LCO No. 4276 1 of 4
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7139
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4276
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT CONCERNING NU MBER PLATES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 14-20b of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2019): 3
(a) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, at the request of any 4
veteran or member of the armed forces or the surviving spouse of such 5
veteran or member, shall register any motor vehicle owned or leased 6
for a period of at least one year by such person and shall issue a special 7
certificate of registration and a set of number plates for each such 8
motor vehicle, including a special certificate of registration and a set of 9
number plates for any motor vehicle used exclusively for farming 10
purposes by any veteran or member of the armed forces, or the 11
surviving spouse of such veteran or member, who is engaged in 12
agricultural production as a trade or business. The plates shall expire 13
and be renewed as provided in section 14-22. The commissioner shall 14
charge a fee for such plates, which fee shall cover the entire cost of 15
making such plates and shall be in addition to the fee for registration 16 Raised Bill No. 7139
LCO No. 4276 2 of 4
of such motor vehicle. As used in this subsection, "member of the 17
armed forces" has the same meaning as provided in section 27-103 and 18
"veteran" [means any person (1) honorably discharged from, or 19
released under honorable conditions from active service in, the armed 20
forces, or (2) with a qualifying condition, as defined in section 27-103, 21
who has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable 22
from active service in the armed forces] has the same meaning as 23
provided in subsection (f) of section 14-36h, as amended by this act. 24
Sec. 2. Subsection (f) of section 14-36h of the general statutes is 25
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 26
October 1, 2019): 27
(f) As used in this section: (1) "Full legal name" means the most 28
complete version of the name that appears on a person's certificate of 29
birth, official passport or other document or documents accepted by 30
the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to verify the person's identity, 31
unless the person presents a marriage license or certificate, a certificate 32
of civil union, a divorce decree or an order of a court of competent 33
jurisdiction pertaining to a permanent change of the person's name; 34
and (2) "veteran" means (A) any person honorably discharged from, or 35
released under honorable conditions from active service in, the armed 36
forces, as defined in section 27-103, (B) any former member of the 37
armed forces who is entitled to retirement pay under 10 USC Chapter 38
1223, as amended from time to time, or, but for age, would be so 39
entitled, [or] (C) any person with a qualifying condition, as defined in 40
section 27-103, who has received a discharge other than bad conduct or 41
dishonorable from active service in the armed forces, or (D) any person 42
who has completed at least twenty years of qualifying service, as 43
described in and computed under 10 USC Chapter 1223, as amended 44
from time to time, in the National Guard or any reserve component of 45
the armed forces of the United States. 46
Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 14-18 of the general statutes is 47
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 48
October 1, 2019): 49 Raised Bill No. 7139
LCO No. 4276 3 of 4
(c) Official number plates when displayed upon motor vehicles shall 50
be entirely unobscured and the numerals and letters thereon shall be 51
plainly legible at all times. Such number plates shall be horizontal, and 52
shall be fastened so as not to swing and, during the time when a motor 53
vehicle is required to display lights, the rear number plate shall be so 54
illuminated as to be legible at a distance of fifty feet. Nothing may be 55
affixed to a motor vehicle or to the official number plates displayed on 56
[such] a motor vehicle that obscures or impairs the visibility of any 57
information on such number plates, except for (1) a trailer hitch 58
installed on the motor vehicle in a customary manner, (2) a 59
transponder or similar device used to pay tolls attached to the motor 60
vehicle in the manner required by the issuing authority, (3) a 61
wheelchair lift or wheelchair carrier that is temporarily attached to the 62
motor vehicle in a customary manner, (4) a trailer being towed by the 63
motor vehicle, or (5) a bicycle or motorcycle rack that is temporarily 64
attached to the motor vehicle in a customary manner. Not more than 65
one number plate shall be displayed on the front or rear of any motor 66
vehicle in operation upon the public highways of the state; provided 67
any motor vehicle may, upon permission of the commissioner, display 68
more than one number plate in front or rear, subject to such conditions 69
as the commissioner prescribes. If any number plate supplied by the 70
commissioner is lost, or if the registered number thereon becomes 71
mutilated or illegible, the owner of or the person in control of the 72
motor vehicle for which such number plate was furnished shall 73
immediately place a temporary number plate bearing [said] such 74
registration number upon such motor vehicle, which temporary 75
number plate shall conform to the regular number plate and shall be 76
displayed as nearly as possible as [herein] provided in this section for 77
such regular number plate; and such owner shall, within forty-eight 78
hours after such loss or mutilation of the number plate, give notice 79
thereof to the commissioner and apply for a new number plate. The 80
commissioner may issue a permit to operate with such temporary plate 81
and shall supply new number plates upon payment of the fee therefor 82
as provided in section 14-50a. Upon receipt of such new number plates 83
and new certificate, the remaining old number plate, if any, and 84 Raised Bill No. 7139
LCO No. 4276 4 of 4
certificate shall be surrendered to the commissioner. 85
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 14-20b(a)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 14-36h(f)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2019 14-18(c)
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) permit a person with at least twenty years of qualifying service
in the National Guard or any reserve component of the armed forces of
the United States to receive number plates for veterans and an
operator's license or identity card that indicates such person's status as
a veteran, and (2) provide for certain exceptions when the number
plate of a motor vehicle is obstructed.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]