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General Assembly Corrected Copy
Committee Bill No. 6734
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5713
Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AND MILITARY
AFFAIRS
Introduced by:
(VA)
AN ACT REDUCING FOR VETERANS AND MEMBERS OF THE
ARMED FORCES THE FEE FOR CERTAIN SPECIALTY MOTOR
VEHICLE NUMBER PLATES TO NOT MORE THAN THE COST TO
MAKE SUCH PLATES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 14-20b of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 2
(a) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, at the request of any veteran 3
or member of the armed forces or the surviving spouse of such veteran 4
or member, shall register any motor vehicle owned or leased for a period 5
of at least one year by such person and shall issue a special certificate of 6
registration and a set of number plates for each such motor vehicle, 7
including a special certificate of registration and a set of number plates 8
for any motor vehicle used exclusively for farming purposes by any 9
such veteran or member of the armed forces, or the surviving spouse of 10
such veteran or member, who is engaged in agricultural production as 11
a trade or business. The plates shall expire and be renewed as provided 12 Committee Bill No. 6734
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in section 14-22. The commissioner shall charge a fee for such plates, 13
which fee shall [cover] be not more than the entire cost of making such 14
plates and shall be in addition to the fee for registration of such motor 15
vehicle. The commissioner shall charge a fee of fifteen dollars to replace 16
such plates that become mutilated or illegible. Any such member of the 17
armed forces who is dishonorably discharged shall return such plates to 18
the commissioner not later than thirty days after such discharge. The 19
commissioner shall not renew such plates for any motor vehicle owned 20
or leased by any such member of the armed forces who is dishonorably 21
discharged. 22
(b) (1) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, at the request of any 23
person who was a member of the Hmong Laotian special guerilla units, 24
which units served in the United States secret war in the Kingdom of 25
Laos during the Vietnam War, or any person who is an eligible former 26
reservist, or the surviving spouse of any such person, and after 27
verification from the Department of Veterans Affairs as provided under 28
subdivision (2) or (3), as applicable, of this subsection, shall register any 29
motor vehicle owned or leased for a period of at least one year by such 30
person and shall issue a special certificate of registration and a set of 31
number plates for each such motor vehicle, including a special certificate 32
of registration and a set of number plates for any motor vehicle used 33
exclusively for farming purposes by any such person, or the surviving 34
spouse of such person, who is engaged in agricultural production as a 35
trade or business. The plates shall expire and be renewed as provided 36
in section 14-22. The commissioner shall charge a fee for such plates, 37
which fee shall [cover] be not more than the entire cost of making such 38
plates and shall be in addition to the fee for registration of such motor 39
vehicle. 40
(2) Any person who was a member of the Hmong Laotian special 41
guerilla units, or the surviving spouse of such person, may submit a 42
request to the Department of Veterans Affairs to be listed as a veteran, 43
based on such person's service during the Vietnam War, for the purpose 44
of obtaining a special certificate of registration and a set of number 45
plates under subdivision (1) of this subsection. Such person, or the 46 Committee Bill No. 6734
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surviving spouse of such person, shall provide to said department (A) 47
an affidavit stating (i) when such person served, (ii) where such person 48
served, (iii) the unit in which such person served, and (iv) the capacity 49
in which such person served; (B) any available corroborating witness 50
affidavits; (C) any available official documentation of service; and (D) 51
any other documents supporting such person's or such surviving 52
spouse's affidavit. Said department shall, not later than thirty days after 53
receipt of such request, verify whether such person was a member of the 54
Hmong Laotian special guerilla units and, if so verified, notify the 55
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of such request and verification. 56
(3) (A) Any person who is an eligible former reservist, or the 57
surviving spouse of such person, may submit a request to the 58
Department of Veterans Affairs to be listed as a veteran, based on such 59
person's service in a reserve component of the armed forces, for the 60
purpose of obtaining a special certificate of registration and a set of 61
number plates under subdivision (1) of this subsection. Such person, or 62
the surviving spouse of such person, shall provide to said department 63
all available official documentation of such service. Said department 64
shall, not later than thirty days after receipt of such request, verify such 65
person's service and, if so verified, notify the Commissioner of Motor 66
Vehicles of such request and verification. 67
(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this 68
