301.3150. Procedure for approval, exceptions--transfer of moneys collected.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

301.3150. Procedure for approval, exceptions--transfer of moneys collected.

Procedure for approval, exceptions--transfer of moneys collected.

301.3150. 1. An organization, other than an organization seeking aspecial military license plate, that seeks authorization to establish a newspecialty license plate shall initially petition the department of revenue bysubmitting the following:

(1) An application in a form prescribed by the director for theparticular specialty license plate being sought, describing the proposedspecialty license plate in general terms and have a sponsor of at least onecurrent member of the general assembly. The application may contain writtentestimony for support of this specialty plate;

(2) Each application submitted pursuant to this section shall beaccompanied by a list of at least two hundred potential applicants who plan topurchase the specialty plate if the specialty plate is approved pursuant tothis section;

(3) An application fee, not to exceed five thousand dollars, to defraythe department's cost for issuing, developing and programming theimplementation of the specialty plate, if authorized; and

(4) All moneys received by the department of revenue, for the reviewingand development of specialty plates shall be deposited in the state treasuryto the credit of the "Department of Revenue Specialty Plate Fund" which ishereby created. The state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund and shallmake disbursements from the fund requested by the Missouri director of revenuefor personal services, expenses, and equipment required to prepare, review,develop, and disseminate a new specialty plate and process the two hundredapplications to be submitted once the plate is approved and to refund depositsfor the application of such specialty plate, if the application is notapproved by the joint committee on transportation oversight and for no otherpurpose.

2. At the end of each state fiscal year, the director of revenue shall:

(1) Determine the amount of all moneys deposited into the department ofrevenue specialty plate fund;

(2) Determine the amount of disbursements from the department of revenuespecialty plate fund which were made to produce the specialty plate andprocess the two hundred applications; and

(3) Subtract the amount of disbursements from the income figure referredto in subdivision (1) of this subsection and deliver this figure to the statetreasurer.

3. The state treasurer shall transfer an amount of money equal to thefigure provided by the director of revenue from the department of revenuespecialty plate fund to the state highway department fund. An unexpendedbalance in the department of revenue specialty plate fund at the end of thebiennium not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars shall be exempt from theprovisions of section 33.080, RSMo, relating to transfer of unexpendedbalances to the general revenue fund.

4. The documents and fees required pursuant to this section shall besubmitted to the department of revenue by July first prior to the next regularsession of the general assembly to be approved or denied by the jointcommittee on transportation oversight during that legislative session.

5. The department of revenue shall give notice of any proposed specialtyplate in a manner reasonably calculated to advise the public of such proposal. Reasonable notice shall include posting the proposal for the specialty plateon the department's official public web site, and making available copies ofthe specialty plate application to any representative of the news media orpublic upon request and posting the application on a bulletin board or otherprominent public place which is easily accessible to the public and clearlydesignated for that purpose at the principal office.

6. Adequate notice conforming with all the requirements of subsection 5of this section shall be given not less than four weeks, exclusive of weekendsand holidays when the facility is closed, after the submission of theapplication by the organization to the department of revenue. Written orelectronic testimony in support or opposition of the proposed specialty plateshall be submitted to the department of revenue by November thirtieth of theyear of filing of the original proposal. All written testimony shall containthe printed name, signature, address, phone number, and e-mail address, ifapplicable, of the individual giving the testimony.

7. The department of revenue shall submit for approval all applicationsfor the development of specialty plates to the joint committee ontransportation oversight during a regular session of the general assembly forapproval.

8. If the specialty license plate requested by an organization isapproved by the joint committee on transportation oversight, the organizationshall submit the proposed art design for the specialty license plate to thedepartment as soon as practicable, but no later than sixty days after theapproval of the specialty license plate. If the specialty license platerequested by the organization is not approved by the joint committee ontransportation oversight, ninety-seven percent of the application fee shall berefunded to the requesting organization.

9. An emblem-use authorization fee may be charged by the organizationprior to the issuance of an approved specialty plate. The organization'sspecialty plate proposal approved by the joint committee on transportationoversight shall state what fee is required to obtain such statement and ifsuch fee is required annually or biennially, if the applicant has a two-yearregistration. An organization applying for specialty plates shall authorizethe use of its official emblem to be affixed on multiyear personalized licenseplates within the plate area prescribed by the director of revenue and asprovided in this section. Any contribution to the organization derived fromthe emblem-use contribution, except reasonable administrative costs, shall beused solely for the purposes of the organization. Any member of theorganization or nonmember, if applicable, may annually apply for the use ofthe emblem, if applicable.

10. The department shall begin production and distribution of each newspecialty license plate within one year after approval of the specialtylicense plate by the joint committee on transportation oversight.

11. The department shall issue a specialty license plate to the ownerwho meets the requirements for issuance of the specialty plate for any motorvehicle such owner owns, either solely or jointly, other than an apportionedmotor vehicle or a commercial motor vehicle licensed in excess of eighteenthousand pounds gross weight.

12. Each new or renewed application for an approved specialty licenseplate shall be made to the department of revenue, accompanied by an additionalfee of fifteen dollars and the appropriate emblem-use authorization statement.

13. The appropriate registration fees, fifteen dollar specialty platefee, processing fees and documents otherwise required for the issuance ofregistration of the motor vehicle as set forth by law must be submitted at thetime the specialty plates are actually issued and renewed or as otherwiseprovided by law. However, no additional fee for the personalization of thisplate shall be charged.

14. Once a specialty plate design is approved, a request for such platemay be made any time during a registration period. If a request is made for aspecialty license plate to replace a current valid license plate, alldocumentation, credits, and fees provided for in this chapter when replacing acurrent license plate shall apply.

15. A vehicle owner who was previously issued a plate with anorganization emblem authorized by this section, but who does not provide anemblem-use authorization statement at a subsequent time of registration ifrequired, shall be issued a new plate which does not bear the organization'semblem, as otherwise provided by law.

16. Specialty license plates shall bear a design approved by theorganization submitting the original application for approval by the jointcommittee on transportation oversight. The design shall be within the platearea prescribed by the director of revenue, and the designated organization'sname or slogan shall be in place of the words "SHOW-ME STATE". Such licenseplates shall be made with fully reflective material with a common colorscheme, shall be clearly visible at night, shall have a reflective whitebackground in the area of the plate configuration, and shall be aestheticallyattractive, as prescribed by section 301.130 and as provided in this section.In addition to a design, the specialty license plates shall be in accordancewith criteria and plate design set forth in this chapter.

17. The department is authorized to discontinue the issuance and renewalof a specialty license plate if the organization has stopped providingservices and emblem-use authorization statements are no longer being issued bythe organization. Such organizations shall notify the department immediatelyto discontinue the issuance of a specialty plate.

18. The organization that requested the specialty license plate shallnot redesign the specialty personalized license plate unless such organizationpays the director in advance all redesigned plate fees. All plate holders ofsuch plates must pay the replacement fees prescribed in section 301.300 forthe replacement of the existing specialty plate. All other applicable licenseplate fees in accordance with this chapter shall be required.