Many Want More On Their Plates

Forget about bumper stickers.

Instead, the state Legislature and Licensing Department are being swamped with requests for special license plates promoting causes like cat and dog spaying, salmon enhancement, environmental protection and amateur athletics.

“There’s a long laundry list of people who want those plates,” said Rep. Eric Robertson, R-Buckley, chairman of a legislative subcommittee that is reviewing policy on the issue.

The Legislature has approved seven fund-raising logo license plates, one for each of the six state universities and the Seattle Mariners’ ballpark. Of the cost, $30 to $45 a set, $28 goes to the group doing the money raising.

Stadium promoters hope to raise $300,000 a year from the plates. Washington State University has raised about $150,000 for scholarships in the last couple of years.

Besides the fund-raising logo plates, the state issues special license plates for Pearl Harbor survivors, Medal of Honor winners, Purple Heart recipients, disabled veterans, former prisoners of war, amateur radio operators, square dancers and dozens of others.

Rep. Ruth Fisher, D-Tacoma, said she doesn’t have a problem with the veterans plates, but believes there too many others.

“License plates are supposed to be for identification purposes,” Fisher said, “and we do tend to clutter them up with little stories of our lives. I don’t think that’s the place for it.”

Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, disagrees.

“I think the public gets into this,” McAuliffe said.

She sponsored bills in 1995 and 1996 that would have introduced ‘apple” license plates to raise money for local schools. Both bills died, but interest remains.

“School districts need to be creative and innovative to raise money for things they want,” McAuliffe said. “This is a nice, clean way to do it. It shows a priority. Everyone who has one of these supports education.”

The state has nearly 5 million licensed vehicles, so any group with substantial membership has the potential to raise a lot of money. Annual renewal fees can mean a steady stream of money from an essentially voluntary source.

Among the groups seeking state approval for fund-raising plates are:

Humane Society branches to pay to spay and neuter cats and dogs.

Environmentalists, to fight pollution in Puget Sound.

Fishermen, to help protect salmon and other endangered fish.

Amateur athletics groups, to cover expenses for Olympic athletes in training.

Printing special plates costs money that is not always recovered. Soon after the square dance became the state’s official dance, the Square and Folk Dance Federation of Washington asked for a special license plate - not to raise money but for recognition.

Licensing officials approved the plate reluctantly.

“They told us they had 5,000 members and they could sell 3,500,” said Nancy Kelly, a licensing department administrator.

Only 845 have been purchased.

The department has yet to recovered its design and production costs, an experience that may weigh against future requests, Kelly said.

In Florida, any group seeking a special license plate must collect 10,000 signatures from people who say they’ll buy the plates and deposit $30,000 toward design and production costs.

In New York an $8,500 deposit is required to cover the cost of 300 sets of plates. If the plates aren’t sold in three years, the state keeps the money.

Besides cost issues, many police officers find special plates difficult to read, said former Spokane County Sheriff Larry Erickson, who is now director of the state Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

“The more junk you add on, the harder it gets to identify the plates,” he said.