteration. Existing law prohibits a person from erasing the reflective coating of, painting over the reflective coating of, or altering a license plate to avoid visual or electronic capture of the license plate or its characters by state or local law enforcement. Existing law prohibits a person from installing or affixing on a vehicle a casing, shield, frame, border, product, or other device that obstructs or impairs the reading or recognition of a license plate by an electronic device operated by state or local law enforcement, an electronic device operated in connection with a toll road, high-occupancy toll lane, toll bridge, or other toll facility, or a remote emission sensing device, as specified. Existing law also prohibits the sale of a product or device that obscures, or is intended to obscure, the reading or recognition of a license plate by visual means, or by an electronic device in violation of the above-described provisions. A conviction for a violation of this provision is punishable by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars $250 per item sold or per violation. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. ## Version chain The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment. 1. **02/20/25 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1085&version=20250AB108599INT) 2. **03/24/25 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1085&version=20250AB108598AMD) 3. **04/08/25 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1085&version=20250AB108597AMD) 4. **06/11/25 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1085&version=20250AB108596AMD) 5. **10/01/25 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1085&version=20250AB108594CHP) 6. **AB1085** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1085) 7. **08/27/25 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1085&version=20250AB108595ENR) ## Votes - Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Public Safety] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar — **13–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar — **6–0** (pass) · upper - AB 1085 Stefani Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **76–0** (pass) · lower - Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar — **15–0** (pass) · lower - AB 1085 Stefani Consent Calendar Second Day — **69–0** (pass) · lower - Do pass. To Consent Calendar. — **15–0** (pass) · lower - Consent Calendar 2nd — **35–0** (pass) · upper ## Sponsors - Stefani — primary (person) ## Timeline The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote. - **2025-02-20** Read first time. To print. `reading-1` - **2025-02-21** From printer. May be heard in committee March 23. - **2025-03-24** Referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee` - **2025-03-24** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2` - **2025-03-25** Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee` - **2025-04-08** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2` - **2025-04-09** Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee` - **2025-04-22** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee` - **2025-05-07** From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 7). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable` - **2025-05-08** Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. `reading-1, reading-2` - **2025-05-15** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 69. Noes 0. Page 1569.) `passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2025-05-15** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1` - **2025-05-28** Referred to Coms. on TRANS. and PUB. S. `referral-committee` - **2025-06-10** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 10). `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage, referral-committee` - **2025-06-11** Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S. `amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee` - **2025-06-19** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. - **2025-07-02** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee` - **2025-07-14** From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar. `committee-passage, reading-2` - **2025-07-15** Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. `reading-1, reading-2` - **2025-07-17** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 35. Noes 0. Page 2138.). `passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2025-07-17** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. - **2025-08-25** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 2726.). `amendment-passage, committee-passage-favorable` - **2025-09-02** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m. - **2025-10-01** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature` - **2025-10-01** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 179, Statutes of 2025. `became-law` ## Source OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/7e31a07e-1993-4463-be7a-5b38bf7c331a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).