§463.2.  Special personalized prestige license plates for passenger vehicles; advertisement of availability

A.  The commissioner shall establish and issue special personalized prestige license plates.  The commissioner shall establish and promulgate rules and regulations for the procedures for application for and issuance of such special license plates and shall fix a date each year by which applications shall be made.  The commissioner shall not issue a letter combination which might carry a connotation offensive to good taste and decency.  A fee of two hundred fifty dollars a year shall be paid for each plate with a single letter, which shall be in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration license fee.  A fee of twenty-five dollars a year shall be paid for each plate with more than one single letter, which shall be in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration license fee.  Motor vehicle dealers may handle and transmit applications for special personalized prestige license plates in the same manner that motor vehicle dealers handle and transmit applications for regular license plates.

B.  Any owner of a private passenger vehicle or a commercial passenger vehicle regulated under the provisions of R.S. 47:466 may apply for the issuance of such plates to him, to be used in lieu of the regular motor vehicle registration license plates.  No two owners shall be issued identical special personalized plates.  Each owner shall make a new application and pay the fee for the special plates each time he desires to have such special plates issued to him.  Once the owner obtains special plates, he shall have priority on these plates for each of the following years that he makes timely and appropriate application.

C.  The commissioner shall provide by rules and regulations for the transfer of the special plates in the event the licensee replaces the automobile.  The commissioner shall also provide by rules and regulations for the disposition of the special plates in the event of the sale, gift or other disposition of the vehicle by the owner before the expiration of the special plates, where the owner does not wish to transfer the plates to a new automobile.

D.  The first twenty per centum of the proceeds of all fees collected for special license plates, not to exceed forty thousand dollars, realized from the fees collected for such plates shall be retained by the commissioner to defray the expense of manufacture and sale of such special license plates.  Subject to the provisions of R.S. 47:480, the second ten per centum thereof to the Department of Corrections, and the remainder of the proceeds of the fees collected for such special license plates shall be paid to the state treasurer on or before the tenth day of each month following their collection and shall be credited to the state general fund.

E.(1)  The deputy secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, shall establish and provide for advertisement of special prestige license plates in each office of motor vehicles location within the state in accordance with this Subsection.  As used in this Subsection, "department" shall mean the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of motor vehicles.

(2)  The advertisement for special prestige license plates provided for by this Subsection shall be in the form of brochures.

(3)(a)  Organizations or entities that elect to have brochures placed in each office of motor vehicles location in the state shall submit a brochure design to the department for approval.  The department shall inform the organization or entity if it approves of the design or not within sixty days of submission of the proposed design.

(b)  If the department approves the design of the brochure, the organization or entity shall provide the department with brochures to be placed in each office of motor vehicles location in the state.

(c)  All brochures shall comply with all rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this Subsection by the department.

(4)(a)  The department shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, subject to oversight by the House and Senate committees on transportation, highways and public works, as are necessary to implement the provisions of this Subsection, which shall be effective on or before March 1, 2013.

(b)  The rules shall include, but not be limited to brochure specifications and the assessment of a reasonable fee to be charged to organizations and entities that elect to have their special prestige license plate advertised in each office of motor vehicles location in the state.

(c)  Monies collected pursuant to rules and regulations required by this Subsection shall be used by the department to offset costs of implementing this Section and shall be assessed every two years.

(5)  Advertisement for special prestige licenses plates as provided for by this Subsection shall be placed in each office of motor vehicles location no later than May 1, 2013.

(6)  The advertisements shall be updated every two years to include newly established special prestige license plates or changes to any existing special prestige plates.

Added by Acts 1973, No. 146, §1.  Amended by Acts 1980, No. 282, §1; Acts 1987, No. 89, §1; Acts 1989, No. 728, §1; Acts 1991, No. 547, §1, eff. July 15, 1991; Acts 1997, No. 218, §1; Acts 2003, No. 291, §1; Acts 2012, No. 284, §1.