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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to private vendor license plate sales; 2
amending s. 320.06, F.S.; conforming provisions to 3
changes made by the act; creating s. 320.08049, F.S.; 4
requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 5
Vehicles to contract with a private vendor through 6
competitive solicitation by a certain date for a 7
specified purpose; specifying license plates that must 8
and may be marketed and sold through the private 9
vendor; specifying requirements for, and authorized 10
and prohibited provisions in, the contract; 11
prohibiting the private vendor from marketing and 12
selling certain specialty license plates; authorizing 13
the department to temporarily operate the program 14
under certain circumstances; amending s. 320.0805, 15
F.S.; specifying personalized prestige license pla te 16
application requirements for multiyear plates; 17
requiring a vendor processing fee for certain 18
personalized prestige license plate applications; 19
requiring the department to authorize persons issued 20
certain multiyear plates to transfer their license to 21
display alphanumeric patterns; authorizing the 22
department to provide by rule for a private vendor to 23
take specified actions relating to auctioning a 24
license to display an alphanumeric pattern; providing 25
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that certain licenses to display alphanumeric patterns 26
may be transferred; conforming provisions to changes 27
made by the act; amending s. 320.08053, F.S.; 28
authorizing the department and the Legislative Budget 29
Commission to jointly approve certain new specialty 30
license plates; requiring the department and the 31
commission to jointly develop a certain review process 32
within a certain timeframe; authorizing the department 33
to approve certain new specialty license plates at its 34
sole discretion; providing that the method for 35
specialty license plate presales must authorize the 36
private vendor to conduct presales; specifying the 37
minimum specialty license plate presale voucher 38
requirement for plates marketed and sold by a private 39
vendor; providing applicability; conforming provisions 40
to changes made by the act; amending s. 320 .08056, 41
F.S.; authorizing the department to approve new 42
designs and color combinations for certain specialty 43
license plates; providing that certain design and 44
color combinations remain the property of the 45
department; authorizing the department to publicly 46
publish certain proposed designs or color combinations 47
in a certain manner; prohibiting the department from 48
restricting certain background colors, color 49
combinations, or color plate numbers; providing 50
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construction; requiring the department to approve 51
certain plates for issuance for a term within a 52
specified range; authorizing the department to cancel 53
a specialty license plate or require its 54
discontinuation under certain circumstances; 55
authorizing certain specialty license plate 56
organizations to have their p lates marketed and sold 57
by the private vendor; requiring that certain paid 58
deposits and fees be credited toward the private 59
vendor; providing that certain dealer and fleet 60
specialty license plates may be ordered directly from 61
the private vendor; specifying requirements for 62
requests for multiyear plates; requiring a vendor 63
processing fee for certain requests; specifying 64
minimum specialty plate registrations for plates 65
marketed and sold by the private vendor; providing 66
applicability; conforming provisions to changes made 67
by the act; amending s. 320.08058, F.S.; conforming a 68
cross-reference; reenacting s. 320.08068(7), F.S., 69
relating to motorcycle specialty license plates, to 70
incorporate the amendment to s. 320.0805, F.S., in a 71
reference thereto; providing an e ffective date. 72
73
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 74
75
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Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 76
320.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 77
320.06 Registration certificates, license plates, and 78
validation stickers generally.— 79
(1) 80
(b)1. Except as provided in ss. 320.0805(1) and 81
320.08056(3), registration license plates bearing a graphic 82
symbol and the alphanumeric system of identification shall be 83
issued for a 10-year period. At the end of the 10 -year period, 84
upon renewal, the plate shall be replaced. The department shall 85
extend the scheduled license plate replacement date from a 6 -86
year period to a 10-year period. The fee for such replacement is 87
$28, $2.80 of which shall be paid each year before the plate is 88
replaced, to be credited toward the next $28 replacement fee. 89
The fees shall be deposited into the Highway Safety Operating 90
Trust Fund. A credit or refund may not be given for any prior 91
years' payments of the prorated replacement fee if the plate is 92
replaced or surrendered before the end of the 10 -year period, 93
except that a credit may be given if a registrant is required by 94
the department to replace a license plate under s. 95
320.08056(11)(a) s. 320.08056(8)(a). With each license plate, a 96
validation sticker sh all be issued showing the owner's birth 97
month, license plate number, and the year of expiration or the 98
appropriate renewal period if the owner is not a natural person. 99
The validation sticker shall be placed on the upper right corner 100
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of the license plate. T he license plate and validation sticker 101
shall be issued based on the applicant's appropriate renewal 102
period. The registration period is 12 months, the extended 103
registration period is 24 months, and all expirations occur 104
based on the applicant's appropriate registration period. Rental 105
vehicles taxed pursuant to s. 320.08(6)(a) may elect a permanent 106
registration period, provided payment of the appropriate license 107
