HB183.html

To amend Chapter 2 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to registration and licensing of vehicles, so as to change the provisions relating to special and distinctive license plates for veterans; to provide that motor vehicle owners who retired from active duty with the armed forces of the United States shall be issued upon application for and upon compliance with the state motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles a retired veteran´s license plate; to provide that one such retired veteran´s license plate shall be issued without the requisite registration fee, manufacturing fee, or annual registration fee; to provide for the issuance of additional license plates upon the payment of certain fees; to provide for a special license plate promoting trout conservation and recognizing Trout Unlimited; to provide for purposes, design, applications, fees, issuance, revenues, renewals, and transfers; to change certain provisions relating to space for county name decal; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Chapter 2 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to registration and licensing of vehicles, is amended by striking in its entirety Code Section 40_2_85.1, relating to special and distinctive license plates for veterans, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 40_2_85.1 to read as follows:
"40_2_85.1.
(a)(1) Motor vehicle owners who are retired veterans of the armed forces of the United States or persons who served during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or Operation Desert Storm shall be eligible to receive special and distinctive vehicle license plates for private passenger cars, trucks, or recreational vehicles used for personal transportation. Such license plates shall be issued in compliance with the state motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles as prescribed in Article 2 of this chapter.
(2)(A) Motor vehicle owners who retired from active duty with the armed forces of the United States shall be issued upon application for and upon compliance with the state motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles a retired veteran´s license plate. One such retired veteran´s license plate shall be issued without the requisite registration fee, manufacturing fee, or annual registration fee.
(B) Each retired member of the armed forces shall be entitled to no more than one such free license plate at a time; provided, however, that upon payment of a manufacturing fee of $25.00, a member shall be entitled to one additional such license plate. For each additional license plate for which a $25.00 manufacturing fee is required, there shall be an additional annual registration fee of $25.00 which fee shall be collected by the county tag agent at the time of collection of other registration fees and shall be remitted to the state as provided in Code Section 40_2_34.
(b) A veteran who qualifies for the special and distinctive license plate pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall make application therefor with the commissioner and include the requisite fee. The commissioner shall design a retired veteran´s license plate or a distinctive license plate to commemorate service by the United States armed forces in wars listed in subsection (a) of this Code section. The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to enforce compliance with all state license laws relating to the use and operation of private passenger cars and trucks before issuing these license plates in lieu of the regular Georgia license plates. The manufacturing fee for such special and distinctive license plates shall be $25.00. The commissioner is specifically authorized to promulgate all rules and regulations necessary to ensure compliance in instances where such vehicles have been transferred or sold. Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section, such plates shall be nontransferable.
(c) The special and distinctive vehicle license plates shall be as prescribed in Article 2 of this chapter for private passenger cars or trucks used for personal transportation. Such plates shall contain such words or symbols, in addition to the numbers and letters prescribed by law, so as to identify distinctively the owners as retired veterans of the armed forces of the United States or persons who served during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or Operation Desert Storm and shall additionally, for such plates manufactured after July 1, 2001, identify distinctly the owner as a veteran of one of the following branches of the armed forces: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Coast Guard.
(d) The license plate issued pursuant to this Code section shall be transferred between vehicles as provided in Code Section 40_2_80. The spouse of a deceased retired veteran of the armed forces of the United States or of a deceased person who served during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or Operation Desert Storm shall continue to be eligible to be issued a distinctive personalized license plate as provided in this Code section for any vehicle owned by such veteran ownership of which is transferred to the surviving spouse or for any other vehicle owned by such surviving spouse either at the time of the qualifying veteran´s death or acquired thereafter, so long as such person does not remarry.
(e) Special license plates issued under this Code section, except as provided in subparagraph (a)(2)(A) of this Code section, shall be renewed annually with a revalidation decal as provided in Code Section 40_2_31 upon payment of an additional $25.00 annual registration fee which fee shall be collected by the county tag agent at the time of collection of other registration fees and remitted to the state as provided in Code Section 40_2_34. It shall be a requirement that a county name decal shall be affixed and displayed on license plates issued under this Code section."

Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code Section 40_2_86.6 to read as follows:
"40_2_86.6.
(a) In order to promote and financially provide for conservation, restoration, and enhancement of trout populations and the habitats upon which they depend by the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, there shall be issued beginning January 1, 2002, special license plates recognizing Trout Unlimited of Georgia.
(b) The commissioner shall design a special distinctive license plate appropriate for the purposes provided by this Code section. Such special license plate shall be of the same size as general issue motor vehicle license plates and shall include a unique design and an identifying number of not more than six digits. No two recipients shall receive identically numbered plates. Such design shall not include a space for a county name decal but shall instead bear the legend 'Trout Unlimited' in lieu of the name of the county of issuance.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section, this Code section shall not be implemented until such time as the State of Georgia has, through a licensing agreement or otherwise, received such license or other permission as may be required to implement this Code section. The design of the initial edition of such special license plate, as well as the design of subsequent editions and excepting only any part or parts of the designs owned by others and licensed to the state, shall be owned solely by the State of Georgia for its exclusive use and control, except as authorized by the commissioner. The commissioner may take such steps as may be necessary to give notice of and protect such right, including the copyright or copyrights. However, such steps shall be cumulative of the ownership and exclusive use and control established by this subsection as a matter of law, and no person shall reproduce or otherwise use such design or designs, except as authorized by the commissioner.
(d) On and after January 1, 2002, any Georgia resident who is the owner of a motor vehicle, except a vehicle registered under the International Registration Plan, upon complying with the motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles and upon the payment of a fee of not more than $25.00 in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration fee, shall be issued a special license plate under this Code section in lieu of a general issue license plate. Any application for such special license plate shall be submitted during the owner´s registration period, and such special license plate shall be issued within 30 days of such application. Revalidation decals shall, upon payment of fees required by law and collected by the county tag agent and remitted to the state as provided in Code Section 40_2_34, be issued for such special license plates in the same manner as provided for general issue license plates.
(e) The funds derived from the sale of such special license plates, less a $1.00 processing fee which shall be granted to county tag offices per plate sold, shall be deposited in the general fund of the state treasury. As soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, the commissioner shall report the net amount derived from the sale of such special license plates, not including actual manufacturing costs, to the Office of Planning and Budget and the Department of Natural Resources. It is the intent of the General Assembly that, subject to appropriation, an amount equal to such net proceeds derived from the sale of such license plates in any fiscal year shall be made available during the following fiscal year to supplement trout restoration and management programs of the Wildlife Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources. Such programs may include trout hatchery operations, stocking or restocking of trout in waters of the state, rehabilitation of trout habitat areas on state managed wildlife lands, education programs, technical assistance to private landowners in the rehabilitation and maintenance of trout habitats on their lands, and projects to encourage public support for the license plate and the activities it funds. The Department of Natural Resources shall monitor the response of the trout populations to any such habitat conservation activities to determine their effectiveness.
(f) Special license plates issued under this Code section shall be transferred from one vehicle to another vehicle in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 40_2_80.
(g) The Department of Natural Resources shall submit a report to the chairpersons of the Senate Natural Resources Committee and the House Committee on Game, Fish and Parks detailing the revenues derived from the sale of special license plates issued under this Code section and the receipt and expenditure of any funds appropriated for the purposes provided by this Code section. Such report shall be made not later than the second Monday of January of each year."

Said chapter is further amended by striking Code Section 40_2_81, relating to space for county name decal, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"~~40_2_81~~ 40_2_9.
~~(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, any~~ Any metal five_year special, distinctive, or prestige license plate, except those provided for in Code Section 40_2_61, Code Section 40_2_62, and Code Section 40_2_82 or as otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, ~~issued or reissued as authorized in this article from and after July 1, 1985,~~ shall contain a space for a county name decal; and the provisions of this chapter relative to county name decals shall be applicable to all such license plates.
~~(b) The requirements of subsection (a) of this Code section shall apply to the following on or after January 1, 1990:~~
~~(1) License plates provided for in Code Section 40_2_38;~~
~~(2) License plates provided for in Code Sections 40_2_63 through 40_2_77; or~~
~~(3) License plates issued to school buses, ambulances, or forest products haulers.~~"