Senate approves special license plate space for decals

DES MOINES – The Iowa Senate voted 50-0 Tuesday to authorize the state Department of Transportation to issue special vehicle registration plates that will contain a space to place a DOT-approved decal produced, issued and sold by qualifying non-profit organizations.

Sen. Chris Brase, D-Muscatine, said Senate File 371 is designed to address the demand for DOT officials to authorize more specialty plates.

“We get a united plate that's consistent for law enforcement. The non-profit organizations get an opportunity to design their decal,” he said. “I just think it's a great opportunity for a lot of organizations. The DOT's excited about it. Law enforcement's happy with it.”

Under the bill, the department – effective Jan. 1, 2014 -- will begin issuing special registration plates with a space reserved for placement of an organization decal to be designed, produced, and issued by a qualifying organization rather than the department. The plates will be available without an additional special plate fee at the time of initial registration of a vehicle, and will be renewed annually upon payment of the regular annual registration fee for the vehicle.

Brase said the idea is modeled after South Dakota's decal vehicle registration plates as a way to slow the proliferation of specialty plates, save DOT design costs, and enable smaller groups that can't meet the minimum paid applications to get their own plates to get some recognition.

Under current law, anyone may submit a request to DOT officials for approval of a new special registration plate with a processed emblem. If the department approves the request and the design of the proposed emblem, a minimum number of paid applications are required before the department begins issuing the plate. The department may cancel its approval if sufficient applications are not received within one year.

The department may establish criteria for decal designs -- including that a decal shall not promote a specific religion, faith, or anti-religious sentiment, shall not have any sexual connotation, and shall not be vulgar, prejudiced, hostile, insulting, or racially or ethnically degrading.

A qualifying organization must be a nonprofit corporation with at least 200 members, whose primary activity or interest serves the community, contributes to the welfare of others and is not discriminatory. A group of such organizations with a common purpose may also be approved to issue a decal.

The bill specifies that organizations that promote a specific product or brand name are not eligible to issue organization decals.

The measure now goes to the Iowa House for consideration.