Special Interest Plates

[BOSS302]

LB 216 was approved by the Nebraska Legislation this past year and is now effective January 1, 2013.

Below is how the State Statue reads:

Sec. 4. (1) The department shall either modify an existing plate design or design license plates to identify special interest motor vehicles, to be known as special interest motor vehicle license plates. The department, in designing such special interest motor vehicle license plates, shall include the words special interest and limit the manufacturing cost of each plate to an amount less than or equal to the amount charged for license plates pursuant to section 60-3,102. The department shall choose the design of the plate. The department shall make applications available for this type of plate when it is designed.

(2) One type of special interest motor vehicle license plate shall be alphanumeric plates. The department shall:
(a) Assign a designation up to seven characters; and
(b) Not use a county designation.

(3) One type of special interest motor vehicle license plate shall
be personalized message plates. Such plates shall be issued subject to the same conditions specified for personalized message license plates in section 60-3,118.

(4) A person may apply to the department for a special interest motor vehicle license plate in lieu of regular license plates on an application prescribed and provided by the department for any special interestmotor vehicle, except for a motor vehicle registered under section 60-3,198, motorcycle, or trailer. The department shall make forms available for such applications through the county treasurers.

(5) The form shall contain a description of the special interest motor vehicle owned and sought to be registered, including the make, body type, model, serial number, and year of manufacture.

(6)(a) In addition to all other fees required to register a motor vehicle, each application for initial issuance or renewal of a special interest motor vehicle license plate shall be accompanied by a special interest motor vehicle license plate fee of fifty dollars. Twenty-five dollars of the special interest motor vehicle license plate fee shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Department of Motor Vehicles Cash Fund, and twenty-five dollars of the special interest motor vehicle license plate fee shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Highway Trust Fund.
(b) If a special interest motor vehicle license plate is lost, stolen, or mutilated, the owner shall be issued a replacement license plate pursuant to section 60-3,157.

(7) When the department receives an application for a special interest motor vehicle license plate, the department shall deliver the plate to the county treasurer of the county in which the special interest motor vehicle is registered. The county treasurer shall issue the special interest motor vehicle license plate in lieu of regular license plates when the applicant complies with the other provisions of the Motor Vehicle Registration Act for registration of the special interest motor vehicle.

(8) If the cost of manufacturing special interest motor vehicle license plates at any time exceeds the amount charged for license plates pursuant to section 60-3,102, any money to be credited to the Department of Motor Vehicles Cash Fund under this section shall instead be credited first to the Highway Trust Fund in an amount equal to the difference between the manufacturing costs of special interest motor vehicle license plates and the amount charged pursuant to section 60-3,102 with respect to such license plates and the remainder shall be credited to the Department of Motor Vehicles Cash Fund.

(9) The special interest motor vehicle license plate shall be affixed to the rear of the special interest motor vehicle.

(10) A special interest motor vehicle shall not be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as other motor vehicles of the same type and shall not be used for business or occupation or regularly for transportation to and from work. A special interest motor vehicle may be driven on the public streets and roads only for occasional transportation, public displays, parades, and related pleasure or hobby activities.

(11) It shall be unlawful to own or operate a motor vehicle with special interest motor vehicle license plates in violation of this section. Upon conviction of a violation of any provision of this section, a person shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor.

(12) For purposes of this section, special interest motor vehicle means a motor vehicle of any age which is being collected, preserved, restored, or maintained by the owner as a leisure pursuit and not used for general transportation of persons or cargo.

To register for a special interest plate, see your DMV and complete the necessary paperwork. The plate is a plain white plate (believe to use green letters) and has the designated "Special Interest" message below the plate number. Just as you see the nebraska.gov on the standard plates.

The fee for a special interest plate is $50.00 per year. You can have this as a personalized plate too. To register online, visit www.clickdmv.ne.org




[Eric J]

Has anyone in the club done this? I would be interested to know what the new plate looks like. I see no other advantage other than a person may be able to beat some taxes with the yearly $50 fee for the plate. Only disadvantage I can see is that you won't be able to take your car to work as a test drive and you may be hassled because of no front plate displayed.

