Title: An act relating to special license plates.

Brief Description: Regulating special license plates.

Sponsors: Senators Haugen and Swecker.

Brief History:

Transportation: 3/23/05, 3/31/05 [DPA].

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report: Do pass as amended. Signed by 20 members: Representatives Murray, Chair; Wallace, Vice Chair; Woods, Ranking Minority Member; Appleton, Buck, Campbell, Curtis, Dickerson, Flannigan, Hankins, Hudgins, Kilmer, Lovick, Morris, Sells, Simpson, B. Sullivan, Takko, Upthegrove and Wood.

Minority Report: Do not pass. Signed by 6 members: Representatives Ericksen, Jarrett, Nixon, Rodne, Schindler and Shabro.

Staff: Teresa Berntsen (786-7301).

Background:

The Special License Plate Review Board (Board) was created in the 2003 session and charged with reviewing applications from groups requesting the creation of a special vehicle license plate. The Board must verify that the organization and proposed plate meet criteria set by state law, and then forwards the approved application to the Legislature.

A special license plate applicant must either:
1.   pre-pay the implementation costs; or
2.   submit signature sheets representing 2,000 intended plate purchases and an application    fee of $2,000.

For those applicants who do not prepay, the initial revenue generated from the plate sales must be deposited into the Motor Vehicle Account until the state has been reimbursed for implementation costs. The state must be reimbursed within two years or the plate will be put on probation for one year. If the state has not been fully reimbursed at the end of the probationary period, the plate must be discontinued.

The Department of Licensing (DOL) offers disabled parking emblem versions of special license plates to persons who qualify for disabled parking privileges. Persons applying for a disabled parking emblem for a special license plate must pay the appropriate special license plate fee.

The DOL offers personalized plates for an additional fee.

Summary of Amended Bill:

The Board is prohibited from accepting or approving any applications until June 1, 2007. The Legislature may not enact a special plate during this time unless the plate has been approved by the Board before February 15, 2005.
   
The Board is required to make a policy recommendation to the DOL regarding limiting the ability of a governmental entity or organization to apply for more than one special license plate. The DOL must adopt a rule pursuant to the Board's recommendation.

The special license plate application requirements are changed in the following ways:
1.   the application option of submitting signature sheets with 2,000 signatures and an application fee of $2,000 is removed;
2.   an applicant must provide 3,500 signatures with prepayment; and
3.   an applicant for a license plate collection must provide 3,500 signatures multiplied by the number of plates in the collection.

The special license plate design service fee is reduced from $1,500 to $200 for the first six renditions of a plate, and from $500 to $100 per additional rendition.

The DOL must offer a disabled parking emblem for both personalized license plates and special plates that are personalized.

Ten dollars of the fee for a personalized special license plate is distributed to the newly-created Pedestrian and Bicycle Grant Program Account.

Amended Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The amended bill removes the creation of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Grant Program Account and the requirement that $10.00 of the fee for a personalized special license plate be distributed to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Grant Program Account.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date of Amended Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after the adjournment of session in which bill is passed, except section 1, relating to personalized special license plates, which takes effect March 1, 2007.

Testimony For: None.

Testimony Against: None.

Persons Testifying: None.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.