REPORT TITLE:
Special Number Plates


DESCRIPTION:
Allows the director of finance to discard and allow for new
applications of inactive special number plates that have not been
assigned or registered during the preceding 3 years.  Allows
organizations to raise funds by applying for special numbered
license pates with decals of the organization.  Allows persons
who served the United States in the military or as a civilian
during the Pearl Harbor attack to obtain a special number plate.
(CD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            C.D. 1
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO SPECIAL NUMBER PLATES.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 249-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
 
 3      "(c)  Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, any
 
 4 antique motor vehicle shall be issued a special number plate for
 
 5 a fee of $10 which plate shall be permanent and valid for use on
 
 6 such vehicles so long as the vehicle is in existence in lieu of
 
 7 the uniform state number plates.  The director of finance may
 
 8 discard and allow for new applications of inactive special number
 
 9 plates that have not been assigned or registered during the
 
10 preceding three years.  In addition to the payment of any other
 
11 fee required by law, applicable to antique motor vehicles, the
 
12 owner of any such vehicle shall pay the fee for the issuance of
 
13 the special number plate.  The registration numerals and special
 
14 number plates assigned to antique motor vehicles shall be labeled
 
15 "Horseless Carriage" and "Permanent" and shall run in a separate
 
16 numerical series, commencing with Horseless Carriage No. 1."
 
17      SECTION 2.  Section 249-9.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
18 amended to read as follows:
 
19      "�249-9.1  Special number plates.  In addition to the number
 

 
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 1 plates contracted on behalf of the counties by the director of
 
 2 finance of the city and county of Honolulu, the director of
 
 3 finance may provide, upon request, special number plates.  The
 
 4 special number plates shall conform to the requirements provided
 
 5 for the uniform number plates except that the owner may request
 
 6 the choice and arrangement of letters and numbers.  The maximum
 
 7 number of letters and numbers shall be six and only one hyphen
 
 8 will be allowed in addition to and in lieu of the six letters and
 
 9 numerals.  No other punctuation marks shall be allowed.  The
 
10 director of finance shall not issue special number plates which
 
11 have the letter and numeral combination of regular plates, are
 
12 misleading or publicly objectionable.  The fee for special number
 
13 plates shall be $25 upon initial application and $25 upon each
 
14 annual renewal of the vehicle registration.  This fee shall not
 
15 be refundable.  Re-application for special number plates must be
 
16 made upon a change in design of regular plates.  The director of
 
17 finance may discard and allow for new applications of inactive
 
18 special number plates that have not been assigned or registered
 
19 during the preceding three years.  The director of finance shall
 
20 [prescribe] adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to carry out [the
 
21 provisions of] this section."
 
22      SECTION 3.  Section 249-9.2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
23 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 

 
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 1      "(a)  In lieu of the number plates contracted on behalf of
 
 2 the counties by the director of finance of the city and county of
 
 3 Honolulu, the director of finance shall provide for a fee, one
 
 4 set of special number plates upon the receipt of an application
 
 5 together with:
 
 6      (1)  Specific proof that the applicant was awarded the
 
 7           Purple Heart by the United States Department of Defense
 
 8           for wounds received in military or naval combat against
 
 9           an armed enemy of the United States;
 
10      (2)  Certification that the applicant is a veteran;
 
11      (3)  Specific proof that the applicant was [providing
 
12           military service to] serving the United States[,] in
 
13           the military or as a civilian, on Oahu, or offshore at
 
14           a distance of not more than three miles at the time of
 
15           the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.
 
16           Certification from the Hawaii state chairperson of the
 
17           Pearl Harbor Survivors Association shall constitute
 
18           sufficient proof;
 
19      (4)  Specific proof that the applicant was confined as a
 
20           prisoner of war while providing military service to the
 
21           United States; or
 
22      (5)  Certification from the United States Department of
 
23           Veterans Affairs or the state office of veterans'
 

 
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 1           services that the applicant is a combat veteran or a
 
 2           veteran of the Vietnam conflict or the Korean conflict
 
 3           or World War II."
 
 4      SECTION 4.  Section 249-9.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 5 amended to read as follows:
 
 6      "[[]�249-9.3[]]  Special number plates; design and issuance
 
 7 by counties.(a)  [Beginning January 1, 1998, in] In lieu of the
 
 8 number plates contracted on behalf of the counties by the
 
 9 director of finance of the city and county of Honolulu, the
 
10 county directors of finance[, by the affirmative vote of the
 
11 majority, may authorize the issuance of] shall issue special
 
12 number plates to any organization [or institution] in the State
 
13 that meets the minimum standards and qualifications established
 
14 under [rules adopted in accordance with subsection (b).] this
 
15 section.  Organizations are authorized to retain the fees
 
16 collected, less expenses, for the special number plates.
 
