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S1213.....................................................by TRANSPORTATION MOTOR VEHICLES - LICENSE PLATES - Amends existing law to provide that after December 31, 2001, only one license plate shall be issued for each motor vehicle. 02/15 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/16 Rpt prt - to Transp
S1213|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session - 1999IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1213 BY TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE PLATES; AMENDING SECTIONS 49-428 AND 49-443, 3 IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ISSUANCE AND DISPLAY OF ONE LICENSE PLATE 4 FOR EACH VEHICLE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 6 SECTION 1. That Section 49-428, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 7 amended to read as follows: 8 49-428. DISPLAY OF PLATE AND STICKERS. (1) One (1) lL9icense platesshall be assigned to a motor 10 vehicle and the plate shall be attached, one in the front11and the otherin the rear, with the exception of thefollowing:1213(a) The license plate assigned to a motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle14or semitrailer and the license plate assigned to a motor vehicle operated15by a manufacturer, repossession agent or dealer shall be attached to the16rear.1718(b) Vehicles displaying year of manufacture, old timer, classic car19or street rod license plates shall be allowed to display one (1) plate20attached to the rear of the vehicle.2122(c) Thelicense plateattached tofor 23 a tractor which shall be attached to the front. 24License plates shall be displayed during the current registration year.25The annual registration sticker for the current registration year shall 26 be displayed on each license plate, except for trailers and semitrailers on 27 extended registration under the provisions of section 49-434, Idaho Code. For 28 the purposes of this title, the license platestogether with 29 the registration stickersshall be considered as the 30 license platesfor the year designated on the registration 31 sticker. 32 (2) Every license plate shall at all times be securely fastened to the 33 vehicle to which it is assigned to prevent the plate from swinging, be at a 34 height not less than twelve (12) inches from the ground, measuring from the 35 bottom of the plate, be in a place and position to be clearly visible, and 36 shall be maintained free from foreign materials and in a condition to be 37 clearly legible, andallthe registration 38 stickersshall be securely attached to the license plates39and shall be displayed as provided in section 49-443(4), Idaho Code. 40 SECTION 2. That Section 49-443, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 41 amended to read as follows: 2 1 49-443. LICENSE PLATES TO BE FURNISHED BY DEPARTMENT -- FORM AND CON- 2 TENTS. (1) The assessor or the department shall furnish to every owner3whose vehicle is registered by that office, pursuant to sections 49-402 and449-402A, Idaho Code,one (1) license plate for each 5 vehiclesregistered under the provisions ofsection 49-406,649-406A or 49-408, Idaho Code, or a motorcycle, trailer, truck-tractor, or7semitrailer, and two (2) license plates for every other motor vehicle. If a8vehicle is issued one (1) plate only, that plate shall be displayed in accor-9dance with the provisions of section 49-428, Idaho Code. For vehicles regis-10tered under the provisions of section 49-407, Idaho Code, the applicant shall11provide one (1) plate to be displayed on the rear of the vehicle12 this chapter . 13 Commencing January 1, 1992, the color and design of the plates shall be 14 comparable to the color and design of the statehood centennial issue of 15 license plates with blue numerals and letters on a multicolored red, white and 16 blue background. Each license plate must bear upon its face the inscriptions 17 "Famous Potatoes" and "Scenic Idaho." 18 Every license plate shall have displayed upon it the registration number 19 assigned to the vehicle and its owner and the name "Idaho" which may be abbre- 20 viated. The plates issued under the provisions of section 49-402(1), Idaho 21 Code, and the required letters and numerals, including an identification of 22 the county in which the motor vehicle to which the plates will be affixed is 23 registered, shall be of sufficient size to be plainly readable from a distance 24 of seventy-five (75) feet during daylight, and each license plate and regis- 25 tration sticker shall be treated with a fully reflectorized material according 26 to specifications prescribed by the board. 27 (2) License plates shall be valid for a period of seven (7) years begin- 28 ning with the date of issuance of new plates. At the end of the sixth year, 29 the registered owner shall receive notice of the date upon which the 30 plateswill expire. The department shall implement a plate-number 31 reservation program beginning prior to the 1999 plate issue and following once 32 every seven (7) years thereafter, for a limited plate-number sequence in each 33 county which chooses to offer a reservation program. Requests for license 34 plate number reservations shall be submitted to the county during the open 35 reservation period established by the department. The department may charge a 36 minimal fee as determined by the board to recover costs to the department for 37 reservation of license plate numbers. 