CUSTOMIZATION OF MILITARY

SPECIALTY LICENSE PLATES

House Bill 4450

Sponsor:  Rep. Jacob Hoogendyk

Committee:  Transportation

Complete to 4-19-04

A REVISED SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4450 AS INTRODUCED 3-25-03

House Bill 4450 would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to allow for the customization of military related specialty license plates.

The bill specifies that an applicant who applied for a registration plate under eight separate sections of the code, all related to the application process established for military veterans, would be eligible to request a registration plate with a customized sequence of letters and numbers.  The sections of the code include Section 217d concerning those who have earned the Congressional Medal of Honor; Section 803e concerning POWs and Purple Heart recipients; Section 803f concerning totally disabled veterans; Section 803j concerning Korean War veterans; Section 803k concerning Viet Nam veterans; Section 803l concerning World War II veterans; Section 803n concerning veterans of wars in the Persian Gulf, Grenada, Panama, and Lebanon; and Section 803o concerning the National Guard.

Currently under the law, the Office of the Secretary of State may issue one personalized vehicle registration plate for use on a passenger motor vehicle, pick-up truck, motorcycle, van, motor home, hearse, bus, trailer coach, or trailer.  The law specifies that the personalized plates must bear letters and numbers, as the secretary of state prescribes, and it prohibits a letter combination that might carry a connotation offensive to good taste and decency.  The application for an original personalized registration plate is accompanied with payment of a service fee of $8 for the first month, and than $2 for each additional month (or a $30 annual fee).  A second duplicate plate can be obtained by paying an additional service fee of $5.  Application for the renewal of the personalized registration plate must be accompanied with payment of a $15 service fee, in addition to the regular vehicle registration fee.  The law also specifies that the sequence of letters or numbers, or combination of letters and numbers, on a personalized plate cannot be given to a different person in a subsequent year, unless the person to whom the plate was issued does not reapply.  House Bill 4450 would retain all of these provisions, and extend them to veterans who made application for personalized license plates.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The department indicates that there would be significant programming costs associated with the development of personalized military veterans registration plates, as authorized by the bill. Those costs are not readily determinable at this time.

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:  J. Hunault

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:  William Hamilton

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.