INDIANAPOLIS - Hoosier motorists will have eleven new specialty plates to consider when registering their vehicles in 2011. These plates will be available for purchase along with the other group plates currently available. The cost for the plate is $40, with $25 going directly to the sponsoring organization. The specialty plate fee is in addition to the normal fees and excise/wheel taxes paid with the registration.
Andy Miller, Commissioner of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), explained that the selections were based on criteria established by law and BMV regulations. Some of the key qualifications of the organization applying for a plate include:
- Not-for-profit status with statewide beneficial impact.
- Funds from plate sales must be used for unique projects and not for ongoing operating expenses.
- At least 500 signatures of people committing to purchase the plate.
Miller added that BMV has implemented a new license plate "just-in-time" manufacturing and distribution processes that have made the specialty plate program much easier to manage. Plates are now printed when they are ordered with no inventory kept in the branches. They are mailed from a central processing facility. The BMV is instituting a uniform design for specialty plates beginning in 2011. All specialty plates will be printed on a white background with a designated space for an organization's logo or artwork and a tag line at the bottom of the plate.
In 2009, Hoosiers purchased 431,854 specialty plates (excluding In God We Trust and some military-related and legislated plates that provide no funds for an organization) generating over $10.5 million for the sponsoring organizations.
Complete information about all specialty plates is available at myBMV.com.
The newly approved specialty plates and the sponsors' use of the funds are
- Bicycle Indiana - Bicycling safety and education programs
- Wild Turkey - Habitat enhancement, hunter safety, education programs
- Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent - Child Protection Center
- Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana - Spay Neuter Assistance Program for families with limited income
- Greenways Foundation - Grants to local communities for trails and greenways
- Sheriff's Association - Training conferences and college scholarships
- Indiana Youth Institute - Promote mentoring and recruit mentors
- Stop Diabetes - Education and research about diabetes
- Donate Life Indiana - Promote organ donation
- Indiana Teamsters Local Unions - Contribution to the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police Foundation
- National Rifle Association - Hunter safety and conservation projects grants to Indiana groups and organizations
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