AL
Alabama Senate Bill SB214

Alabama 2025 Regular Session

Alabama Senate Bill SB214 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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33 SB214
44 ARRL1Q7-1
55 By Senator Elliott
66 RFD: Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development
77 First Read: 04-Mar-25
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1212 5 ARRL1Q7-1 02/27/2025 CMH (L)bm 2025-1061
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1414 First Read: 04-Mar-25
1515 SYNOPSIS:
1616 Under existing law, all motor vehicle license
1717 plate designs are valid for a period of at least five
1818 years.
1919 This bill would make all motor vehicle license
2020 plate designs valid for a period of at least 10 years.
2121 A BILL
2222 TO BE ENTITLED
2323 AN ACT
2424 Relating to motor vehicle licenses and registration; to
2525 amend Sections 32-6-62 and 32-6-64, Code of Alabama 1975, to
2626 extend the minimum validity period of motor vehicle license
2727 plate designs from five years to 10 years.
2828 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
2929 Section 1. Sections 32-6-62 and 32-6-64, Code of
3030 Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
3131 "§32-6-62
3232 (a) Subject to subsection (b), all motor vehicle
3333 license plate designs shall be valid for not less than five10
3434 years. The Commissioner of Revenue, with the approval of the
3535 License Plates Legislative Oversight Committee established by
3636 Section 32-6-67, may authorize a license plate design to be
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6666 Section 32-6-67, may authorize a license plate design to be
6767 valid for more than five10 years.
6868 (b) Subsection (a) shall not affect any law which
6969 designates a license plate design to be permanent."
7070 "§32-6-64
7171 (a)(1) The design of license plates, including all
7272 emblems, slogans, symbols, or characters appearing on the
7373 plates, shall be by rule as adopted by the Commissioner of
7474 Revenue, and as otherwise specified by law. The face of the
7575 license plate to be displayed shall be fully treated with a
7676 reflective material which will increase the nighttime
7777 visibility and legibility of the plate.
7878 (2) Characters on the license plate which designate the
7979 county of issuance shall be numeric, and all numerals on the
8080 license plates shall be no smaller than two and three-fourths
8181 inches in height. The following numbering scheme shall be
8282 used:
8383 a. Jefferson County, 1; Mobile County, 2; Montgomery
8484 County, 3.
8585 b. All other counties shall be ranked alphabetically
8686 and assigned consecutive numbers beginning with 4 and
8787 concluding with 67.
8888 c. The Department of Revenue shall be responsible for
8989 the numbering of distinctive license plates and shall
9090 establish a system to minimize duplication of license plate
9191 numbers. License plates that shall be approved for manufacture
9292 under subsection (b) shall be numbered or personalized.
9393 (b) The sponsoring organization of any new or reissued
9494 distinctive license plate that is not of an in-state college
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124124 distinctive license plate that is not of an in-state college
125125 or in-state university as provided in subsection (b) of
126126 Section 32-6-150, or the Alabama Gold Star Family license
127127 plate as provided in Section 32-6-630 or a military or veteran
128128 related category shall assure a minimum quantity of 250
129129 registrations in order for the proposed plate to qualify for
130130 production consideration by the legislative oversight
131131 committee under the provisions of Section 32-6-67.
132132 (1) The procedure to assure the quantity minimum for a
133133 distinctive license plate shall be as follows:
134134 a. The sponsoring organization shall apply to the
135135 Department of Revenue for approval for the proposed
136136 distinctive license plate from the legislative oversight
137137 committee. A sponsoring organization shall be limited to one
138138 distinctive license plate design per application. At the time
139139 of application, and upon payment of the application fee
140140 required in paragraph b., if applicable, the sponsoring
141141 organization shall submit a design for the plate or logo for
142142 the quantity class being applied for as described below:
143143 1. Quantity Class 1 (250 to 999 registrations). A new
144144 distinctive license plate category, or an existing distinctive
145145 license plate to be reissued, in which registrations are
146146 estimated to be at least 250, but less than 1,000, shall be in
147147 conformity with the design approved by the legislative
148148 oversight committee for license plates in this quantity class.
149149 This plate shall include a space designated on the left side
150150 of the license plate, not exceeding two and one-half inches in
151151 width and height, in which an appropriate emblem, slogan, or
152152 logo design may be applied to represent the organization for
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182182 logo design may be applied to represent the organization for
183183 whom the distinctive license plate is issued. Each proposed
184184 emblem, slogan, symbol, or logo shall be subject to the
185185 approval of the legislative oversight committee.
