Fate of old license plates debated

Friday, June 27, 1997 | 11:17 a.m.

Under Senate Bill 469, the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety would redesign the state's plates while remanufacturing the blue and white design that was issued before 1982, the Senate Transportation Committee heard Thursday.

DMV chief Ray Sparks said issuing new plates would make it easier for law enforcement to identity those who haven't properly registered their vehicles, forcing better compliance with registration rules.

Better compliance means increased emissions controls because cars and trucks registered in Washoe and Clark counties must meet strict emissions standards, Sparks said.

About 5 percent of the vehicles on the streets aren't registered properly and the new plates would make those violators stand out, he said.

The plates would promote traffic safety because they would be made with reflective material so that cars parked on the side of the road would be more visible, he said.

New license plates would also generate revenues for the state, he said.

However, one drawback of the plan is the DMV would need $87,000 up front to pay for the dies used in the plate-making process.

The state has five different types of blue and white plates and Transportation Chairman Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, said "we need to give them the new plates that look just like they did before or we'll have a holy war."

The bill states that people who apply for a new or renewed registration on or after January 1999 will get the redesigned plate. But people who have plates from before 1982 wouldn't get the new design unless they ask for it.

Sparks asked that the panel change the issuance date to 2001 to avoid a fiscal impact on this biennium's budget.

Historically, residents have fought license plate redesign proposals. But when O'Donnell asked if there was anyone at the hearing who wished to speak against the bill, no one responded.

"None opposed? That's a first," O'Donnell said.