17      [(b)] The director of finance of the city and county of
 
18 Honolulu, in consultation with the directors of finance of the
 
19 counties of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii, shall [adopt rules in
 
20 accordance with chapter 91 to:
 
21      (1)  Establish application procedures and eligibility
 
22           standards for organizations or institutions seeking
 
23           special number plates under this section;
 

 
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 1      (2)  Establish] establish special design parameters and
 
 2           restrictions for decals or graphic representations
 
 3           affixable to special number plates; [and
 
 4      (3)  Set reasonable charges and fees for the recovery of
 
 5           administrative costs incurred as the result of the
 
 6           issuance of special number plates under this section.]
 
 7           provided that the decal shall not be larger than two
 
 8           and one-half inches wide by three inches high.
 
 9      (b)  For the purposes of this section, the following terms
 
10 shall have the following meanings:
 
11      "Director" unless indicated otherwise by its context, means
 
12 the county directors of finance.
 
13      "Organization" means an organization of at least one hundred
 
14 members in good standing that is:
 
15      (1)  A not-for-profit organization recognized as such by the
 
16           Internal Revenue Service and whose primary purpose is
 
17           to provide the community with specific programs to
 
18           improve the public's health, education, or general
 
19           welfare;
 
20      (2)  A military service veterans group; or
 
21      (3)  A state or county agency approved by the director.
 
22      An organization includes any school or accredited
 
23 institution of higher learning or a college or recognized program
 

 
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 1 thereof.
 
 2      "Special number plate" means a license plate with a decal on
 
 3 its face that represents an organization as defined in this
 
 4 section.
 
 5      (c)  Organizations as defined under subsection (b) may apply
 
 6 for a special number plate with the director.  The organization
 
 7 shall design a decal to be placed on the license plate that
 
 8 represents the organization and complies with this section.
 
 9      All organizations shall be headquartered in the State;
 
10 provided that an organization that is a chapter or branch of an
 
11 international, national, or regional organization shall be in
 
12 good standing and authorized in writing by the parent
 
13 organization to use the decal design applied for by the
 
14 organization.
 
15      (d)  An organization shall apply for a special number plate
 
16 with the director on an application form prescribed by the
 
17 director.  The application shall include:
 
18      (1)  A design of the organization's decal;
 
19      (2)  A signed notarized statement by an officer of the
 
20           organization that the organization will acquire at
 
21           least one hundred fifty special number plates; and
 
22      (3)  The dollar amount the organization plans to raise from
 
23           each special number plate.
 

 
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 1      The director shall determine, based on criteria in this
 
 2 section, and the director's discretion, whether an organization's
 
 3 application has been accepted or rejected.  The director shall
 
 4 also seek the approval of an organization's decal design from the
 
 5 county chief of police where the application is made.
 
 6      If the director rejects an application, the director shall
 
 7 state the reasons for the rejection in writing and shall allow
 
 8 the applicant to reapply within a reasonable period after the
 
 9 rejection.
 
10      After an organization's application has been approved,
 
11 members of the organization may apply for the organization's
 
12 special number plate.  The director may require proof of
 
13 membership of an organization's members in addition to the
 
14 completion of a form as prescribed by the director.  Special
 
15 number plates shall be issued only to the registered owner of an
 
16 applicant motor vehicle.
 
17      (e)  The design of the decal used on an organization's
 
18 special number plate shall not:
 
19      (1)  Infringe or otherwise violate any trademark, trade
 
20           name, service mark, copyright, or other proprietary or
 
21           property right;
 
22      (2)  Represent any obscene or degrading image, idea, word,
 
23           or phrase;
 

 
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 1      (3)  Advertise or endorse a product, brand, or service that
 
 2           is provided for sale;
 
 3      (4)  Promote any religious belief; or
 
 4      (5)  Promote any philosophy based on prejudice or that is
 
 5           contrary to state civil rights laws;
 
 6 provided that the decal does not obstruct the visibility of the
 
 7 number or letters or any other information that is required by
 
 8 law to be on the license plate and is readily identifiable and
 
 9 distinguishable under actual traffic conditions.
 
10      (f)  The director shall charge a special number plate fee
 
11 equal to the county's cost of providing the special number plate
 
12 plus the organization's fund raising amount applied for under
 
13 subsection (d).  The fee shall be in addition to any other state
 
14 or county fees collected for a motor vehicle registration or
 
15 license plate.  The fund raising portion of the fee shall be
 
16 deposited in the name of the organization in a separate county
 
17 budget account.  The director shall determine the most efficient
 
18 means of reimbursing organizations for their fund raising portion
 
19 of the fee.
 
20      (g)  Registration certificates and special number plates
 
21 issued under this section shall not be transferable to any other
 
22 person.  Prior to the transfer of the ownership of a motor
 
23 vehicle with special number plates, the registered owner of the
 

 
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 1 motor vehicle shall surrender the special number plates to the
 
 2 director as a condition to the issuance of a new motor vehicle
 
 3 registration and license plates.
 
 4      (h)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to
 
 5 special number plates issued pursuant to section 249-9.2."
 
 6      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 7 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 8      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.