taxes and fees occurs annually. A vehicle that has an 108
apportioned registration shall be issued an annual license plate 109
and a cab card that denote the declared gross vehicle weight for 110
each apportioned jurisdiction in which the vehicle is authorized 111
to operate. 112
2. In order to retain the efficient administration of the 113
taxes and fees imposed by this c hapter, the 80-cent fee increase 114
in the replacement fee imposed by chapter 2009 -71, Laws of 115
Florida, is negated as provided in s. 320.0804. 116
Section 2. Section 320.08049, Florida Statutes, is created 117
to read: 118
320.08049 Marketing and sale of personaliz ed prestige 119
license plates and specialty license plates through private 120
vendor; contract with department. — 121
(1) By January 1, 2023, the department shall enter into a 122
contract with a private vendor through the competitive 123
solicitation process pursuant to c hapter 287, as determined from 124
competitive sealed proposals that satisfy the requirements of 125
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this section, for the marketing and sale through the private 126
vendor of personalized prestige license plates under s. 320.0805 127
and specialty license plates under s. 320.08056 issued for a 128
term of 1 to 10 years. 129
(2) Specialty license plates marketed and sold through the 130
private vendor must include specialty license plates approved 131
under s. 320.08053(1)(b) and those created under s. 320.08058 on 132
or after January 1, 2 023; and, at the request of the sponsoring 133
specialty license plate organization, must include an existing 134
specialty license plate created in s. 320.08058 before January 135
1, 2023. 136
(3) The department's contract with the private vendor may 137
provide for the vendor to host all or some of the specialty 138
license plates on the vendor's website and process the purchase 139
of personalized prestige license plates and of specialty license 140
plates hosted on the vendor's website. The contract: 141
(a) Must comply with any law g enerally applicable to a 142
contract for services entered into by the department. 143
(b) Must establish reasonable vendor processing fees to be 144
retained by the private vendor pursuant to ss. 320.0805(2)(d) 145
and 320.08056(6)(e). 146
(c) Must require the private vendor to submit, at least 147
quarterly, to the department periodic accounts that accurately 148
detail all material transactions, including information 149
reasonably required by the department to verify fees collected 150
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by the vendor and the remittance of all money payable to the 151
department under the contract. 152
(d) Must allow or require the private vendor to establish 153
an electronic infrastructure, coordinated and compatible with 154
the department's registration system, by which motor vehicl e 155
owners may electronically send and receive applications, other 156
documents, or required payments and which, when secure access is 157
necessary, can be electronically validated by the department. 158
(e) Must provide for the department to recover all costs 159
incurred by the department in implementing this section. Under 160
the contract, the department may require the private vendor to 161
reimburse the department in advance for up to 50 percent of the 162
department's anticipated costs in connection with the contract 163
and the department's anticipated costs in connection with the 164
introduction of a new specialty license plate. 165
(f) May not authorize the department to: 166
1. Unreasonably disapprove or limit any aspect of the 167
private vendor's marketing and sales plan; 168
2. Unreasonably interfere with the selection, assignment, 169
or management of the private vendor or the private vendor's 170
employees, agents, or subcontractors; or 171
3. Require the private vendor to market and sell a 172
specialty license plate or personalized prestige licens e plate. 173
(4) A contract under this section must be for an initial 174
term of at least 5 years from the effective date of the 175
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contract. The contract may provide, with the agreement of the 176
department and the private vendor, a second term or subsequent 177
terms at least equal in duration to the initial term of the 178
contract. 179
(5) The private vendor may not market or sell a specialty 180
license plate that competes directly for sales with another 181
specialty license plate unless approved by the department and 182
the sponsoring specialty license plate organization of the other 183
specialty license plate. 184
(6) If the private vendor ceases operations, the program 185
may be operated temporarily by the department under new 186
agreements with sponsoring specialty license plate organizatio ns 187
until another private vendor is selected and begins operations. 188
Section 3. Section 320.0805, Florida Statutes, is amended 189
to read: 190
320.0805 Personalized prestige license plates. — 191
(1) The department shall issue a personalized prestige 192
license plate to the owner or lessee of any motor vehicle, 193
except a vehicle registered under the International Registration 194
Plan or a commercial truck required to display two license 195
plates pursuant to s. 320.0706, upon application and payment of 196
the appropriate lice nse tax and fees. Pursuant to s. 320.08049, 197
the department shall enter into a contract with a private vendor 198
for the right to market and sell personalized prestige license 199
plates issued for a term of 1 to 10 years. 200
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(2) Each request for specific numbers o r letters or 201
combinations thereof shall be submitted annually to the 202
department on an application form supplied by the department . 203
The request must be made annually for a single -year plate or in 204
the last year of the term for a multiyear plate sold by the 205
private vendor. The request must be , accompanied by the 206
following tax and fees: 207
(a) The license tax required for the vehicle, as set forth 208
in s. 320.08. For a multiyear plate sold by the private vendor, 209
