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AN ACT relating to special license plates. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 186 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) Upon application to the county clerk of the county of his or her residence, the 5
following individuals shall be issued an EMS special license plate that shall bear 6
the inscription "Emergency Medical Services," a registration number, and an 7
appropriate standardized insignia: 8
(a) A person who currently holds a valid certification or license for any of the 9
positions set forth in KRS 311A.025(1)(a) to (f); and 10
(b) A person who has retired from any position requiring him or her to hold a 11
certification or license for any of the positions set forth in KRS 12
311A.025(1)(a) to (f), and who served at least twenty (20) years cumulatively 13
in those positions. 14
(2) Each initial or renewal application shall be accompanied by payment of the fees 15
set forth in Section 2 of this Act and proof of current certification or licensure 16
for, or retirement from any of, the positions identified in subsection (1) of this 17
section, in the following manner: 18
(a) Individuals who are currently certified or licensed shall present a current 19
Kentucky certificate for the position; and 20
(b) Individuals who have retired from service and no longer have a valid 21
certification or license shall present a letter attesting to the individual's 22
qualifications from the emergency medical services medical director, the 23
mayor or trustee of a city, or the county judge/executive in appropriate rural 24
areas. 25
(3) The EMS special license plate shall be administered in the same manner as other 26
special license plates under KRS 186.164, except that there shall be no required 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1820
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minimum number of applicants prior to the production of the EMS plate. 1
Section 2. KRS 186.162 is amended to read as follows: 2
(1) As used in this section and in KRS 186.043, 186.164, 186.166, 186.1722, and 3
186.174: 4
(a) "Special license plate" means a unique license plate issued under this chapter 5
to a group or organization that readily identifies the operator of the motor 6
vehicle or motorcycle bearing the plate as a member of a group or 7
organization, or a supporter of the work, goals, or mission of a group or 8
organization. The term shall not include regular license plates issued under 9
KRS 186.240; 10
(b) "Street rod" means a modernized private passenger motor vehicle 11
manufactured prior to the year 1949, or designed or manufactured to resemble 12
a vehicle manufactured prior to 1949; 13
(c) "SF" means the portion of an initial or renewal fee to obtain a special license 14
plate that is dedicated for use by the Transportation Cabinet; 15
(d) "CF" means the county clerk's fee for issuing a motor vehicle registration as 16
established under KRS 186.040(1). If a CF amount is charged for a license 17
plate listed in this section, the applicant for that plate shall also pay the fees 18
identified in KRS 186.040(6). If a CF amount is not charged, the applicant 19
shall not be required to pay those fees; and 20
(e) "EF" means the portion of an initial or renewal fee to obtain a special license 21
plate that is mandated by this chapter to be dedicated for use by a particular 22
group or organization. 23
(2) The initial purchase fee and renewal fee for a special license plate created under this 24
chapter shall be as established in this subsection and includes the name of group or 25
organization and the total initial and renewal fee required for the plate. The amount 26
in parentheses indicates how the total fee is required to be divided: 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1820
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(a) Disabled veterans who receive assistance to purchase a vehicle from the 1
United States Department of Veterans' Affairs, veterans declared by the 2
United States Department of Veterans' Affairs to be one hundred percent 3
(100%) service-connected disabled, and recipients of the Congressional 4
Medal of Honor: 5
1. Initial Fee: $0 ($0 SF/$0 CF/$0 EF). 6
2. Renewal Fee: $0 ($0 SF/$0 CF/$0 EF). 7
(b) Former prisoners of war and survivors of Pearl Harbor: 8
1. Initial Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the veterans' 9
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 10
2. Renewal Fee: $6 ($0 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 11
(c) Members of the Kentucky National Guard and recipients of the Purple Heart: 12
1. Initial Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the veterans' 13
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 14
2. Renewal Fee: $11 ($0 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the veterans' 15
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 16
(d) Members of the Civil Air Patrol; active, retired, veteran, reserve, or auxiliary 17
members of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast 18
Guard; Merchant Marines who served between December 7, 1941, and 19
August 15, 1945; recipients of the Silver Star Medal, the Distinguished Flying 20
Cross, the Air Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Combat Infantry Badge, 21
or the Bronze Star Medal; persons who wish to receive Gold Star Mothers, 22
Gold Star Fathers, or Gold Star Spouses license plates beyond the two (2) 23
exempted from fees under KRS 186.041(6); individuals eligible for a special 24
military service academy license plate under KRS 186.041(8); individuals 25
eligible for a special military unit license plate under KRS 186.163; and 26
