The Florida Senate

320.08056  Specialty license plates.--

(1)  The department is responsible for developing the specialty license plates authorized in s. 320.08053. The department shall begin production and distribution of each new specialty license plate within 1 year after approval of the specialty license plate by the Legislature.

(2)  The department shall issue a specialty license plate to the owner or lessee of any motor vehicle, except a vehicle registered under the International Registration Plan, a commercial truck required to display two license plates pursuant to s. 320.0706, or a truck tractor, upon request and payment of the appropriate license tax and fees.

(3)  Each request must be made annually to the department, accompanied by the following tax and fees:

(a)  The license tax required for the vehicle as set forth in s. 320.08.

(b)  A processing fee of $2.

(c)  A license plate fee as required by s. 320.06(1)(b).

(d)  A license plate annual use fee as required in subsection (4).

A request may be made any time during a registration period. If a request is made for a specialty license plate to replace a current valid license plate, the specialty license plate must be issued with appropriate decals attached at no tax for the plate, but all fees and service charges must be paid. When a request is made for a specialty license plate at the beginning of the registration period, the tax, together with all applicable fees and service charges, must be paid.

(4)  The following license plate annual use fees shall be collected for the appropriate specialty license plates:

(a)  Manatee license plate, $20.

(b)  Challenger license plate, $25, except that a person that purchases 1,000 or more Challenger license plates shall pay an annual use fee of $15 per plate.

(c)  Collegiate license plate, $25.

(d)  Florida Salutes Veterans license plate, $15.

(e)  Florida panther license plate, $25.

(f)  Florida United States Olympic Committee license plate, $15.

(g)  Florida Special Olympics license plate, $15.

(h)  Florida educational license plate, $15.

(i)  Florida Professional Sports Team license plate, $25.

(j)  Florida Indian River Lagoon license plate, $15.

(k)  Invest in Children license plate, $20.

(l)  Florida arts license plate, $20.

(m)  Bethune-Cookman College license plate, $25.

(n)  Florida Agricultural license plate, $20.

(o)  Girl Scout license plate, $20.

(p)  Police Athletic League license plate, $20.

(q)  Boy Scouts of America license plate, $20.

(r)  Largemouth Bass license plate, $25.

(s)  Sea Turtle license plate, $17.50.

(t)  Protect Wild Dolphins license plate, $20.

(u)  Barry University license plate, $25.

(v)  Everglades River of Grass license plate, $20.

(w)  Keep Kids Drug-Free license plate, $25.

(x)  Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches license plate, $20.

(y)  Conserve Wildlife license plate, $15.

(z)  Florida Memorial College license plate, $25.

(aa)  Tampa Bay Estuary license plate, $15.

(bb)  Florida Wildflower license plate, $15.

(cc)  United States Marine Corps license plate, $15.

(dd)  Choose Life license plate, $20.

(ee)  Share the Road license plate, $15.

(5)  If a vehicle owner or lessee to whom the department has issued a specialty license plate acquires a replacement vehicle within the owner's registration period, the department must authorize a transfer of the specialty license plate to the replacement vehicle in accordance with s. 320.0609. The annual use fee or processing fee may not be refunded.

(6)  Specialty license plates must bear the design required by law for the appropriate specialty license plate, and the designs and colors must be approved by the department. In addition to a design, the specialty license plates may bear the imprint of numerals from 1 to 999, inclusive, capital letters "A" through "Z," or a combination thereof. The department shall determine the maximum number of characters, including both numerals and letters. All specialty license plates must be otherwise of the same material and size as standard license plates issued for any registration period. In small letters, the word "Florida" must appear at either the bottom or top of the plate, depending upon the design. In addition, a specialty license plate may bear an appropriate slogan.

(7)  The department shall annually retain from the first proceeds derived from the annual use fees collected an amount sufficient to defray each specialty plate's pro rata share of the department's costs directly related to issuing the specialty plate. Such costs shall include distribution costs, direct costs to the department, and any applicable increased costs of manufacturing the specialty license plate. Any cost increase to the department related to actual cost of the plate, including a reasonable vendor profit, shall be verified by the Department of Management Services. The balance of the proceeds from the annual use fees collected for that specialty license plate shall be distributed as provided by law.

(8)(a)  The department must discontinue the issuance of an approved specialty license plate if:

1.  Less than 8,000 plates, including annual renewals, are issued for that specialty license plate by the end of the 5th year of sales.

2.  Less than 8,000 plates, including annual renewals, are issued for that specialty license plate during any subsequent 5-year period.

(b)  The department is authorized to discontinue the issuance of a specialty license plate and distribution of associated annual use fee proceeds if the organization no longer exists, if the organization has stopped providing services that are authorized to be funded from the annual use fee proceeds, or pursuant to an organizational recipient's request. Organizations are required to notify the department immediately to stop all warrants for plate sales if any of the conditions in this section exist, and must meet the requirements of s. 320.08062 for any period of operation during a fiscal year.

(c)  The requirements of paragraph (a) shall not apply to collegiate specialty license plates authorized in s. 320.08058(3), (13), (21), and (26).

(9)  The organization that requested the specialty license plate may not redesign the specialty license plate unless the inventory of those plates has been depleted. However, the organization may purchase the remaining inventory of the specialty license plates from the department at cost.

(10)  A specialty license plate annual use fee collected and distributed under this chapter, or any interest earned from those fees, may not be used for commercial or for-profit activities nor for general or administrative expenses, except as authorized by s. 320.08058 or to pay the cost of the audit or report required by s. 320.08062(1).

History.--s. 2, ch. 95-282; s. 1, ch. 96-160; s. 1, ch. 96-161; s. 1, ch. 96-162; s. 1, ch. 96-163; s. 1, ch. 96-164; s. 1, ch. 96-165; s. 49, ch. 97-100; s. 2, ch. 97-252; s. 1, ch. 97-272; s. 1, ch. 98-67; s. 1, ch. 98-72; s. 1, ch. 98-74; s. 1, ch. 98-76; s. 1, ch. 98-77; s. 1, ch. 98-181; ss. 2, 6, ch. 98-414; s. 99, ch. 99-13; s. 1, ch. 99-191; s. 25, ch. 99-248; s. 1, ch. 99-268; s. 1, ch. 99-294; s. 1, ch. 99-295; s. 1, ch. 99-301; s. 1, ch. 99-302; s. 7, ch. 2001-196.