the request must include the tax for each of the yea rs of the 210
term. 211
(b) A prestige plate annual use fee of $10. For a 212
multiyear plate sold by the private vendor, the request must 213
include the annual use fee for each of the years of the term. 214
(c) A processing fee of $5, to be deposited into the 215
Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund. 216
(d) For a personalized prestige license plate established 217
by the private vendor, the vendor processing fee established in 218
s. 320.08049(3)(b), to be retained by the private vendor. 219
(3) The department shall review each applicat ion 220
requesting a personalized prestige license plate and, if 221
requested numerals or letters or combinations thereof are 222
available have not been previously assigned or issued to any 223
other applicant, and if the required tax and fees have been 224
submitted, the department must shall issue and deliver the 225
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requested personalized prestige license plate to the applicant. 226
(4) The department is authorized to reject requests deemed 227
by it to be objectionable, and the department is further 228
authorized to recall , during a registration period, any issued 229
personalized license plate determined by it to be obscene or 230
otherwise objectionable during the term of the plate . 231
(5) Any application rejected by the department shall be 232
returned to the applicant, along with the tax and f ees 233
submitted, within 15 days after the receipt of the application. 234
If any personalized license plate is recalled within its term a 235
current registration period , the department shall refund the 236
prestige plate use fee of $10, the special fee of 50 cents, and 237
the portion of the license tax, computed on a monthly basis, for 238
the unused balance of the term registration period. 239
(6) A personalized prestige license plate shall be issued 240
for the exclusive continuing use of the applicant , except as 241
provided in paragraph (7)(b) or subsection (10) . An exact 242
duplicate of any plate may not be issued to any other applicant 243
during the same term registration period. An exact duplicate may 244
not be issued for any succeeding term year unless the previous 245
owner of a specific plate relinquishes it by failure to apply 246
for renewal or reissuance for 1 year following the last year of 247
the term or by transferring it pursuant to paragraph (7)(b) or 248
subsection (10) issuance. 249
(7)(a) If a vehicle owner who has been issued a 250
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personalized prestige license plate acquires a replacement 251
vehicle within the plate term a registration period , the 252
department shall authorize a transfer of a prestige license 253
plate to the replacement vehicle in accordance wit h the 254
provisions of s. 320.0609. There will be no refund of the annual 255
use fee or processing fee. 256
(b) The department shall authorize a person issued a 257
multiyear plate sold by the private vendor to transfer the 258
license to display the alphanumeric pattern to another person. 259
(8)(a) Alphanumeric patterns for personalized prestige 260
license plates shall consist of three types of patterns, plates 261
as follows: 262
1. A plate imprinted with numerals only. Such plates shall 263
consist of numerals from 1 to 999, inclusiv e. 264
2. A plate imprinted with capital letters only. Such 265
plates shall consist of capital letters "A" through "Z" and 266
shall be limited to a total of seven of the same or different 267
capital letters. A hyphen may be added in addition to the seven 268
letters. 269
3. A plate imprinted with both capital letters and 270
numerals. Such plates shall consist of no more than a total of 271
seven characters, including both numerals and capital letters, 272
in any combination, except that a hyphen may be added in 273
addition to the seven c haracters if desired or needed. However, 274
on those plates issued to, and bearing the names of, 275
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organizations, the letters and numerals shall be of such size, 276
if necessary, as to accommodate a maximum of 18 digits for 277
automobiles, trucks, and recreational ve hicles and 7 digits for 278
motorcycles. Plates consisting of the four capital letters 279
"PRES" preceded or followed by a hyphen and numerals of 1 to 999 280
shall be reserved for issuance only to applicants who qualify as 281
members of the press and who are associated with, or are 282
employees of, the reporting media. 283
(b) Personalized prestige plates must be of the same 284
material, size, and distinctive color as any license plates 285
authorized by this chapter and issued by the state for any term 286
registration period; however, the imprinting of personalized 287
prestige license plates shall be limited solely to the 288
following: 289
1. The letters or numerals or combination of both 290
requested by the applicant must be stamped in large bold letters 291
and numerals, limited to the number of characters based on the 292
specific design of the plate requested by the applicant. 293
2. The word "Florida" must be stamped across the bottom of 294
the plate in small letters, unless the word "Florida" is 295
required to be stamped across the top of the plate accord ing to 296
the specific design of the plate. 297
(9) The annual use fee generated pursuant to this section 298
shall be distributed pursuant to s. 320.20. 299
(10)(a) The department may provide by rule for the private 300
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vendor to: 301
1. Sell at auction a license to displ ay a unique 302
alphanumeric pattern on a personalized prestige license plate 303
for a period set by department rule; 304
2. Reserve an unissued alphanumeric pattern from the 305
department for purposes of auctioning a license to display the 306
pattern for a period set by department rule; 307
3. Purchase from a person an unexpired license to display 308
an alphanumeric pattern for purposes of auction by the private 309
vendor; and 310
4. Sell at auction, on behalf of a person with an 311
