GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

 SESSION 2011

H                                                                                                                                                    3

HOUSE BILL 1035*

Committee Substitute Favorable 6/5/12
Third Edition Engrossed 6/6/12

 

Short Title:        License Plate Background.		(Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:

May 23, 2012

 

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to authorize the continued issuance of special license plates with unique plate background designs, as RECOMMENDED by the Joint Legislative TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, AND TO CORRECT THE AMERICAN RED CROSS SPECIAL PLATE AUTHORIZATION.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑63(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b)      Every license plate must display the registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it is issued, the name of the State of North Carolina, which may be abbreviated, and the year number for which it is issued or the date of expiration. A plate issued for a commercial vehicle, as defined in G.S. 20‑4.2(1), and weighing 26,001 pounds or more, must bear the word "commercial," unless the plate is a special registration plate authorized in G.S. 20‑79.4 or the commercial vehicle is a trailer or is licensed for 6,000 pounds or less. The plate issued for vehicles licensed for 7,000 pounds through 26,000 pounds must bear the word "weighted," unless the plate is a special registration plate authorized in G.S. 20‑79.4.

A Except as otherwise provided in this section, a registration plate issued by the Division for a private passenger vehicle or for a private hauler vehicle licensed for 6,000 pounds or less shall be a "First in Flight" plate. A "First in Flight" plate shall have the words "First in Flight" printed at the top of the plate above all other letters and numerals. The background of the plate shall depict the Wright Brothers biplane flying over Kitty Hawk Beach, with the plane flying slightly upward and to the right.

(b1)      The following special registration plates do not have to be a "First in Flight" plate as provided in subsection (b) of this section. The design of the plates that are not "First in Flight" plates must be approved by the Division and the State Highway Patrol for clarity and ease of identification. When the Division registers a vehicle or renews the registration of a vehicle on or after July 1, 2015, the Division must send the owner a replacement special license plate in a standardized format in accordance with subsection (b) of this section and G.S. 20‑79.4(a3).

(1)        Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

(2)        Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

(3)        Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

(4)        Friends of the Appalachian Trail.

(5)        NC Coastal Federation.

(6)        In God We Trust.

(7)        Stock Car Racing Theme.

(8)        Buddy Pelletier Surfing Foundation.

(9)        Guilford Battleground Company.

(10)      National Wild Turkey Federation.

(11)      North Carolina Aquarium Society.

(12)      First in Forestry.

(13)      North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation.

(14)      NC Trout Unlimited.

(15)      Ducks Unlimited.

(16)      Lung Cancer Research.

(17)      NC State Parks.

(18)      Support Our Troops.

(19)      US Equine Rescue League.

(20)      Fox Hunting.

(21)      Back Country Horsemen of North Carolina.

(22)      Hospice Care.

(23)      Home Care and Hospice.

(24)      NC Tennis Foundation.

(25)      AIDS Awareness.

(26)      Donate Life.

(27)      Farmland Preservation.

(28)      Travel and Tourism.

(29)      Battle of Kings Mountain.

(30)      NC Civil War.

(31)      North Carolina Zoological Society.

(32)      United States Service Academy.

(33)      Carolina Raptor Center.

(34)      Carolinas Credit Union Foundation.

(35)      North Carolina State Flag.

(36)      NC Mining.

(37)      Coastal Land Trust.

(38)      ARTS NC.

(39)      Choose Life.

(40)      North Carolina Green Industry Council.

(41)      NC Horse Council.

(42)      Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center."

SECTION 2.  Section 1.1 of S.L. 2011‑392 is repealed.

SECTION 3.  The Division of Motor Vehicles shall not issue full‑color plates, as authorized under G.S. 20‑63(b1), in the design format used prior to development of the standardized design for full‑color plates.

SECTION 4.  G.S. 20‑79.4(b)(11) reads as rewritten:

"(11)    American Red Cross. – Issuable to the registered owner of a motor vehicle in accordance with G.S. 20‑81.12. The plate shall bear the phrase 'American Red Cross Saving Lives' Cross' and a red cross."

SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2012.