61-3-474. Responsibility for design of generic specialty license plates -- numbering -- rulemaking -- approval -- registration decal -- listing of plate sponsors. (1) The department shall:
     (a) design the background and general format of generic specialty license plates;
     (b) in consultation with the department of corrections, determine which license plate processing system is the most efficient and versatile manufacturing method for the production of generic specialty license plates;
     (c) use a numbering system for generic specialty license plates that is distinctive from the numbering system required under 61-3-332 or used for collegiate license plates;
     (d) adopt rules that prescribe:
     (i) the minimum and maximum number of characters that a generic specialty license plate may display;
     (ii) the general placement of the sponsor's name, identifying phrase, and graphic; and
     (iii) any specifications or limitations on the use or choice of color or detail in the sponsor's graphic design.
     (2) All sponsor names, identifying phrases, and graphics intended for use on generic specialty license plates must be approved by the department prior to the manufacture of the plates.
     (3) Upon the issuance of generic specialty license plates, the department shall provide registration decals bearing the appropriate county designation as provided in 61-3-332. The registration decal must be affixed to the license plates in use in accordance with instructions by the department.
     (4) The department shall maintain a list of the sponsors that have been approved to promote the sale and issuance of generic specialty license plates, the initial distribution date for sale of each sponsored generic specialty license plate, and the donation fee established by the sponsor for each sponsored generic specialty license plate. The department shall, upon request, make copies of this list available to interested members of the public.
     (5) The department may, in its discretion, revoke its previous approval of a sponsor's generic specialty license plate sponsorship if:
     (a) the sponsor fails to comply with the provisions of 61-3-472 through 61-3-481;
     (b) fewer than 400 sets of a sponsor's generic specialty license plate have been sold or renewed in the 12-month period immediately preceding the third anniversary of the date of initial distribution of the sponsored generic specialty license plate; or
     (c) the department has reliable information that the sponsor is no longer qualified for sponsorship under 61-3-472 through 61-3-481.
     (6) (a) Upon revocation of a sponsor's generic specialty license plate sponsorship status, the issuance and sale of the sponsor's generic specialty license plates must be terminated and a donation fee may not be charged or collected upon registration renewal of a vehicle displaying previously issued generic specialty license plates affiliated with that sponsor.
     (b) A person who owns a vehicle displaying valid generic specialty license plates affiliated with a sponsor whose sponsorship status has been revoked may continue to display those generic specialty license plates on the person's vehicle if the vehicle's registration is properly renewed in subsequent years and the plates remain legible.
     (c) Following revocation of a sponsor's sponsorship status, the department may not issue duplicates of generic specialty license plates affiliated with that sponsor that are lost, destroyed, or mutilated.

     History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 402, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 280, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 37, Ch. 592, L. 2003.