unexpired license to display an alphanumeric patter n, the 312
person's license. 313
(b) A license to display an alphanumeric pattern purchased 314
under this subsection may be transferred to another person. 315
Section 4. Section 320.08053, Florida Statutes, is amended 316
to read: 317
320.08053 Establishment of specialty license plates.— 318
(1)(a) If a specialty license plate requested by an 319
organization is approved by law or is approved pursuant to 320
paragraph (b), the organization must submit the proposed art 321
design for the specialty license plate to the department, in a 322
medium prescribed by the department, as soon as practicable, but 323
no later than 60 days after the act approving the specialty 324
license plate becomes a law or 60 days after the date of the 325
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joint approval under paragraph (b) . 326
(b) The department and the Legisl ative Budget Commission 327
may jointly approve new specialty license plates requested by an 328
organization which will be marketed and sold through a private 329
vendor pursuant to s. 320.08056. Within 90 days after the 330
department enters into the contract with the p rivate vendor 331
under s. 320.08049, the department and the Legislative Budget 332
Commission shall jointly develop a process for the review of a 333
request for a new specialty license plate. The process must 334
provide for the approval or denial of new plate designs w ithin 335
90 days after submission. At its sole discretion, the department 336
may approve new specialty license plates marketed and sold 337
through the private vendor which are not requested by, or do not 338
represent, an organization. 339
(2)(a) Within 120 days after th e specialty license plate 340
becomes law or is approved pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) , the 341
department shall establish a method to issue a specialty license 342
plate voucher to allow for the presale of the specialty license 343
plate. The method must authorize the pri vate vendor to conduct 344
presales. The processing fee as prescribed in s. 320.08056, the 345
service charge and branch fee as prescribed in s. 320.04, and 346
the annual use fee as prescribed in s. 320.08056 , and, if 347
applicable, the vendor processing fee prescribed in s. 320.08056 348
shall be charged for the voucher. All other applicable fees 349
shall be charged at the time of issuance of the license plates. 350
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(b) Within 24 months after the presale specialty license 351
plate voucher is established, the approved specialty lice nse 352
plate organization must record with the department a minimum of : 353
1. Three thousand 3,000 voucher sales;, or 354
2. In the case of an out -of-state college or university 355
license plate, 4,000 voucher sales ; or 356
3. In the case of a specialty license plate marketed and 357
sold by a private vendor, 200 voucher sales , 358
359
before manufacture of the license plate may commence. If, at the 360
conclusion of the 24 -month presale period, the minimum sales 361
requirement has not been met, the specialty plate is 362
deauthorized and the department shall discontinue development of 363
the plate and discontinue issuance of the presale vouchers. Upon 364
deauthorization of the license plate or if the plate has met the 365
presale requirement but has not been issued, a purchaser of the 366
license plate voucher may use the annual use fee collected as a 367
credit towards any other specialty license plate or apply for a 368
refund on a form prescribed by the department. 369
(3)(a) New specialty license plates that have been 370
approved by law but are awaiting issuance under paragraph (b) 371
shall be issued in the order they appear in s. 320.08058 372
provided that they have met the presale requirement. All other 373
provisions of this section must also be met before a specialty 374
license plate may be issued. If the next awaiting spe cialty 375
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license plate has not met the presale requirement, the 376
department shall proceed in the order provided in s. 320.08058 377
to identify the next qualified specialty license plate that has 378
met the presale requirement. The department shall cycle through 379
the list in statutory order. 380
(b) If the Legislature has approved 150 or more specialty 381
license plates, the department may not issue any new specialty 382
license plates until a sufficient number of plates are 383
discontinued pursuant to s. 320.08056(11) s. 320.08056(8) such 384
that the number of plates being issued does not exceed 150. 385
Notwithstanding s. 320.08056(11)(a) s. 320.08056(8)(a), the 150-386
license-plate limit includes license plates above the minimum 387
sales threshold and those exempt from that threshold. 388
(c) This subsection does not apply to specialty license 389
plates approved pursuant to paragraph (1)(b). 390
Section 5. Section 320.08056, Florida Statutes, is amended 391
to read: 392
320.08056 Specialty license plates. — 393
(1) The department is responsible for develo ping the 394
specialty license plates authorized in s. 320.08053 and shall 395
enter into a contact with a private vendor pursuant to s. 396
320.08049 for the right to market and sell specialty license 397
plates. 398
(2)(a) The department may approve new designs and color 399
combinations for a specialty license plate approved by law which 400
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is marketed and sold by the private vendor. Each approved 401
license plate design and color combination remains the property 402
of the department. 403
(b) Each approved license plate design and color 404
combination jointly approved by the department and the 405
Legislative Budget Commission or approved by the department 406
under s. 320.08053(1)(b) remains the property of the department. 407
(c) The department may publish for public comment on its 408
website for up to 10 days a proposed design or color combination 409
for a specialty license plate marketed or sold by the private 410
