§463.79.  Special prestige license plates; American-Italian Renaissance Foundation

A.  The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall establish a special prestige license plate which shall be issued, upon application, to any citizen of Louisiana, and which shall have a minimum of one hundred applicants for such plate prior to its establishment.  The license plates shall be restricted to passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, and recreational vehicles.  The prestige license plate shall be of a color and design which is in general compliance with R.S. 47:463(A)(3).  However, the plate shall bear a designating emblem of the American-Italian Renaissance Foundation, the design of which shall be determined by the board of directors of the American-Italian Renaissance Foundation.

B.  The prestige license plates shall be issued in the same manner as other motor vehicle license plates.

C.  The donation required by this Section shall be in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration license fee.

D.(1)  No such plate shall be issued unless the application is accompanied by a donation of twenty-five dollars to be distributed as provided in this Subsection and a handling fee of three dollars and fifty cents to be retained by the department to offset a portion of the administrative costs.  The department shall collect the donation for each license plate which shall be annually appropriated by the legislature to the office of cultural development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

(2)  An amount of monies equal to the total amount of donations shall be equally divided and disbursed annually by the office of cultural development to the American-Italian Renaissance Foundation in New Orleans.  The monies shall be used solely for the expenses incurred in providing the educational, charitable, scientific, and maintenance services and programs provided in accordance with Article III of the Articles of Incorporation of the American-Italian Renaissance Foundation.

(3)  The services of the American-Italian Renaissance Foundation are hereby deemed a public purpose and shall qualify as cooperative endeavors under the provisions of Article VII, Section 14(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

E.  The secretary shall establish 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 the donation and the transfer and disposition of such license plates.

Acts 1999, No. 1254, §1.