§490.32. Military honor license plates for "Purple Heart" disabled veterans

            A. The provisions of this Section shall be applicable to "Purple Heart" recipients that have a service-connected disability of fifty percent or more and who are residents of this state.

            B. Upon application of a "Purple Heart" recipient who is also a qualified disabled veteran, the secretary shall issue a military honor license plate to be used in lieu of a regular motor vehicle registration plate on passenger cars, trucks, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, and vans. The license plate shall bear a number prefixed by "DV". "Purple Heart Disabled Veteran" shall be printed under the number.

            C. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall change the design of the military honor license plate for "Purple Heart" recipients who are disabled veterans by enlarging the size of the "Purple Heart" medal on the license plate.

            D. No fee shall be charged for the license plates authorized by this Section, and such plates shall not be subject to the renewal requirements applicable to standard plates.

            E. The secretary shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of this Section, including but not limited to rules governing the transfer of the license plates from one vehicle to another and the disposition of such license plates.

            F.(1) Any applicant who qualifies for the military honor license plate authorized by this Section may be issued a plate for each vehicle registered in the applicant's name.

            (2) Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, each military honor license plate issued pursuant to this Section shall be returned to the secretary upon the death of the person to whom the plate was issued. A surviving spouse of a person to whom a license plate was issued pursuant to this Section may retain a license plate issued pursuant to this Section, provided the surviving spouse has not remarried and provided the surviving spouse applies to the secretary for a transfer of the license plate to the surviving spouse. A military honor license plate transferred pursuant to this Paragraph to a surviving spouse shall be returned to the secretary upon the death or remarriage of the surviving spouse. In the event that a "Purple Heart" disabled veteran holds more than one military honor license plate at the time the "Purple Heart" disabled veteran dies, the surviving spouse may determine which of the license plates the surviving spouse wishes to retain.

            (3) The secretary shall also issue a hang tag as provided in R.S. 47:463.4(B)(1), which bears the international symbol of accessibility, to any disabled veteran who has or is issued a "Purple Heart" disabled veteran special prestige plate and who requests the hang tag. No fee shall be charged for the hang tag, and it shall be exempt from renewal requirements applicable to hang tags issued pursuant to R.S. 47:463.4. However, any lost, destroyed, or mutilated hang tags shall be replaced according to the provisions of R.S. 47:463.4(C), including payment of the reissuance fee. A person using the hang tag in a vehicle with a disabled veteran license plate is not required to obtain or possess a mobility impairment driver's license or identification card.

            Acts 2019, No. 6, §1.