vendor. The department may not restrict the background color, 411
color combinations, or the color of alphanumeric license plate 412
numbers of such a sp ecialty license plate, except as determined 413
by the department as necessary for law enforcement purposes. 414
(d) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, this 415
subsection does not authorize the approval of a new design or 416
color combination for a specialty license plate that is 417
inconsistent with the design or color combination specified for 418
the license plate by s. 320.08058, and this subsection does not 419
authorize the private vendor to market or sell a specialty 420
license plate with a design or color combination that is 421
inconsistent with the design or color combination specified in 422
s. 320.08058. 423
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, a specialty license 424
plate marketed and sold by the private vendor must be approved 425
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by the department for issuance for a te rm of 1 to 10 years. 426
Subject to the limitations provided in subsection (11) and s. 427
320.08053(2)(b), the department may cancel a specialty license 428
plate or require the discontinuation of a specialty license 429
plate design or color combination that is marketed and sold by 430
the private vendor under contract at any time if the department 431
determines that the cancellation or discontinuation is in the 432
best interest of this state or the motoring public. 433
(4) An organization to which specialty license plate 434
annual use fees are distributed under s. 320.08058 on or before 435
June 30, 2022, may elect to have its respective specialty 436
license plate marketed and sold by the private vendor after July 437
1, 2022. Any previously paid deposit or fee shall be credited 438
toward the private vendor for the term to which it applies. 439
(5)(a) The department shall issue a specialty license 440
plate to the owner or lessee of any motor vehicle, except a 441
vehicle registered under the International Registration Plan, a 442
commercial truck required to disp lay two license plates pursuant 443
to s. 320.0706, or a truck tractor, upon request and payment of 444
the appropriate license tax and fees. 445
(b) The department may authorize dealer and fleet 446
specialty license plates. With the permission of the sponsoring 447
specialty license plate organization, a dealer or fleet company 448
may purchase specialty license plates to be used on dealer and 449
fleet vehicles. 450
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(c) Notwithstanding s. 320.08058, a dealer or fleet 451
specialty license plate must include the letters "DLR" or "FLT" 452
on the right side of the license plate. Dealer and fleet 453
specialty license plates must be ordered directly from the 454
department unless marketed and sold by the private vendor, in 455
which case they may be ordered directly from the vendor . 456
(6)(3) Each request must be made annually to the 457
department or an authorized agent serving on behalf of the 458
department. The request must be made annually for a single -year 459
plate or in the last year of the term for a multiyear plate sold 460
by the private vendor. The request must be, accompanied by the 461
following tax and fees: 462
(a) The license tax required for the vehicle as set forth 463
in s. 320.08. For a multiyear plate sold by the private vendor, 464
the request must include the tax for each of the years of the 465
term. 466
(b) A processing fee of $5, to be deposited into the 467
Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund. 468
(c) A license plate fee as required by s. 320.06(1)(b). 469
(d) Unless the amount of an annual use fee is otherwise 470
specified in subsection (7) (4) for a particular specialty 471
license plate, an annual use fee of $25 for any specialty 472
license plate that is required to be developed under s. 473
320.08058. For a multiyear plate sold by the private vendor, the 474
request must include the annual use fee for each of the years of 475
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the term. 476
(e) For a specialty license plate established by the 477
private vendor, the vendor processing fee established in s. 478
320.08049(3)(b), to be retained by the private vendor. 479
480
A request may be made any time during a registration period. If 481
a request is made for a spec ialty license plate to replace a 482
current valid license plate, the specialty license plate must be 483
issued with appropriate decals attached at no tax for the plate, 484
but all fees and service charges must be paid. If a request is 485
made for a specialty license p late at the beginning of the 486
registration period, the tax, together with all applicable fees 487
and service charges, must be paid. 488
(7)(4) The following license plate annual use fees shall 489
be collected for the appropriate specialty license plates: 490
(a) Challenger/Columbia license plate, $25, except that a 491
person who purchases 1,000 or more of such license plates shall 492
pay an annual use fee of $15 per plate. 493
(b) Florida Salutes Veterans license plate, $15. 494
(c) Florida United States Olympic Committee licen se plate, 495
$15. 496
(d) Florida Special Olympics license plate, $15. 497
(e) Florida educational license plate, $20. 498
(f) Florida Indian River Lagoon license plate, $15. 499
(g) Invest in Children license plate, $20. 500
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(h) Florida arts license plate, $20. 501
(i) Florida Agricultural license plate, $20. 502
(j) Police Athletic League license plate, $20. 503
(k) Boy Scouts of America license plate, $20. 504
(l) Sea Turtle license plate, $23. 505
(m) Protect Wild Dolphins license plate, $20. 506
(n) Everglades River of Grass l icense plate, $20. 507
(o) Tampa Bay Estuary license plate, $15. 508
(p) Florida Wildflower license plate, $15. 509
(q) United States Marine Corps license plate, $15. 510
(r) Choose Life license plate, $20. 511
(s) Share the Road license plate, $15. 512
(t) Florida Firefighters license plate, $20. 513
(u) Police Benevolent Association license plate, $20. 514