subsection or subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, neither the issuance 69
of such registration and number plates to a person by the Commissioner 70
of Motor Vehicles nor the listing of such person as a veteran by the 71
Commissioner of Veterans Affairs shall constitute proof of such person's 72
eligibility for any other benefit available to veterans. 73
(c) As used in this section, "eligible former reservist" means any 74
person honorably discharged from, released under honorable 75
conditions from or released with an other than honorable discharge 76
based on a qualifying condition from, the United States Army Reserve, 77
Army National Guard, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Coast 78
Guard Reserve, Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard; and "veteran", 79 Committee Bill No. 6734
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"armed forces" and "qualifying condition" have the same meanings as 80
provided in section 27-103. 81
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 14-20d of the general statutes is 82
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 83
2025): 84
(b) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall, at the request of any 85
veteran or member of the armed forces who received a campaign medal, 86
issue special registration number plates to indicate service during a 87
period of war. Such plates shall bear the words "(Name of War) Veteran" 88
and shall be designed in consultation with the Commissioner of 89
Veterans Affairs. The plates shall expire and be renewed as provided in 90
section 14-22. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall charge a fee for 91
such plates, which fee shall [cover] be not more than the entire cost of 92
making such plates and shall be in addition to the fee for registration of 93
such motor vehicle. No use shall be made of such plates except as official 94
registration number plates. 95
Sec. 3. Section 14-19a of the general statutes is repealed and the 96
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 97
(a) (1) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall adopt regulations 98
in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to establish [(1)] (A) 99
standards for the issuance of a special certificate of registration and 100
special number plates to a member of an organization which qualifies 101
for issuance, [(2)] (B) qualifications of organizations whose members 102
wish to apply for such special registrations, [(3)] (C) procedures for 103
application for such special registration, and [(4)] (D) except as provided 104
in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a fee for such special number plates 105
which shall cover at least the entire cost of making the plates and which 106
shall be in addition to the fee for registration of the motor vehicle. The 107
regulations shall provide that a labor union shall be a qualifying 108
organization. 109
(2) In the case of any veteran or member of the armed forces, as those 110
terms are defined in section 27-103, who applies for any of the following 111 Committee Bill No. 6734
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special number plates and who is eligible to apply for such plate, the fee 112
for such plate shall be not more than the entire cost of making such plate 113
and shall be in addition to the fee for registration of the motor vehicle: 114
(A) Disabled American Veterans plate; (B) Greater Hartford Chapter of 115
the Eighty-Second Airborne plate; (C) Iwo Jima Survivor plate; (D) 116
Korean War Veterans Association plate; (E) Laos Veterans of America 117
plate; (F) Marine Corps League plate; (G) Military Order of the Purple 118
Heart plate; (H) National Guard Association of Connecticut (active) 119
plate; (I) National Guard Association of Connecticut (retired) plate; (J) 120
Pearl Harbor 1941 Survivor plate; and (K) United States Submarine 121
Veterans plate. 122
(b) The Department of Motor Vehicles, in consultation with the Board 123
of Regents for Higher Education, shall adopt regulations, in accordance 124
with the provisions of chapter 54, to establish standards for the issuance 125
and renewal of collegiate special number plates with the logos or 126
emblems of Connecticut public and independent institutions of higher 127
education. 128
(c) On or after July 1, 2004, the commissioner may issue special 129
certificates of registration and special number plates in accordance with 130
the regulations adopted under subsection (a) of this section provided 131
the commissioner may not issue a set of special number plates bearing 132
the same numerals as any other plate issued by the department. The 133
commissioner may discontinue the issuance of any such special number 134
plates issued for a qualified organization, or special plates issued in 135
accordance with the provisions of sections 14-19b and 14-21f to 14-21p, 136
inclusive, at any time, upon written notice to the organization if, in the 137
opinion of the commissioner, the demand for such plates is insufficient 138
to support the costs of production. 139
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 14-20b
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 14-20d(b)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2025 14-19a Committee Bill No. 6734
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VA Joint Favorable