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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Specialty plates win, lose

Meghann M. Cuniff Staff writer

BOISE – The Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday agreed to three new specialty license plates for Idaho, then approved a bill aimed at limiting such plates.

“The difficulty with these specialty plates is there are so many good causes, it’s difficult to distinguish and approve (them),” said Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, before voting for a license plate to raise money for breast cancer awareness.

Jorgenson said he makes a point of voting against specialty license plate bills, but the breast cancer awareness plate, sponsored by Post Fall resident Tracey Brown, the reigning Miss Idaho, was something he couldn’t vote against.

“Miss Idaho has a very, very worthy cause,” Jorgenson said. “And she happens to be from Kootenai County.”

Committee members Brad Little, R-Emmett, and Senate President Pro Tem Bob Geddes, R-Soda Springs, voted against the breast cancer plate and the other two plates, one from the Idaho State Historical Society and one from the Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Center.But support for the bill to limit specialty plates was unanimous.

HB 609 requires organizations to foot the cost of producing a specialty plate, which has been estimated to be about $6,000.

The bill also mandates that money from the plate sales go toward highway maintenance rather than the organization on the plate.

“It’ll take the incentive out of entities wanting to make money from Idaho state license plates,” said committee Chairman Skip Brandt, R-Kooskia.

Little said the bill should serve as “an incentive to stop the bleeding and the hemorrhaging we have of funds from the department.”

Little said the flood of specialty license plates is not only excessive, it’s unconstitutional.

“We are subsidizing these specialty plates,” Little said, referring to what happens when the department pays for the production of plates that aren’t hot sellers. “Our constitution is very clear that the money raised through transportation stays in transportation.”

Brandt replied, “Well senator, there’s 400,000 people out there with specialty license plates for you to…”

“Strip them of. Get your screw driver,” Geddes interrupted with a laugh.

Lawmakers’s disgust with what some say is an excessive amount of specialty plates reached the Legislature last year in the form of a failed bill that looked to do away with specialty plates completely.

The three plates approved by the Senate committee Thursday go to the full Senate.

A plate from the National Rifle Association has already passed both chambers. Proceeds from the NRA plate go to Idaho highways.