disabled veterans who have been declared to be between fifty percent (50%) 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1820
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and ninety-nine percent (99%) service-connected disabled by the United 1
States Department of Veterans' Affairs: 2
1. Initial Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the veterans' 3
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 4
2. Renewal Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the veterans' 5
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 6
(e) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Air Force 7
Cross: 8
1. Initial Fee: $6 ($0 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 9
2. Renewal Fee: $6 ($0 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 10
(f) Disabled license plates: 11
1. Initial Fee: $18 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 12
2. Renewal Fee: $18 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 13
(g) Historic vehicles: 14
1. Initial Fee for two plates: $56 ($50 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 15
2. Renewal Fee: Do not renew annually. 16
(h) Members of Congress: 17
1. Initial Fee: $43 ($37 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 18
2. Renewal Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the veterans' 19
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 20
(i) Firefighters: 21
1. Initial Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Kentucky 22
Firefighters Association). 23
2. Renewal Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Kentucky 24
Firefighters Association). 25
(j) Emergency management: 26
1. Initial Fee: $31 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1820
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2. Renewal Fee: $18 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 1
(k) Fraternal Order of Police: 2
1. Initial Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Kentucky 3
FOP Death Benefit Fund). 4
2. Renewal Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Kentucky 5
FOP Death Benefit Fund). 6
(l) Law Enforcement Memorial: 7
1. Initial Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Kentucky 8
Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, Inc.). 9
2. Renewal Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Kentucky 10
Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, Inc.). 11
(m) Personalized plates: 12
1. Initial Fee: $43 ($37 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 13
2. Renewal Fee: $43 ($37 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 14
(n) Street rods: 15
1. Initial Fee: $43 ($37 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 16
2. Renewal Fee: $18 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 17
(o) Nature plates: 18
1. Initial Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to Kentucky 19
Heritage Land Conservation Fund established under KRS 146.570). 20
2. Renewal Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to Kentucky 21
Heritage Land Conservation Fund established under KRS 146.570). 22
(p) Amateur radio: 23
1. Initial Fee: $43 ($37 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 24
2. Renewal Fee: $18 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 25
(q) Kentucky General Assembly: 26
1. Initial Fee: $43 ($37 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1820
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2. Renewal Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the veterans' 1
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 2
(r) Kentucky Court of Justice: 3
1. Initial Fee: $43 ($37 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 4
2. Renewal Fee: $11 ($0 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the veterans' 5
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 6
(s) Masons: 7
1. Initial Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Masonic 8
Homes of Kentucky). 9
2. Renewal Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Masonic 10
Homes of Kentucky). 11
(t) Collegiate plates: 12
1. Initial Fee: $53 ($37 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the general 13
scholarship fund of the university whose name will be borne on the 14
plate). 15
2. Renewal Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the general 16
scholarship fund of the university whose name will be borne on the 17
plate). 18
(u) Independent Colleges: 19
1. Initial Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Association of 20
Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities for distribution to the 21
general scholarship funds of the Association's members). 22
2. Renewal Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Association of 23
Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities for distribution to the 24
general scholarship funds of the Association's members). 25
(v) Child Victims: 26
1. Initial Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the child victims' 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1820
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trust fund established under KRS 41.400). 1
2. Renewal Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the child victims' 2
trust fund established under KRS 41.400). 3
(w) Kentucky Horse Council: 4
1. Initial Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Kentucky 5
Horse Council). 6
2. Renewal Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the Kentucky 7
Horse Council). 8
(x) Ducks Unlimited: 9
1. Initial Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to Kentucky Ducks 10
Unlimited). 11
2. Renewal Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to Kentucky Ducks 12
