Legislative Proposals to Restructure Florida and New Mexico Specialty License Plate Program - Michael Towner

Senator Keith Perry (R-Gainesville/Ocala) has filed SB 860 on 11/12/19 which proposes to restructure the application process for the creation of new specialty plates in Florida. Senator Perry served in the House from 2010 to 2016 and is in his 4th year in the Florida Senate. He was born in Tallahassee and is the founder and CEO of Perry Roofing Contractors.

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Currently, in order to create a specialty license p[late in Florida, it requires legislative approval. In fact 28 new plates are attempting to be created during the same session, many of which have failed on numerous occasions in the past 5 years. Senator Perry's bill proposes that the Department of Motor Vehicles would be solely responsible for the creation of a new specialty license plate, with the provision that the new plate must get a minimum of 2,000 voucher sales within 24 months and a maximum cap at 125 specialty plates at any one time. Currently Florida has 122. The bill also provides that current specialty plates will be de-listed if total plates are less than 1,000 current plates (or 2,000 in a later conflicting section of the bill) for 12 months and collegiate plates are not excluded. This could pave the way for 30 new specialty plates.

The full gallery of available Florida specialty license plates can be viewed by clicking here. Florida DMV does not have the facility to order specialty license plates online, however, they can be ordered at MyFloridaSpecialtyPlate.com.

A state legislator in New Mexico wants to also make it easier for organizations looking to create a specialty New Mexico specialty license plate. State Representative Patricio Ruiloba D-Albuquerque, a former police officer, wants to streamline the process for these groups by requiring them to go through the MVD instead of the state legislature. He introduced this proposal last week at a transportation subcommittee meeting. ​Right now, there are more than 40 specialty plates available in New Mexico. Ruiloba says the wide variety is a point of pride for the state.

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“It’s welcoming in New Mexico because of our diversity to have different kinds of license plates to express our culture and many of the organizations that support New Mexico and I think we just need to find a better way to accommodate those needs,” Ruiloba said.​ He says there will likely be other license plate-related legislation coming up this session, including more talks of potentially requiring a front license plate.