SPECIALTY PLATES; TRAILER TAX H.B. 6137 (H-1): FLOOR ANALYSIS


House Bill 6137 (Substitute H-1 as reported without amendment)
Sponsor: Representative Philip LaJoy
House Committee: Transportation
Senate Committee: Transportation

CONTENT
The bill would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to do the following:

-- Allow the Secretary of State (SOS), beginning January 1, 2007, to develop and issue specialty fund-raising license plates and collector plates, if authorized by a Public Act.
-- Increase from seven to eight the number of fund-raising plates that the SOS may develop at one time.
-- Require a start-up fee of $15,000 for a new fund-raising license plate, and set sales goals for fund-raising license plates.
-- Provide for the design of a fund-raising plate recognizing support for our troops, and require donations for the plates to be disbursed to Support Our Troops, Inc. of Michigan for troops and their families.
-- Require an organization that received donations from the sale of fund-raising license plates to report annually to the State Treasurer on expenditures of the money received under the Code.
-- Authorize the SOS to develop, market, and promote a collector plate only with funds available from the collection of service fees.
-- Reduce the maximum duration of a temporary permit for a fund-raising plate from 60 to 30 days.
-- Require royalty fees from the authorized use of a fund-raising plate design, logo, or image to be credited to the Transportation Administration Collection Fund, instead of the Michigan Transportation Fund.
-- Designate the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) as the entity in charge of administering funds from the sale of lighthouse preservation specialty plates.
-- Repeal a provision related to a monthly fee for an Olympic Education-Training Center fund-raising plate.
-- Establish an effective date of October 1, 2005, on a provision related to the vehicle registration tax for a trailer.
The bill would take effect on January 1, 2007.


MCL 257.217d et al. Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy

FISCAL IMPACT
The Department of State reports that in FY 2004-05, there were 201,000 fund-raising plate transactions generating $1.2 million for special causes and $1.2 million for 15 State universities. The new start-up fee and redesign fee for fund-raising plates would offset costs of creating, producing, and issuing fund-raising plates. Those costs are currently absorbed by the Department of State.


Date Completed: 12-6-06 Fiscal Analyst: Joe Carrasco

Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. hb6137/0506