Bill giving DMV ability to issue plates dies in Assembly

Kiley Russell

Monday, May 3, 1999 | 11:40 a.m.

CARSON CITY - A move to revive a bill allowing the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue special license plates without Nevada lawmakers' approval died Monday in the Assembly.

SB67 was originally voted down 19-21 Friday at the urging of Assembly Majority Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson.

But Assemblyman Don Gustavson, R-Sun Valley, used a parliamentary maneuver to try to force another vote on the bill. That effort died on a voice vote Monday.

"We have these license plate bills every session, quite a few of them. This bill would've saved the taxpayers money," Gustavson said later.

"Over the last five sessions, I think we've had 28 special license plate bills. That's 56 hearings. I've heard it costs $800 minimum just to draft a bill. And we could be hearing other bills if we didn't have to sit there and listen to license plate bills," he said.

Special plates are used by non-profit or charitable organizations to raise money. Special fees are assessed on top of the normal price for a plate and that extra money goes to the organization which sponsors the plate - $25 for initial orders and $20 each year for registration renewal.

Perkins, a police captain, said Friday that SB67 would make it easier for people to get special license plates approved.

He added that the proliferation of special plates makes it extremely difficult for police to identify what state the plates are from or even to distinguish one special plate from another.

"There are in excess of 50 special license plates already in our state. It makes it difficult to identify the plate and then the car used in the commission of a crime," Perkins said Monday after the Assembly's floor session.

He added that the large number of special plates also makes it difficult for police to track down stolen cars.

But Perkins said he wasn't against the idea of having special license plates - just having a huge number of them.

"We have some plates that are very honorable. What I believe we're doing by allowing this proliferation is watering down the recognition we're trying to give," he said.

Some examples of the special plates include plates for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Reno scholarship programs, Lake Tahoe conservation efforts and the veteran's home.