Students lobby Legislature for one license plate

Wednesday, May 14, 1997 | 11:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- It was kids vs. cops in the Nevada Legislature.

A group of students from the gifted and talented class at Vaughn Middle School in Reno urged the Assembly Transportation Committee Tuesday, in the interest of saving money, to repeal the law requiring license plates on the front and back of cars.

Jessica Johnson said 19 other states require only license plates on the back of cars. Evan Stern said Arizona has an average savings of $847,000 a year with its one license plate law. Paul Stephens, son of state Transportation Director Tom Stephens, said, "We care about the finances of our state."

The three, accompanied by about 15 other students, received an ovation from the committee and the audience at the end of the hearing on Assembly Bill 449, sponsored by Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno.

The Nevada Taxpayers Association and the Nevada Motor Transport Association joined in backing the bill that might save the state as much as $500,000 a year.

Students had conceived the idea while working on designing a special license plate honoring the flag aboard the USS Nevada battleship.

But the bill ran into solid opposition from law enforcement.

"These kids are tough," said an admiring Eric Cooper, lobbyist for the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association. "I'd just as soon not be the grinch." But he and others had concerns.

Requiring a front license plate often helps in solving crimes, he said. For instance, a woman was kidnapped in Las Vegas, taken to Red Rock Canyon where she was raped, beaten and left for dead. But as the car drove away, she saw three numbers on the front license plate.

The plate was traced and the assailant is now in prison, said Cooper, former undersheriff for Metro Police.

In another case, he said some men held up the Crow's Nest Bar in Las Vegas and covered up the rear license plate. But they forgot about the front plate, which the bartender saw and relayed to police. They were quickly nabbed.

Cooper, Nevada Highway Patrol Chief Mike Hood and Ray Sparks, acting director of the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, all testified against the bill. Hood said law enforcement officers "rely heavily (on front license plates) in solving a crime."

Hood said in hit-and-run accidents, often the front part of the car is damaged and the license plate is knocked off, allowing officers to quickly trace the vehicle and make an arrest.

Transportation Committee Chairwoman Vonne Chowning, D-Las Vegas, said there might be a compromise that could be fashioned and an immediate vote would not be taken on the bill.