(v) Military Services license plate, $15. 515
(w) Fish Florida license plate, $22. 516
(x) Save Our Seas license plate, $25, except that for an 517
owner purchasing the spec ialty license plate for more than 10 518
vehicles registered to that owner, the annual use fee shall be 519
$10 per plate. 520
(y) Aquaculture license plate, $25, except that for an 521
owner purchasing the specialty license plate for more than 10 522
vehicles registered to that owner, the annual use fee shall be 523
$10 per plate. 524
(8)(5) If a vehicle owner or lessee to whom the department 525
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has issued a specialty license plate acquires a replacement 526
vehicle within the owner's registration period, the department 527
must authorize a transfer of the specialty license plate to the 528
replacement vehicle in accordance with s. 320.0609. The annual 529
use fee or processing fee may not be refunded. 530
(9)(6) Except as otherwise provided in this section, 531
specialty license plates must bear the desi gn required by law 532
for the appropriate specialty license plate , and the designs and 533
colors must conform to the department's design specifications. 534
In addition to a design, the specialty license plates may bear 535
the imprint of numerals from 1 to 999, inclusi ve, capital 536
letters "A" through "Z," or a combination thereof. The 537
department shall determine the maximum number of characters, 538
including both numerals and letters. All specialty license 539
plates must be otherwise of the same material and size as 540
standard license plates issued for any registration period. A 541
specialty license plate may bear an appropriate slogan, emblem, 542
or logo in a size and placement that conforms to the 543
department's design specifications. The sponsoring 544
organization's Internet domain name m ay appear on the plate. 545
(10)(7) The department shall annually retain from the 546
first proceeds derived from the annual use fees collected an 547
amount sufficient to defray each specialty plate's pro rata 548
share of the department's costs directly related to the 549
specialty license plate program. Such costs shall include 550
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inventory costs, distribution costs, direct costs to the 551
department, costs associated with reviewing each organization's 552
compliance with audit and attestation requirements of s. 553
320.08062, and any applicable increased costs of manufacturing 554
the specialty license plate. Any cost increase to the department 555
related to actual cost of the plate, including a reasonable 556
vendor profit, shall be verified by the Department of Management 557
Services. The balance of the proceeds from the annual use fees 558
collected for that specialty license plate shall be distributed 559
as provided by law. 560
(11)(a)(8)(a) The department must discontinue the issuance 561
of an approved specialty license plate if the number of valid 562
specialty plate registrations falls below 1,000 plates for at 563
least 12 consecutive months , or below 200 plates for at least 12 564
consecutive months in the case of an approved specialty license 565
plate marketed and sold by the private vendor . A warning letter 566
shall be mailed to the sponsoring organization following the 567
first month in which the total number of valid specialty plate 568
registrations is below the required minimum 1,000 plates. This 569
paragraph does not apply to collegiate license plates 570
established under s. 320 .08058(3). 571
(b) The department may is authorized to discontinue the 572
issuance of a specialty license plate and distribution of 573
associated annual use fee proceeds if the organization no longer 574
exists, if the organization has stopped providing services that 575
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are authorized to be funded from the annual use fee proceeds, if 576
the organization does not meet the presale requirements as 577
prescribed in s. 320.08053, or pursuant to an organizational 578
recipient's request. Organizations shall notify the department 579
immediately to stop all warrants for plate sales if any of the 580
conditions in this section exist and must meet the requirements 581
of s. 320.08062 for any period of operation during a fiscal 582
year. 583
(c) A vehicle owner or lessee issued a specialty license 584
plate that has been discontinued by the department may keep the 585
discontinued specialty license plate for the remainder of the 586
10-year license plate term provided in this section or s. 587
320.06, as applicable, replacement period and must pay all other 588
applicable registration fees. However, such owner or lessee is 589
exempt from paying the applicable specialty license plate annual 590
use fee under paragraph (6)(d) (3)(d) or subsection (7) (4) for 591
the remainder of the 10-year license plate term replacement 592
period. 593
(d) If the department discontinues issuance of a specialty 594
license plate, all annual use fees held or collected by the 595
department shall be distributed within 180 days after the date 596
the specialty license plate is discontinued. Of those fees, the 597
department shall retain an amount sufficient to defray the 598
applicable administrative and inventory closeout costs 599
associated with discontinuance of the plate. All remaining 600
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proceeds shall be distributed to the appropriate organization or 601
organizations pursuant to s. 320.08058. 602
(e) If an organization that is the intended recipient of 603
the funds pursuant to s. 320.08058 no longer exists, the 604
department shall deposit any undisbursed proceeds into the 605
Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund. 606
(f) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), on Janua ry 1 of each 607
year, the department shall discontinue the specialty license 608
plate with the fewest number of plates in circulation, including 609
license plates exempt from a statutory sales requirement. The 610
department shall mail a warning letter to the sponsorin g 611