Unlimited). 13
(y) Spay neuter: 14
1. Initial Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the animal control 15
and care fund established under KRS 258.119). 16
2. Renewal Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the animal control 17
and care fund established under KRS 258.119). 18
(z) Gold Star Mothers, Gold Star Fathers, or Gold Star Spouses: 19
1. Initial Fee: $0 ($0 SF/$0 CF/ $0 EF). 20
2. Renewal Fee: $0 ($0 SF/$0 CF/ $0 EF). 21
3. A person may receive a maximum of two (2) plates under this paragraph 22
free of charge and may purchase additional plates for fees as established 23
in subsection (2)(d) of this section. 24
(aa) I Support Veterans: 25
1. Initial Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the Kentucky 26
Department of Veterans' Affairs). 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1820
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2. Renewal Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the Kentucky 1
Department of Veterans' Affairs). 2
(ab) Gold Star Siblings, Gold Star Sons, or Gold Star Daughters: 3
1. Initial Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the veterans' 4
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 5
2. Renewal Fee: $23 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$5 EF to the veterans' 6
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 7
(ac) POW/MIA Awareness: 8
1. Initial Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the veterans' 9
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 10
2. Renewal Fee: $28 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF to the veterans' 11
program trust fund established under KRS 40.460). 12
(ad) EMS: 13
1. Initial Fee: $31 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 14
2. Renewal Fee: $18 ($12 SF/$6 CF/$0 EF). 15
(ae) Special license plates established under KRS 186.164: 16
1. Initial Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF). 17
2. Renewal Fee: $41 ($25 SF/$6 CF/$10 EF). 18
(3) Any special license plate may be combined with a personalized license plate for a 19
twenty-five dollar ($25) state fee in addition to all other fees for the particular 20
special license plate established in this section and in KRS 186.164(3). The twenty-21
five dollar ($25) fee required under this subsection shall be divided between the 22
cabinet and the county clerk of the county where the applicant is applying for the 23
license plate with the cabinet receiving twenty dollars ($20) and the county clerk 24
receiving five dollars ($5). 25
(4) (a) A sponsoring organization of any special license plate issued under this 26
section or any special license plate established under the provisions of KRS 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1820
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186.164 may petition the cabinet for the production of that special license 1
plate for motorcycles. 2
(b) The cabinet shall make all of the special military license plates in this section 3
available for motorcycles owned or leased by eligible individuals. 4
(c) Owners and lessees of motorcycles registered under KRS 186.050(2) may be 5
eligible to receive special license plates approved by the cabinet under 6
paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection. Applicants for a special license plate 7
for a motorcycle shall be required to pay the fee for a special plate as 8
prescribed in this section or in KRS 186.164. The fee paid for the special plate 9
for a motorcycle shall be in lieu of the registration fee required under KRS 10
186.050(2). 11
Section 3. KRS 186.166 is amended to read as follows: 12
(1) The Transportation Cabinet shall, unless directed otherwise by the General 13
Assembly, perpetually produce the following special license plates: military license 14
plates, military unit license plates, U.S. Congressional license plates, firefighter license 15
plates, emergency management license plates, Fraternal Order of Police license plates, 16
Law Enforcement Memorial license plates, street rod license plates, nature license plates, 17
amateur radio license plates, Kentucky General Assembly license plates, Kentucky Court 18
of Justice license plates, Masonic Order license plates, collegiate license plates, 19
independent college and university license plates, child victims' trust fund license plates, 20
Kentucky Horse Council license plates, Ducks Unlimited license plates, Gold Star 21
Mothers, Fathers, and Spouses license plates, Gold Star Siblings, Sons, and Daughters 22
license plates, Silver Star Medal license plates, Bronze Star Medal license plates, Air 23
Medal license plates, Distinguished Flying Cross license plates, Combat Action Badge 24
license plates, Combat Infantry Badge license plates, POW/MIA Awareness license 25
plates, spay neuter license plates, service academy license plates, EMS license plates, 26
and I Support Veterans license plates. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 1820
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(2) The design of the plates identified for perpetual production under this section may 1
be revised upon request of a group or organization requesting a design revision 2
under the provisions of KRS 186.164(15). 3
(3) (a) The design of a Purple Heart license plate shall not include any representation 4
of the word "Kentucky" that is a registered trademark or slogan which appears 5
on a general issue license plate. 6
(b) The design of a Purple Heart license plate shall include a representation of the 7
Purple Heart medal and the words "Combat Wounded." 8
Section 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2025. 9