§490.18.  Military honor license plates for "Purple Heart" recipients

A.  The provisions of this Section shall be applicable to "Purple Heart" recipients.

B.  Upon application of a "Purple Heart" recipient, the secretary shall issue a military honor license plate to be used in lieu of a regular motor vehicle registration plate on passenger cars, pickup trucks, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, and vans.  The license plate shall bear a number prefixed by "PH".  "PURPLE HEART" 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 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 under 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 under this Section may retain a license plate issued under 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 under this Subsection 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" recipient holds more than one military honor license plate at the time the "Purple Heart" recipient dies, the surviving spouse may determine which of the license plates the surviving spouse wishes to retain.

Acts 2005, No. 365, §1, eff. June 30, 2005; Acts 2008, No. 140, §1, eff. June 12, 2008; Acts 2010, No. 208, §1.