2006 Legislation
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SENATE BILL NO. 1366 – MV license plate, alternative

SENATE BILL NO. 1366

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S1366.....................................................by TRANSPORTATION
MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE PLATES - Adds to and amends existing law to provide
an alternative to the standard issue of motor vehicle license plates, which
may be configured according to specified options.
                                                                        
02/10    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/13    Rpt prt - to Transp

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-eighth Legislature                   Second Regular Session - 2006
                                                                        
                                                                        
                                       IN THE SENATE
                                                                        
                                    SENATE BILL NO. 1366
                                                                        
                                BY TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE PLATES; AMENDING SECTION 49-443, IDAHO CODE,
  3        TO PROVIDE A REFERENCE TO AN EXCEPTION TO THE STANDARD  ISSUE  OF  LICENSE
  4        PLATES; AND AMENDING CHAPTER 4, TITLE 49, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A
  5        NEW SECTION 49-443A, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE STANDARD
  6        ISSUE  OF  LICENSE  PLATES, WHICH MAY BE CONFIGURED ACCORDING TO SPECIFIED
  7        OPTIONS AND TO PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
                                                                        
  8    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  9        SECTION 1.  That Section 49-443, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
 10    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
 11        49-443.  LICENSE  PLATES  TO  BE  FURNISHED BY DEPARTMENT -- FORM AND CON-
 12    TENTS. (1) The assessor or the department shall furnish to every  owner  whose
 13    vehicle is registered by that office, pursuant to sections 49-402 and 49-402A,
 14    Idaho Code, one (1) license plate for vehicles registered under the provisions
 15    of  section  49-406,  49-406A or 49-408, Idaho Code, or a motorcycle, trailer,
 16    truck-tractor, or semitrailer, and two (2)  license  plates  for  every  other
 17    motor  vehicle. If a vehicle is issued one (1) plate only, that plate shall be
 18    displayed in accordance with the provisions of section 49-428, Idaho Code. For
 19    vehicles registered under the provisions of section 49-407,  Idaho  Code,  the
 20    applicant shall provide one (1) plate to be displayed on the rear of the vehi-
 21    cle.
 22        Commencing  January  1,  1992, the color and design of the plates shall be
 23    comparable to the color and  design  of  the  statehood  centennial  issue  of
 24    license plates with blue numerals and letters on a multicolored red, white and
 25    blue  background.  Each license plate must bear upon its face the inscriptions
 26    "Famous Potatoes" and "Scenic Idaho,." except as provided in section  49-443A,
 27    Idaho  Code,  which  provides a digitized alternative to the standard issue of
 28    license plates.
 29        Every license plate shall have displayed upon it the  registration  number
 30    assigned to the vehicle and its owner and the name "Idaho" which may be abbre-
 31    viated.  The  plates  issued  under the provisions of section 49-402(1), Idaho
 32    Code, and the required letters and numerals, including  an  identification  of
 33    the  county  in which the motor vehicle to which the plates will be affixed is
 34    registered, shall be of sufficient size to be plainly readable from a distance
 35    of seventy-five (75) feet during daylight, and each license plate  and  regis-
 36    tration sticker shall be treated with a fully reflectorized material according
 37    to specifications prescribed by the board.
 38        (2)  License  plates shall be valid for a period of seven (7) years begin-
 39    ning with the date of issuance of new plates. At the end of  the  sixth  year,
 40    the  registered  owner  shall receive notice of the date upon which the plates
 41    will expire. The department shall implement a plate-number reservation program
 42    beginning prior to the 1999 plate issue and following  once  every  seven  (7)
 43    years  thereafter,  for  a  limited plate-number sequence in each county which
                                                                        