organizations of the 10 percent of specialty license plates with 612
the lowest number of valid, active registrations as of December 613
1 of each year. This paragraph does not apply to specialty 614
license plates marketed and sold by the private vendor. 615
(12)(9) The organization that requested the specialty 616
license plate may not redesign the specialty license plate 617
unless the inventory of those plates has been depleted. However, 618
the organization may purchase the remaining inventory of the 619
specialty license plates from the department at cost. 620
(13)(a)(10)(a) A specialty license plate annual use fee 621
collected and distributed under this chapter, or any interest 622
earned from those fees, may not be used for commercial or for -623
profit activities nor for general or administ rative expenses, 624
except as authorized by s. 320.08058 or to pay the cost of the 625
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audit or report required by s. 320.08062(1). The fees and any 626
interest earned from the fees may be expended only for use in 627
this state unless the annual use fee is derived from the sale of 628
United States Armed Forces and veterans -related specialty 629
license plates pursuant to paragraph (6)(d) (3)(d) for the 630
Support Our Troops, American Legion, and Honor Flight license 631
plates; paragraphs (7)(b), (q), and (v) (4)(b), (q), and (v) for 632
the Florida Salutes Veterans, United States Marine Corps, and 633
Military Services license plates, respectively; and s. 320.0891 634
for the U.S. Paratrooper license plate. 635
(b) As used in this subsection, the term "administrative 636
expenses" means those expe nditures which are considered as 637
direct operating costs of the organization. Such costs include, 638
but are not limited to, the following: 639
1. Administrative salaries of employees and officers of 640
the organization who do not or cannot prove, via detailed dail y 641
time sheets, that they actively participate in program 642
activities. 643
2. Bookkeeping and support services of the organization. 644
3. Office supplies and equipment not directly utilized for 645
the specified program. 646
4. Travel time, per diem, mileage reimburs ement, and 647
lodging expenses not directly associated with a specified 648
program purpose. 649
5. Paper, printing, envelopes, and postage not directly 650
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associated with a specified program purpose. 651
6. Miscellaneous expenses such as food, beverage, 652
entertainment, and conventions. 653
(14)(11) The annual use fee from the sale of specialty 654
license plates, the interest earned from those fees, or any fees 655
received by any entity as a result of the sale of specialty 656
license plates may not be used for the purpose of marketing to, 657
or lobbying, entertaining, or rewarding, an employee of a 658
governmental agency that is responsible for the sale and 659
distribution of specialty license plates, or an elected member 660
or employee of the Legislature. This subsection does not apply 661
to specialty license plates market ed and sold by the private 662
vendor. 663
(15)(12) Notwithstanding s. 320.08058(3)(a), the 664
department, in cooperation with the independent colleges or 665
universities as described in s. 1009.89, shall create a standard 666
template specialty license plate with a uniqu e logo or graphic 667
identifying each independent college or university. Each 668
independent college or university may elect to use this standard 669
template specialty license plate in lieu of its own specialty 670
license plate. Annual use fees from the sale of these license 671
plates shall be distributed to the independent college or 672
university for which the logo or graphic is displayed on the 673
license plate and shall be used as provided in s. 320.08058(3). 674
Independent colleges or universities opting to use the standard 675
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template specialty license plate shall have their plate sales 676
combined for purposes of meeting the minimum license plate sales 677
threshold in paragraph (11)(a) (8)(a) and for determining the 678
license plate limit in s. 320.08053(3)(b). Specialty license 679
plates created pursuant to this subsection must be ordered 680
directly from the department. If the independent college or 681
university elects to use the standard template specialty license 682
plate, the department shall discontinue the existing specialty 683
license plate. 684
(16)(13) For out-of-state college or university license 685
plates created pursuant to this section, documentation 686
acceptable to the department that the department has the 687
college's or university's consent to use an appropriate image on 688
a license plate shall be on file with the department prior to 689
development of the out -of-state college or university license 690
plate. 691
(17)(14) Before the issuance of vouchers for the presale 692
of an out-of-state college or university license plate, the 693
department shall determine w hether the state in which the out -694
of-state college or university is located has authorized any 695
license plates for colleges or universities located in this 696
state. The department may not issue any out -of-state college or 697
university license plate unless the s tate in which the college 698
or university is located has authorized license plates for 699
colleges or universities located in this state. 700
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(18)(15) The application form for a specialty license 701
plate shall provide the applicant the option to instruct the 702
department to provide his or her name, address, and renewal date 703
to the sponsoring organization. 704
Section 6. Subsection (101) of section 320.08058, Florida 705
Statutes, is amended to read: 706
320.08058 Specialty license plates. — 707
(101) DIVINE NINE LICENSE PLATES .— 708
(a) The department shall develop a Divine Nine license 709
plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053 using a 710
standard template and a unique logo, graphic, or color for each 711
