Brief Description: Regulating special license plates.

Sponsors: Senators Haugen and Swecker.

Senate Committee on Transportation
House Committee on Transportation

Background: The Special License Plate Review Board was created in the 2003 session and charged with reviewing special license plate applications from groups requesting the creation of a special plate. 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 cannot prepay, the initial revenue generated from the plate sales must be deposited into the motor vehicle account until the state has been reimbursed for the implementation costs. The state must be reimbursed within two years from the initial date of sale or the plate series 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 series must be discontinued.

The Department of Licensing (DOL) offers a special accessible parking emblem version of special license plates to persons with disabilities who qualify for special parking privileges. Persons applying for a disabled parking emblem for a special license plate must pay the appropriate special license plate fee. The disabled parking emblem version of a special license plate is administered in the same manner as the special disabled parking license plates currently issued by DOL.

Summary: DOL is authorized to offer personalized special license plates. Persons applying to purchase a personalized special license plate must pay both the fee for the special plate and the fee for a personalized plate.

DOL must offer a license plate emblem for persons with disabilities for both personalized license plates and special plates that are personalized.

The special license plate design services fee is reduced from $1,500 to $200 dollars for the first six renditions, and to $100 dollars for any subsequent rendition.

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; and (2) an applicant must provide 3,500 signatures with prepayment to the special license plate review board.

The Special License Plate Review 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 Special License Plate Review Board before February 15, 2005. The Special License Plate Review Board is required to make a policy recommendation to DOL concerning limiting the ability of governmental bodies and 501(c)(3) organizations to apply for more than one special license plate. DOL is required to adopt a rule pursuant to the Board's policy recommendation.      

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      47   0
House      63   34   (House amended)
Senate      43   3   (Senate concurred)

Effective:   July 24, 2005
         March 1, 2007 (Section 1)