186186 2. Quantity Class 2 (1,000 or greater registrations).
187187 This quantity class may use the logo system described for
188188 Quantity Class 1, or may use a unique design for the entire
189189 plate which is approved by the legislative oversight committee
190190 and meets all other design and manufacture requirements of
191191 Alabama law.
192192 b. Effective January 1, 2022, each sponsoring
193193 organization shall submit an application fee equal to the cost
194194 of producing the distinctive license plate template not to
195195 exceed one hundred dollars ($100) at the time the initial
196196 application is made, the funds of which shall be distributed
197197 by the Comptroller to the Department of Corrections to cover
198198 the costs of producing the template of the distinctive license
199199 plate for the sponsoring organization. On or before October 1,
200200 2021, and by each October 1 thereafter, the Department of
201201 Corrections shall certify the cost of production to the
202202 legislative oversight committee for the subsequent calendar
203203 year.
204204 c. After the legislative oversight committee approval
205205 and notification to the Department of Revenue, the department
206206 shall also coordinate with the Comptroller to establish
207207 funding procedures for depositing and maintaining monies held
208208 pending issuance of the new category of license plates.
209209 d. Each person desiring to register a vehicle in the
210210 new category shall make application and shall remit, as a
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240240 new category shall make application and shall remit, as a
241241 commitment to purchase, the additional fee associated with the
242242 license plate category in a manner as prescribed by rule of
243243 the Commissioner of Revenue. Any credit card processing fee
244244 associated with the transaction shall be paid by the person
245245 making the commitment to purchase the distinctive license
246246 plate and shall be nonrefundable.
247247 e. The Department of Revenue shall deduct from the
248248 additional fee and retain a two and one-half percent
249249 commission. The balance shall be forwarded to the Comptroller
250250 to be retained in escrow, until such time as the revenue
251251 received is equal to or greater than the minimum amount
252252 required to issue license plates in that category. If, after
253253 one year from the date of notification of approval by the
254254 legislative oversight committee, the number of subscribers for
255255 a category fails to reach 250 for Quantity Class 1, or fails
256256 to reach 1,000 for Quantity Class 2, the Comptroller shall pay
257257 the money in escrow to the sponsoring organization and no
258258 further consideration for production of this proposed
259259 distinctive plate shall be made under this application. In
260260 addition, the sponsoring organization may not submit another
261261 application for a distinctive license plate for a period of
262262 one year from the date the commitment to purchase period
263263 ended.
264264 f. Upon determination by the Department of Revenue that
265265 a sufficient number of applications for a plate category has
266266 been received, the department shall initiate the ordering
267267 processes for design and manufacture of the approved license
268268 plate. At that time, the Comptroller shall pay out of the
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298298 plate. At that time, the Comptroller shall pay out of the
299299 escrow account the amounts referred to in Section 32-6-68.
300300 (2) Notwithstanding any other provisions to the
301301 contrary, except where specifically provided by this
302302 subsection, no distinctive license plates shall be reissued
303303 unless the following requirements are met:
304304 a. For Quantity Class 1 distinctive license plates,
305305 there shall have been issued in the prior license year a
306306 minimum of 250 license plates.
307307 b. For Quantity Class 2 distinctive license plates,
308308 there shall have been issued in the prior license year a
309309 minimum of 1,000 license plates.
310310 (3) The use of distinctive license plate categories
311311 shall be limited to use on passenger cars, pick-up trucks, and
312312 self-propelled campers or house cars.
313313 (c)(1) The Department of Corrections is directed to
314314 supply all license plates and revalidation devices required
315315 under this subdivision. The amounts charged by the Department
316316 of Corrections for the manufacture of revalidation devices
317317 shall not be less than that charged for the manufacture of
318318 license plates on a per item basis.
319319 (2) The Department of Corrections shall maintain an
320320 accurate system of recordkeeping which shall trace and account
321321 for the handling and distribution of each plate and
322322 revalidation device throughout the manufacturing process until
323323 the items are distributed to each county.
324324 (d) After the five-year license plate has been in use
325325 for a period of three years, the Department of Corrections may
326326 manufacture all subsequent license plates for the remaining
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356356 manufacture all subsequent license plates for the remaining
357357 two years of the validity period provided under Section 32-6-62
358358 from a metal of less durability and quality than the metal
359359 used in manufacturing the five-year license plates.
