§463.31. Special college and university license plates

            A. Upon the request of any public college or university in Louisiana or any other institution pursuant to Subsection H of this Section, the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall establish special prestige motor vehicle license plates for such institution. The license plates shall be restricted to passenger cars, pick-up trucks, vans, and recreational vehicles. The license plate shall be of a color and design selected by the institution requesting issuance of the prestige plate and shall bear the name of the institution. No institution shall request any change to the design or color of the license plates within a five-year period from the date of acceptance of a specific color and design.

            B.(1) The prestige license plates shall be issued, upon application, to any citizen of Louisiana in the same manner as any other motor vehicle license plate. The applicant shall designate his institutional preference.

            (2) Application for college or university special prestige license plate constitutes prior written consent and instruction by the applicant to the department to provide his name, address, and birth date to the university designated by the applicant. The secretary shall ensure that the application for the plate includes a statement granting such consent.

            C. An annual fee of fifty-one dollars shall be paid to the institution for each license plate issued as provided in this Section.

            D. The tax for the plate shall be the standard motor vehicle license tax imposed by Louisiana Constitution Article VII, Section 5.

            E. The department shall collect the annual fee required by Subsection C of this Section for each license plate. The department shall retain one dollar from each annual fee to offset administrative costs. The remainder of the fee shall be forwarded to the specific institution for which such license plate is designated. The amount forwarded to the designated institution shall be deemed to be a charitable donation to that institution by the applicant.

            F. The secretary shall establish such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement the provisions of this Section, including but not limited to rules and regulations governing the collection and disbursement of fees, the transfer and disposition of such license plates, the colors available, and the design criteria.

            G.(1) The monies received from the fees by each respective institution shall be used solely for academic or financial need-based scholarships for that participating institution.

            (2)(a) The management board of each participating institution shall be responsible for disbursing the funds and for establishing the scholarship program.

            (b) The president or chancellor of each university, or his designee, shall be responsible for establishing the procedures and criteria for awarding scholarships under this program.

            H. Upon the signing of a contract authorizing the use of the logo of any regionally accredited independent college or university, the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall establish prestige motor vehicle license plates for that college or university in accordance with the provisions of this Section. This contract shall include an agreement on the part of each institution to use the fees as provided in Subsection G of this Section.

            I. The special license plates authorized by this Section shall not be subject to the design requirements provided for by R.S. 47:463(A)(3).

            J. In the event the motor vehicle registration system of the office of motor vehicles is re-engineered, or other technology is otherwise made available to the office of motor vehicles, that would allow for the issuance of personalized special college and university license plates by the office of motor vehicles, then upon the promulgation of rules by the department providing for issuance of a personalized prestige plate under the provisions of this Section, an applicant may request such plate at no additional cost to the applicant above the annual fee as provided in this Section and the annual vehicle registration license tax as provided in R.S. 47:451 et seq.

            Acts 1991, No. 1015, §1; Acts 1992, No. 339, §1, eff. June 17, 1992; Acts 1992, No. 1107, §1, eff. July 14, 1992; Acts 2008, No. 378, §1; Acts 2016, No. 660, §1.