Expired vehicle tags in California

[gatorslap]

I have long been under the impression that in California, when your registration expires, you have an additional month before they will ticket you. I thought this was “common knowledge” and has been the law for a long time.

However, I have a parking ticket dated 10-29 and my car’s registration is September. Shouldn’t I have until November 1st?

Googling the relevant portion of the California vehicle code gives me this:

4000.. (a) (1) ( ) A person shall not drive, move, or leave standing upon a highway, or in an offstreet public parking facility, any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole or pipe dolly, or logging dolly, unless it is registered and the appropriate fees have been paid under this code or registered under the permanent trailer identification program, except that an off-highway motor vehicle which displays an identification plate or device issued by the department pursuant to Section 38010 may be driven, moved, or left standing in an offstreet public parking facility without being registered or paying registration fees.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “offstreet public parking facility” means either of the following:

(A) Any publicly owned parking facility.

(B) Any privately owned parking facility for which no fee for the privilege to park is charged and which is held open for the common public use of retail customers.

(3) This subdivision does not apply to any motor vehicle stored in a privately owned offstreet parking facility by, or with the express permission of, the owner of the privately owned offstreet parking facility.

(4) Beginning July 1, 2011, the enforcement of paragraph (1) shall commence on the first day of the second month following the month of expiration of the vehicle’s registration. This paragraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2012.

What the hell does that last part mean? My long-held understanding of the law was correct only for six months last year?