360360 (e)(1) The department shall provide the owner or owners
361361 of a motor vehicle who register a license plate provided in
362362 this subsection the ability to opt-in to authorize the release
363363 of certain personal information or to opt-out to restrict the
364364 release of certain personal information by the department to
365365 the sponsoring organization, college, or university. The
366366 license plates that shall be subject to the opt-in and opt-out
367367 provisions are as follows:
368368 a. A distinctive license plate issued pursuant to this
369369 section.
370370 b. A collegiate or university distinctive license plate
371371 issued pursuant to Section 32-6-150.
372372 c. Other distinctive license plates as authorized by
373373 the legislative oversight committee.
374374 (2) Each owner of the motor vehicle may designate his
375375 or her consent through the opt-in authorization to release
376376 certain personal information included within a motor vehicle
377377 registration record to the sponsoring organization, college,
378378 or university. The opt-in authorization shall be made at the
379379 time of initial registration through the licensing official
380380 for a license plate as specified in subdivision (1).
381381 Subsequent opt-in authorizations shall be made directly to the
382382 department. As used in this subsection, the term personal
383383 information includes only the following information:
384384 a. Owner name.
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414414 a. Owner name.
415415 b. Owner address.
416416 c. Owner email address, if applicable.
417417 (3) Each owner of the motor vehicle may restrict the
418418 release of personal information included within a motor
419419 vehicle registration record for a license plate as specified
420420 in subdivision (1) to the sponsoring organization, college, or
421421 university by selecting to opt-out. The opt-out selection
422422 shall be made directly to the department.
423423 (4) The subsequent opt-in authorization provided in
424424 subdivision (2) and opt-out selection provided in subdivision
425425 (3) shall be made in a manner as prescribed by the department.
426426 (5) The sponsoring organization of the distinctive
427427 license plate or each college or university for which a
428428 distinctive license plate has been issued may make an annual
429429 request to the department for the listing of the owner
430430 authorized opt-in disclosures. The sponsoring organization in
431431 receipt of the listing shall be prohibited from the resale or
432432 disclosure of the information to third parties without written
433433 consent from the owner to whom the information pertains.
434434 (f) All proposed distinctive license plates and the
435435 continued issuance of all existing distinctive license plates
436436 shall be subject to the approval and oversight of the
437437 legislative oversight committee under Section 32-6-67 and this
438438 section, except for the following:
439439 (1) In-state collegiate or in-state university category
440440 license plates.
441441 (2) Military or veteran related category license
442442 plates.
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472472 plates.
473473 (3) Alabama Gold Star Family license plates as provided
474474 in Section 32-6-630.
475475 (g) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no
476476 distinctive license plate shall be issued after five
477477 consecutive years in which the plate has not met the
478478 requirements for reissuance provided in this section. This
479479 subsection does not apply to military or veteran related
480480 categories or Alabama Gold Star Family distinctive license
481481 plates. The Commissioner of Revenue may require persons who
482482 qualify for military and veteran related categories or Alabama
483483 Gold Star Family distinctive license plates to be recertified
484484 not more than every five years by providing the licensing
485485 official with Form DD214 or any other documentation prescribed
486486 by law or rule as evidence of qualification for the license
487487 plate. In the event that Form DD214 or other qualifying
488488 documentation prescribed by law or rule is unavailable, the
489489 applicant shall provide the licensing official with a
490490 certification of eligibility from the Department of Veterans
491491 Affairs after the applicant provides that office with other
492492 authoritative documentation evidencing eligibility for the
493493 license plate.
494494 (h) Any distinctive license plate not created pursuant
495495 to this section shall be subject to the reissuance provisions
496496 of this section and Section 32-6-62 unless specifically
497497 exempted by law, provided the Alabama Gold Star Family
498498 distinctive license plate design in effect on January 1, 2021,
499499 shall not be subject to the redesign provisions of Section
500500 32-6-62.
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530530 32-6-62.
531531 (i) The provisions in Act 2021-407 amending this
532532 section shall not amend the distribution of the additional fee
533533 associated with a distinctive license plate as provided in
534534 Section 32-6-68 or as otherwise provided under Article 2 of
535535 this chapter."
536536 Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
537537 1, 2025.
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