GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

S	4 

SENATE BILL 913
Finance Committee Substitute Adopted 7/6/89
Third Edition Engrossed 7/10/89
House Committee Substitute Favorable 7/28/89

Short Title:  Up Vanity Plate Fees.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:
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April 18, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO INCREASE THE FEE FOR VANITY MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION PLATES AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISBURSEMENT OF THE ADDITIONAL REVENUES DERIVED.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 20-81.3(b) and (c) read as rewritten:
"(b)	An owner who desires personalized registration plates shall make application for such plates on forms which shall be provided by the Division of Motor Vehicles and pay the sum of twenty dollars ($20.00) annually, which shall be in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration fee. Once an owner has obtained personalized plates, he, where possible, will have first priority on those plates for the following years provided he makes timely and appropriate application; provided, however, that the Commissioner shall not issue a personalized license plate pursuant to this section except upon written application therefor on a form furnished by the Commissioner in which the applicant certifies that his operator's or chauffeur's license has not been revoked or suspended under Article 2 of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes within two years prior to the date of the application; and provided, further, that any personalized license plate issued pursuant to this section shall be cancelled and recalled by the Commissioner and the application fee forfeited in the event that the Commissioner determines that a false application has been submitted.
(c)	One-half of the revenue derived from the additional fee shall be deposited in the Recreation and Natural Heritage Trust Fund established under G.S. 113-77.7.  The remaining one-half of the revenue derived from the additional fee for the special personalized registration plates shall be placed in a separate fund designated the ‘Personalized Registration Plate Fund'. After deducting the cost of the plates, plus budgetary requirements for handling and issuance to be determined by the Commissioner, the revenue in the Personalized Registration Plate Fund shall be transferred quarterly as follows:
(1)	Thirty-three percent (33%) to the account of the Department of Commerce to aid in financing out-of-state print and other media advertising under the program for the promotion of travel and industrial development in this State.
(2)	Fifty percent (50%) to the Department of Transportation to be used solely for the purpose of beautification of highways other than those designated as interstate. These funds shall be administered by the Department of Transportation for beautification purposes not inconsistent with good landscaping and engineering principles.
(3)	Seventeen percent (17%) to the account of the Department of Human Resources to promote travel accessibility for disabled persons in this State.  These funds shall be used: to collect and update site information on travel attractions designated by the Department of Commerce in their publications; to provide technical assistance to travel attraction concerning accommodation of disabled tourists; and to develop, print, and promote the publication ACCESS NORTH CAROLINA.  The Department of Human Resources shall make copies of ACCESS NORTH CAROLINA available to the Department of Commerce for their use in Welcome Centers and other appropriate Department of Commerce offices.
(4)	The Department of Commerce shall promote ACCESS NORTH CAROLINA in their publications (including providing a toll-free telephone line and in address for requesting copies of the publication) and provide technical assistance to the Department of Human Resources on travel attractions to be included in ACCESS NORTH CAROLINA.  The Department of Commerce shall forward all requests for mailing ACCESS NORTH CAROLINA to the Department of Human Resources.
(5)	Funds allocated by this section for promotion of travel accessibility and ACCESS NORTH CAROLINA which are not spent and are not obligated at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall be transferred to the Department of Administration for removal of man-made barriers to disabled travelers at State-funded travel attractions.  Guidelines for the removal of man-made barriers shall be developed in consultation with the Department of Human Resources."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 20-80.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The Commissioner shall cause to be made a sufficient number of distinctive motor vehicle license plates, in the form hereafter provided, for issuance to eligible members of the reserve components of the armed forces of the United States, upon proper application and under such regulations as he deems appropriate. Upon satisfactory proof of eligibility, the commissioner shall collect a fee in an amount equal to the applicable fee under G.S. 20-87 plus ten dollars ($10.00).  Fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the Personalized Registration Plate Fund."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 20-81.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20-81.5. Civil Air Patrol plates.
(a)	The Commissioner shall cause to be made each year sufficient number of license plates to furnish each member of the North Carolina Wing of the Civil Air Patrol with not more than two thereof, said license plates to be in the same form and character as other license plates now or hereinafter authorized by law to be used upon private vehicles registered in this State, except that such license plates shall bear on the face thereof the following: the words ‘North Carolina,' the year designation, and the words ‘Civil Air Patrol.' The license plates shall be issued only to members of the North Carolina Wing of the Civil Air Patrol and for each license plate the Commissioner shall collect a fee in an amount equal to the applicable fee under G.S. 20-87 plus ten dollars ($10.00). The Commander of the North Carolina Wing of the Civil Air Patrol shall furnish the Commissioner annually with a list of the number of such distinctive plates required accompanied by the fee referred to hereinabove and such list shall contain the rank of each officer listed in order of his seniority in the North Carolina Civil Air Patrol. The said license plates to be set aside for officer personnel shall be numbered beginning with the number 201 and running in numerical sequence thereafter up to and including the number 500, according to seniority; the senior officer being issued the plate bearing the number 201. Enlisted personnel, senior members and cadet members applying for such distinctive plates shall, upon application and payment of the required fee, receive such plates in numerical sequence beginning with the number 501. Applications for such distinctive license plates shall be on forms as may be agreed upon by the Wing Commander of the North Carolina Civil Air Patrol and the Division of Motor Vehicles. If a holder of such a distinctive license plate shall be discharged from the North Carolina Civil Air Patrol under other than honorable conditions, he shall within 30 days exchange such distinctive plate for a standard plate.
(b)	”Fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the Personalized Registration Plate Fund."
Sec. 4.  G.S. 20-81.10(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The Commissioner shall cause to be made a sufficient number of distinctive motor vehicle license plates for issuance to eligible persons who make application on a form designed by the Division and supply documentation that they were members of the U.S. Military Service and were present at the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  Upon satisfactory proof of eligibility, the Commissioner shall collect a fee in an amount equal to the applicable fee under G.S. 20-87 plus ten dollars ($10.00).  Fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the Personalized Registration Plate Fund."
Sec. 5.  G.S. 20-81.11(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The Commissioner shall cause to be made a sufficient number of distinctive motor vehicle license plates for issuance to eligible persons who make application on a form designed by the Division and supply documentation that they were members of the U.S. Military Service and were recipients of the Purple Heart Award.  Upon satisfactory proof of eligibility, the Commissioner shall collect a fee in an amount equal to the applicable fee under G.S. 20-87 plus ten dollars ($10.00).  Fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the Personalized Registration Plate Fund."
Sec. 6.  The Legislative Research Commission is authorized to study the fee structure for personalized license plates and special plates, either as part of a study of the revenue laws or a related topic or as a separate study.  The Commission shall consider whether the fees for these two types of plates should be the same.  The Commission may report its findings to the 1991 General Assembly.
Sec. 7.  This act shall become effective October 1, 1989.