California 20252026 Regular Session Status: Introduced 1 D cosponsors

SB 1275 — Sales and use tax exemption: vehicle license fee imposition: motor vehicles.

Last action — May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 20, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 28% · moderate confidence

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 3 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

(1) Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2027, and before July 1, 2032, exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of a used motor vehicle sold by specified dealers or their affiliates or a new motor vehicle. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would exclude the exemption from that requirement. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. This bill would provide that the exemption created by this bill does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes. Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011. This bill would provide that the exemption created by this bill does not apply to those state sales and use tax rates imposed or dedicated for local government funding, including those rates for which revenues are deposited into the Local Revenue Fund 2011. (2) The Vehicle License Fee Law imposes a license fee for the privilege of operating upon the public highways in this state of specified vehicles, including any vehicle of a type which is subject to registration under the Vehicle Code. This bill would impose, on and after July 1, 2027, and before July 1, 2032, upon the sale of a used motor vehicle sold by specified dealers or their affiliates or the first sale of a new motor vehicle to a consumer, an additional license fee equal to 3.9375% of the gross receipts from the sale. The bill would require the dealer to collect the license fee, as described, and remit the funds. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to report the amounts collected to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and deposit those moneys in the General Fund. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. (3) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  2. Set for hearing May 14.

  3. May 4 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  4. Set for hearing May 4.

  5. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 1. Page 3985.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  6. Set for hearing April 21.

  7. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.

  8. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. (Ayes 4. Noes 0. Page 3795.) (April 8).

  9. Set for hearing April 8.

  10. Referred to Coms. on REV. & TAX. and TRANS.

  11. Read first time.

  12. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23.

  13. Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on · 1 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 9 Yea · 1 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 1102
Democratic 8001
Total 9103
% of votes cast 69%8%0%23%
How each member voted (13)
Member Party Vote
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Arreguín, Jesse Democratic Yea
Blakespear, Catherine S. Democratic Yea
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Menjivar, Caroline Democratic Not Voting
Richardson, Laura Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Not Voting
Strickland, Tony Republican Nay
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

taxation
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 1275 do?
(1) Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2027, and before July 1, 2032, exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale of, and the storage, use, or other consumption of a used motor vehicle sold by specified dealers or their affiliates or a new motor vehicle. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would exclude the exemption from that requirement. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. This bill would provide that the exemption created by this bill does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes. Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011. This bill would provide that the exemption created by this bill does not apply to those state sales and use tax rates imposed or dedicated for local government funding, including those rates for which revenues are deposited into the Local Revenue Fund 2011. (2) The Vehicle License Fee Law imposes a license fee for the privilege of operating upon the public highways in this state of specified vehicles, including any vehicle of a type which is subject to registration under the Vehicle Code. This bill would impose, on and after July 1, 2027, and before July 1, 2032, upon the sale of a used motor vehicle sold by specified dealers or their affiliates or the first sale of a new motor vehicle to a consumer, an additional license fee equal to 3.9375% of the gross receipts from the sale. The bill would require the dealer to collect the license fee, as described, and remit the funds. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to report the amounts collected to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and deposit those moneys in the General Fund. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. (3) This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Who sponsors SB 1275?
SB 1275 is sponsored by McNerney, Jerry (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 1275?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 20, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 1275?
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