HB 1583 -- Special License Plate Approval

Sponsor:  Schlottach

This bill gives the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight
the duty of approving or denying a special license plate
application submitted by the Department of Revenue.

The number of characters allowed on personalized plates is
increased from six to seven, and the personalization fee is
increased from $15 to $25.

The bill removes the special license plate exemption which allows
organizations to forego the 100-applicant requirement by paying
for the actual cost of the initial issuance.

Organizations, except those seeking a special military license
plate, must submit an application to the department which:

(1)  Describes the proposed license plate;

(2)  Includes a list of at least 100 potential applicants; and

(3)  Includes an application fee, not to exceed $5,000, to defray
the department's cost for reviewing the application and
developing the specialty license plate.

All moneys received by the department, excluding the special
license plate fee, will be deposited in the Department of Revenue
Specialty Plate Fund.  The State Treasurer will be the custodian
of the fund and will make disbursements for personal services,
expenses, and equipment required to prepare, review, develop, and
disseminate a new specialty plate and process the initial 100
applications.  If the application is not approved by the joint
committee, the State Treasurer will refund any deposits for that
specialty plate.

The required documents and fees must be submitted to the
department by July 1 prior to the next regular session of the
General Assembly in order to be approved by the joint committee.
If the special license plate application is approved, the
sponsoring organization must submit the proposed art work to the
department no later than 60 days after the approval.  If the
joint committee denies the application, 97% of the application
fee will be refunded to the organization along with all submitted
fees.  The department must begin production and distribution of
the new special license plates within one year after approval.
The department is authorized to discontinue issuance of special
license plates if the organization no longer provides services or
has stopped issuing emblem-use authorization statements.

Any person or organization who receives a notice of denial for a
special license plate may request a hearing to review the joint
committee's decision within 15 days of receiving the notice.

The fee for all specialty license plates, except special military
license plates, will be $25 annually and $50 biennially in
addition to the regular registration fees.

The bill becomes effective January 1, 2005.

Missouri House of Representatives
92nd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 23, 2004 at 11:15 am