GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2011

S                                                                                                                                                     1

SENATE BILL 359

Short Title:        Modify Special Plate Design Requirements.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Senator Jenkins.
Referred to:	Finance.

March 17, 2011

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to modify special REGISTRATION plate design REQUIREMENTS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 20-63(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b)      Every license plate must display the registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it is issued, the name of the State of North Carolina, which may be abbreviated, and the year number for which it is issued or the date of expiration. A plate issued for a commercial vehicle, as defined in G.S. 20-4.2(1), and weighing 26,001 pounds or more, must bear the word "commercial," unless the plate is a special registration plate authorized in G.S. 20-79.4 or the commercial vehicle is a trailer or is licensed for 6,000 pounds or less. The plate issued for vehicles licensed for 7,000 pounds through 26,000 pounds must bear the word "weighted," unless the plate is a special registration plate authorized in G.S. 20-79.4.

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a registration plate issued by the Division for a private passenger vehicle or for a private hauler vehicle licensed for 6,000 pounds or less shall be a "First in Flight" plate. A "First in Flight" plate shall have the words "First in Flight" printed at the top of the plate above all other letters and numerals. The background of the plate shall depict the Wright Brothers biplane flying over Kitty Hawk Beach, with the plane flying slightly upward and to the right. The following special Special registration plates do not have to be a "First in Flight" plate. The Division shall develop, in consultation with the State Highway Patrol and the Department of Correction, a standardized format for special registration plates. The format shall allow for the license plate to be read easily by the human eye and by cameras installed along roadways as part of a tolling, red-light, or speed enforcement program. A designated portion of the plate shall be used for any unique design or logo representing the group or interest for which the Division is authorized to produce the special registration plate. The design of the plates that are not "First in Flight" plates must be approved by the Division and the State Highway Patrol for clarity and ease of identification.

(1) Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

(2) Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

(3) Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

(4) Friends of the Appalachian Trail.

(5) NC Coastal Federation.

(6) In God We Trust.

(7) Stock Car Racing Theme.

(8) Buddy Pelletier Surfing Foundation.

(9) Guilford Battleground Company.

(10) National Wild Turkey Federation.

(11) North Carolina Aquarium Society.

(12) First in Forestry.

(13) North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation.

(14) NC Trout Unlimited.

(15) Ducks Unlimited.

(16) Lung Cancer Research.

(17) NC State Parks.

(18) Support Our Troops.

(19) US Equine Rescue League.

(20) Fox Hunting.

(21) Back Country Horsemen of North Carolina.

(22) Hospice Care.

(23) Home Care and Hospice.

(24) NC Tennis Foundation.

(25) AIDS Awareness."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 20-79.4(b) reads as rewritten:

"§ 20-79.4.  Special registration plates.

…

(b)        Types. - The Division shall issue the following types of special registration plates:

…

(14)      Autism Society of North Carolina. - Issuable to the registered owner of a motor vehicle in accordance with G.S. 20-81.12. The plate shall bear the phrase "Autism Society of North Carolina", the phrase "Providing Support, Promoting Opportunities", "Autism Society of North Carolina" and the logo of the Autism Society.

…

(68)      Hospice Care. - Issuable to the registered owner of a motor vehicle in accordance with G.S. 20-81.12. The plate shall bear the phrase "Hospice Care" and the letters "HC" on the right side of the plate. "HC."

…

(91)      National Kidney Foundation. - Issuable to the registered owner of a motor vehicle in accordance with G.S. 20-81.12. The plate shall bear a phrase and logo selected by representing the Foundation.

…

(103)    North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation. - Issuable to the owner of a motor vehicle in accordance with G.S. 20-81.12. The plate shall bear the logo of the North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation on the left side and the background of the entire plate shall be beige or tan color. The numbers or other writing on the plate shall be black and the border shall be black. The plate shall be developed by the Division in consultation with and approved by the North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation. Foundation. The Division may not issue the plate authorized by this subdivision unless it receives at least 300 applications for the plate.

…."

SECTION 3.  G.S. 20-81.12(a) reads as rewritten:

"(a)       Collegiate Insignia Plates. - The Division must receive 300 or more applications for a collegiate insignia license plate for a college or university before a collegiate license plate may be developed. The color, design, and material for the plate must be approved by both the Division and developed in consultation with the alumni or alumnae association of the appropriate college or university. The Division must transfer quarterly the money in the Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account derived from the sale of in-State collegiate insignia plates to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina for in-State, public colleges and universities and to the respective board of trustees for in-State, private colleges and universities in proportion to the number of collegiate plates sold representing that institution for use for academic enhancement."

SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.