of the organizations listed in sub -subparagraphs (b)3.a. -i. The 712
plate must bear the colors and design approved by the department 713
and must include the official logo, graphic, or color as 714
appropriate for each organization. The word "Florida" must 715
appear at the top of the plate, and the words "Divine Nine" must 716
appear at the bottom of the plate. 717
(b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate shall 718
be distributed as follows: 719
1. Five percent of the proceeds shall be distributed to 720
the United Negro College Fund, Inc., for college scholarships 721
for Florida residents attending Fl orida's historically black 722
colleges and universities. 723
2. Ten percent of the proceeds shall be distributed to the 724
Association to Preserve African American Society, History and 725
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Tradition, Inc., solely for the marketing of the plate. 726
3. The remaining 85 p ercent of the proceeds shall be 727
distributed to one of the following organizations as selected by 728
the purchaser of the plate who, upon fulfilling the requirements 729
of paragraph (c), shall receive a license plate with the logo, 730
graphic, or color associated wi th the appropriate recipient 731
organization: 732
a. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. —Eighty-five percent 733
shall be distributed to the Florida Federation of Alpha 734
Chapters, Inc., to promote community awareness and action 735
through educational, economic, and cultur al service activities 736
within this state. 737
b. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. —Eighty-five percent 738
shall be distributed to the Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational 739
Advancement Foundation, Inc., to promote community awareness and 740
action through educational, econom ic, and cultural service 741
activities within this state. 742
c. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. —Eighty-five percent 743
shall be distributed to the Southern Province of Kappa Alpha Psi 744
Fraternity, Inc., to promote community awareness and action 745
through educational, economic, and cultural service activities 746
within this state. 747
d. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. —Eighty-five percent 748
shall be distributed to the State of Florida Omega Friendship 749
Foundation, Inc., to promote community awareness and action 750
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through educational, economic, and cultural service activities 751
within this state. 752
e. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. —Eighty-five percent 753
shall be distributed to the Delta Research and Educational 754
Foundation, Inc., to promote community awareness and action 755
through educational, economic, and cultural service activities 756
within this state. 757
f. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. —Eighty-five percent 758
shall be distributed to the TMB Charitable Foundation, Inc., to 759
promote community awareness and action through educational, 760
economic, and cultural service activities within this state. 761
g. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. —Eighty-five percent shall 762
be distributed to the Florida Pearls, Inc., to promote community 763
awareness and action through educational, economic, and cultural 764
service activities within this state. 765
h. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. —Eighty-five percent 766
shall be distributed to the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority National 767
Education Fund, Inc., to promote community awareness and action 768
through educational, economic, and cultural s ervice activities 769
within this state. 770
i. Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. —Eighty-five percent 771
shall be distributed to the National Iota Foundation, Inc., to 772
promote community awareness and action through educational, 773
economic, and cultural service activiti es within this state. 774
(c)1. To be eligible for issuance of a Divine Nine license 775
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plate representing an organization listed in sub -subparagraphs 776
(b)3.a.-i., a person must be a resident of this state who is the 777
registered owner of a motor vehicle and who i s a member of the 778
applicable organization. The person must also present proof of 779
membership in the organization, which may be established by: 780
a. A card distributed by the organization indicating the 781
person's membership in the organization; or 782
b. A written letter on the organization's letterhead which 783
is signed by the organization's national president or his or her 784
designated official and which states that the person was 785
inducted into the organization. 786
2. Proof of membership in an organization listed i n sub-787
subparagraphs (b)3.a. -i. is required only for initial issuance 788
of a Divine Nine license plate. A person need not present such 789
proof for renewal of the license plate. 790
(d) A Divine Nine license plate: 791
1. May be personalized. 792
2. May not be transfe rred between vehicle owners. 793
794
License plates created pursuant to this subsection shall have 795
their plate sales combined for the purpose of meeting the 796
minimum license plate sales threshold in s. 320.08056(11)(a) s. 797
320.08056(8)(a) and for determining the license plate limit in 798
s. 320.08053(3)(b). License plates created pursuant to this 799
subsection must be ordered directly from the department. 800
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Section 7. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 801
made by this act to section 3 20.0805, Florida Statutes, in a 802
reference thereto, subsection (7) of section 320.08068, Florida 803
Statutes, is reenacted to read: 804
320.08068 Motorcycle specialty license plates. — 805
(7) The department may issue personalized prestige plates 806
for license plates authorized in this section. Such plates shall 807
be issued in accordance with applicable provisions contained in 808
s. 320.0805. 809
Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 810