[BOSS302]

Jan 11, 2013 20:56:27 GMT -6 @Eric J said:

Has anyone in the club done this? I would be interested to know what the new plate looks like. I see no other advantage other than a person may be able to beat some taxes with the yearly $50 fee for the plate. Only disadvantage I can see is that you won't be able to take your car to work as a test drive and you may be hassled because of no front plate displayed.

Eric,

Mike Kelley has gone and purchased his special interest plate but has yet to receive it. As for the advantages there are several:

1. No need to drill or place holes in the front of your bumper to support a required license plate.

2. If you have a removable license plate frame, no need to remove it for car shows.

3. If you have these plates and get pulled over, you will not and cannot receive a ticket for failing to have a front plate. Nebraska law requires you have a front and rear plate to your vehicle.

And yes, the special interest plates do have restrictions. It is not for everyone but it is good information to know for those who are considering it.

[toolman1400]

It makes some sense to potentially have these. The historical plates have a one time fee and then you are done. It seems that these require a $50 payment every year. Does anyone know if getting them bypasses the wonderful wheel tax? That savings alone may make them worthwhile. If I am reading the law correctly, the 'in addition to all other fees required to register a motor vehicle' implies that the wheel tax fee will still apply.

[MEAN GT]

While the thought of legally being able to only have 1 plate is appealing, that plate is UGLY!!! No way I'm giving up my Husker plates for that! As to the enforcement, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to drive your car to work. How can it be proven that you are not just driving said car to a "special function". Also, the wording is pretty loose...it says driven occasionally. Very interesting in all...I need to spread this around to some of the others I know who may not be aware of it.

Attachments:

[BOSS302]

Jan 29, 2013 12:12:03 GMT -6 MEAN GT said:

While the thought of legally being able to only have 1 plate is appealing, that plate is UGLY!!! No way I'm giving up my Husker plates for that! As to the enforcement, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to drive your car to work. How can it be proven that you are not just driving said car to a "special function". Also, the wording is pretty loose...it says driven occasionally. Very interesting in all...I need to spread this around to some of the others I know who may not be aware of it.

Yes, I have to agree the new plate is ugly and plain! Just a white background with green lettering. The way the law is written is somewhat vague but it's better than not having it and the required 2 plates as it was.

I highly doubt any law enforcement officer is going to question as to if your driving the car to or from work, but then again it also requires the driver to use common sense.

For example if for some "crazy" reason your driving your car in the middle of winter and get pulled over, I'd question as to where (work, parade, or public display) you could possibly be going! Now if it's a nice spring day or summer day.....no problems.

Not everything is going to be black and white, but we should be happy the state changed the law. It gave us the option of being able to have only one plate and not drill holes into our front bumpers.

MEANGT: If you want to run those "Husker" plates because they are better looking (debatable) then do so but know you will and can risk the chance of being cited for not having a front plate.

[MEAN GT]

My front plate is remote controlled retractable so when I park the plate retracts under my car

[fastoldman]

Heck as ugly as most of the plates are in Nebraska , there is something clean and pure about just a white plate. Looks better on the old Classic Stangs, but I have one on both of my cars. Who is to say you did not drive your car to work to get the oil changed afterwards? Doubt that Officers of the Law will have many complaints and frankly I know two who have ordered for their own cars. Paid my money right away , not interested in drilling holes, paying extra for special frame that will not need holes drilled, just glad the State passed and I will gladly pay every year to keep the plate off the front fascia!!

[fastoldman]

Heck as ugly as most of the plates are in Nebraska , there is something clean and pure about just a white plate. Looks better on the old Classic Stangs, but I have one on both of my cars. Who is to say you did not drive your car to work to get the oil changed afterwards? Doubt that Officers of the Law will have many complaints and frankly I know two who have ordered for their own cars. Paid my money right away , not interested in drilling holes, paying extra for special frame that will not need holes drilled, just glad the State passed and I will gladly pay every year to keep the plate off the front fascia!!

[fastoldman]

Heck as ugly as most of the plates are in Nebraska , there is something clean and pure about just a white plate. Looks better on the old Classic Stangs, but I have one on both of my cars. Who is to say you did not drive your car to work to get the oil changed afterwards? Doubt that Officers of the Law will have many complaints and frankly I know two who have ordered for their own cars. Paid my money right away , not interested in drilling holes, paying extra for special frame that will not need holes drilled, just glad the State passed and I will gladly pay every year to keep the plate off the front fascia!!