38 (3) If a license plate number has expired as provided in subsection (2) 39 of this section and the number was not reserved, or if the vehicle registra- 40 tion is not renewed within sixty (60) days of its expiration, the plate number 41 shall be available for use by another registrant. To obtain a specific number 42 in the recycled license plate number file, the owner of a registered vehicle 43 shall pay a one (1) time fee as determined by rule of the board. 44 The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to vehicles registered 45 under the provisions of section 49-402(1), Idaho Code, and section 49-434(1), 46 Idaho Code, as it applies to noncommercial vehicles. 47 (4) License plates issued for vehicles required to be registered in 48 accordance with the provisions of sections 49-402 and 49-402A, Idaho Code, 49 shall be issued a color coded registration validation 50 stickersshowing the year of registration. Each registration val- 51 idation sticker shall bear a number from 1 through 12, which number shall 52 correspond to the month of the calendar year in which the registration of the 53 vehicle expires and shall be affixed to the lower right-hand corner of the 54 plates within the outlined rectangular area. 55 (5) License plates for utility trailers registered under the provisions 3 1 of section 49-402A, Idaho Code, which are issued for five (5) or ten (10) 2 years and license plates for trailers, rental utility trailers and semi- 3 trailers registered under the provisions of section 49-434, Idaho Code, which 4 are issued for five (5) years shall use the design in effect on the date of 5 manufacture. If a design change occurs, plates from the effective date of the 6 design change shall be manufactured using the new design. Unexpired plates 7 need not be reissued to conform to a design change. 8 (6) For license plates which are lost, stolen, mutilated, or illegible, 9 the owner shall apply for a duplicate or substitute. The assessor shall also 10 furnish for each registration, and to validate the license plate, a pressure- 11 sensitive, serially-numbered registration sticker, except for trailers and 12 semitrailers registered under the optional seven (7) year trailer provisions 13 in section 49-434, Idaho Code. License plates issued for state, county and 14 city motor vehicles shall be permanent and remain on the vehicle for which 15 issued from year to year, and need no renewal or validation sticker. 16 (7) Whenever a vehicle is completely destroyed by fire or accident and 17 the operator submits satisfactory proof of that destruction to the department 18 or appropriate assessor's office, the registration use increment and fees 19 shall be transferred to the replacement vehicle for a service transfer fee of 20 five dollars ($5.00), which fee shall be retained by the registering author- 21 ity. None of the original fees shall be subject to refund. 22 (8) The department shall furnish to every owner whose vehicle is regis- 23 tered under sections 49-434 and 49-435, Idaho Code, a pressure-sensitive, 24 serially-numbered registration sticker to validate the license plate. 25 (9) The board shall have authority to require the return to the depart- 26 ment of all license plates and registration stickers upon termination of the 27 lawful use of them by the owner. 28 (10) The board may promulgate such rules as are necessary to implement the 29 provisions of this section. 30 SECTION 3. This act shall be in full force and effect on and after Janu- 31 ary 1, 2002.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS09084
This legislation would change the requirement to display front
and back license plates to display of only a single license
plate for all registered vehicles, effective January 1, 2002.
FISCAL NOTE
The one-plate proposal would yield an annual savings to the
motoring public of around $66,000 per year based on 220,000
fewer license plates needed. Postage costs normally passed on
to the public could be reduced by up to $50,000 per year based
on an estimated 45,000 plate mailings per year. Department of
Transportation Department expenditures on expiration stickers
could be reduced by asa much as $90,000 per year.
Enactment of a one plate proposal would result in a revenue
reduction to the highway distribution account of an estimated
$125,400 per year (73,773 State Highway Account, $6,771 Law
Enforcement, and $44,856 local highway districts), and a
reduction of revenue to the Idaho Heritage Trust of $110,000
per year. Correctional Industries plate and sticker sales may
be reduced by approximately $500,000 per year.
CONTACT: Senator Evan Frasure
Phone: 332-1315
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL NOTE S1213