BLUE STAR FAMILY LICENSE PLATE

Senate Bill 821 (S-2) as passed by the Senate

Sponsor:  Sen. Phil Pavlov

House Committee:  Transportation and Infrastructure

Senate Committee:  Transportation

Complete to 11-26-18

SUMMARY:

Senate Bill 821 would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to allow a member of a Blue Star Family to apply to the Secretary of State for a “Blue Star Family” special registration plate. The plate would be inscribed with special identification numbers preceded by the Blue Star Families insignia and would have the words “Blue Star Family” inscribed beneath the registration number.

An application for a Blue Star Family special registration plate would be on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State and would have to be accompanied by any proof of the applicant’s having been a Blue Star Family member that the Secretary of State may require. The applicant would have to pay a $5 service fee and the applicable vehicle registration tax.

 

Blue Star Family member would mean a person who is currently serving, or who has an immediate family member serving, in the United States Armed Forces or in forces incorporated as part of the United States Armed Forces.

Immediate family member would mean a parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, foster parent standing in loco parentis, child, stepchild, adopted child, sibling, half-sibling, spouse, or grandparent.

The bill would take effect August 1, 2019.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The bill would create marginal costs for the Department of State (DOS) and have no fiscal impact on local units of government. DOS would incur minor indeterminate costs related to the production of a new special registration plate. The costs of producing a new plate are primarily due to computer programming. The bill’s effective date of August 1, 2019 would provide enough time for the Blue Star Family plate to be produced using the Customer and Automotive Records System (CARS), DOS’s new computer system. DOS reports that the cost of producing a new plate using CARS should be significantly lower than the costs were when using their legacy IT system. (Production costs under the old system could reach as high as $100,000.)

                                                                                         Legislative Analyst:   E. Best

                                                                                                 Fiscal Analyst:   Michael Cnossen

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