                                           2
                                                                        
  1    chooses to offer a reservation program. Requests for license plate number res-
  2    ervations shall be submitted to the county during the open reservation  period
  3    established  by  the  department.  The  department may charge a minimal fee as
  4    determined by the board to recover costs to the department for reservation  of
  5    license plate numbers.
  6        (3)  If  a  license plate number has expired as provided in subsection (2)
  7    of this section and the number was not reserved, or if the  vehicle  registra-
  8    tion  is not renewed  within sixty (60) days of its expiration, the plate num-
  9    ber shall be available for use by another registrant.  To  obtain  a  specific
 10    number  in  the  recycled license plate number file, the owner of a registered
 11    vehicle shall pay a one (1) time fee as determined by rule of the board.
 12        The provisions of this subsection shall apply only to vehicles  registered
 13    under  the provisions of section 49-402(1), Idaho Code, and section 49-434(1),
 14    Idaho Code, as it applies to noncommercial vehicles.
 15        (4)  License plates issued for  vehicles  required  to  be  registered  in
 16    accordance  with  the  provisions  of sections 49-402 and 49-402A, Idaho Code,
 17    shall be issued color coded registration validation stickers showing the  year
 18    of registration. Each registration validation sticker shall bear a number from
 19    1 through 12, which number shall  correspond to the month of the calendar year
 20    in  which  the registration of the vehicle expires and shall be affixed to the
 21    lower right-hand corner of the plates within the outlined rectangular area.
 22        (5)  License plates for utility trailers registered under  the  provisions
 23    of  section  49-402A,  Idaho  Code,  which are issued for five (5) or ten (10)
 24    years and license plates for  trailers,  rental  utility  trailers  and  semi-
 25    trailers  registered under the provisions of section 49-434, Idaho Code, which
 26    are issued for five (5) years shall use the design in effect on  the  date  of
 27    manufacture.  If a design change occurs, plates from the effective date of the
 28    design change shall be manufactured using the  new  design.  Unexpired  plates
 29    need not be reissued to conform to a design change.
 30        (6)  For  license  plates which are lost, stolen, mutilated, or illegible,
 31    the owner shall apply for a duplicate or substitute. The assessor  shall  also
 32    furnish  for each registration, and to validate the license plate, a pressure-
 33    sensitive, uniquely-numbered registration sticker,  except  for  trailers  and
 34    semitrailers  registered  under the optional seven (7) year trailer provisions
 35    in section 49-434, Idaho Code. License plates issued  for  state,  county  and
 36    city  motor  vehicles  shall  be permanent and remain on the vehicle for which
 37    issued from year to year, and need no renewal or validation sticker.
 38        (7)  Whenever a vehicle is completely destroyed by fire  or  accident  and
 39    the  operator submits satisfactory proof of that destruction to the department
 40    or appropriate assessor's office, the  registration  use  increment  and  fees
 41    shall be  transferred to the replacement vehicle for a service transfer fee of
 42    five  dollars  ($5.00), which fee shall be retained by the registering author-
 43    ity. None of the original fees shall be subject to  refund.
 44        (8)  The department shall furnish to every owner whose vehicle  is  regis-
 45    tered  under  sections  49-434  and  49-435, Idaho Code, a pressure-sensitive,
 46    uniquely-numbered registration sticker to validate the license plate.
 47        (9)  The board shall have authority to require the return to  the  depart-
 48    ment  of  all license plates and registration stickers upon termination of the
 49    lawful use of them by the owner.
 50        (10) The board may promulgate such rules as are necessary to implement the
 51    provisions of this section.
                                                                        
 52        SECTION 2.  That Chapter 4, Title 49, Idaho Code,  be,  and  the  same  is
 53    hereby  amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-
 54    ignated as Section 49-443A, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
                                                                        
                                           3
                                                                        
  1        49-443A.  LICENSE PLATE ALTERNATIVE TO THE STANDARD  ISSUE  OF  PLATES  --
  2    DIGITIZED.  (1)  Every  motor  vehicle owner whose registered vehicle is to be
  3    furnished license plates according to the provisions of section 49-443,  Idaho
  4    Code,  shall  be  allowed the option of obtaining an alternative license plate
  5    that meets the requirements of the standard issue of license plates.
  6        (2)  Upon application to a county, the owner may request a standard  issue
  7    license  plate that shall contain the color and design comparable to the color
  8    and design of the statehood centennial  issue  of  license  plates  with  blue
  9    numerals and letters on a multicolored red, white and blue background, and the
 10    slogan  "Scenic  Idaho,"  but  which  may  be configured, at the option of the
 11    owner, to:
 12        (a)  Omit the slogan "Famous Potatoes"; and
 13        (b)  Omit the county designator, or not.
 14        (3)  The provisions of this section shall become effective  on  January  1
 15    following  the  year  in  which the Idaho transportation department adopts the
 16    process for creating digitized license plates, or upon a date as determined by
 17    the department, but no later than six (6) months  following  adoption  of  the
 18    digitized process.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                      STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                           RS 16011

This legislation authorizes the addition of a generic standard
license plate to accompany the standard plate with the "Famous
Potatoes" slogan. Adoption of the second standard plate is
contingent on the Idaho Transportation Department adopting a
digitized license plate production process. 
Adoption of a second standard plate will give Idaho motor vehicle
owners a choice between two standard license plates. 
The Idaho potato industry is important to Idaho's economy. Idaho
farmers sold (gross receipts) $503 million of potatoes in 2004.
Potatoes are Idaho's third largest agricultural commodity,
following the sale of milk ($1.358 million)and cattle and calves
($1.059 million). Idaho's population has changed dramatically
since the "Famous Potatoes" standard license plate was adopted in
1960 and has been included since. Other than as a consumer, most
of Idaho's citizens have no affiliation with the potato segment
of the agriculture industry. Many have asked for a choice in
their standard license plate to be effective, the Idaho
Transportation Department will need to approve replacement of the
present heavy-machinery-metal-stamping process at Correctional
Industries with the new digitized, technologically-efficient,
high-speed, high-resolution photography, license-plate-on-demand
(eliminates most license plate inventories, except for the
standard plates) production equipment (digitized plate production
will continue to be preformed at Correctional Industries).
  
                          FISCAL NOTE


The fiscal impact cannot be determined because it is contingent
upon potential actions of the Idaho Transportation Department in
moving to a digitized plate production process. Evaluation of
different digitized equipment manufacturers is not complete.
Adoption of the digitized process will have certain increased
costs as well as savings and improved service. There will be an
increased cost of stocking an additional standard plate.  Such
additional stocking cost will be partially or fully offset by the
reduction in the cost of stocking specialty plates.  The cost
directly associated with producing a new standard plate should
not exceed $10,000.



Contact persons:
Representative Rich Wills (208)332-1218
Senator Hal Bunderson (208)332-1320
Pam Lowe, Administrator, Idaho Transportation Department, 
          Motor Vehicles (208) 334-4443


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                  S 1366