Senate Bill No. 9

Senate Bill No. 9-Committee on Natural Resources

CHAPTER

AN ACT relating to motor vehicles; providing for the issuance of special license plates for the support of the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin; imposing a fee for the issuance of those license plates to finance programs for the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

^
Section 1. Chapter 482 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:
1. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the department, in cooperation with the division of state lands of the state department of conservation and natural resources, shall design, prepare and issue license plates for the support of the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin using any colors that the department deems appropriate. The design of the license plates must include a depiction of Lake Tahoe and its surrounding area. The department shall not design, prepare or issue the license plates unless it receives at least 250 applications for the issuance of those plates.
2. The department may issue license plates for the support of the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin for a passenger car or light commercial vehicle upon application by a person who is entitled to license plates pursuant to NRS 482.265 and who otherwise complies with the requirements for registration and licensing pursuant to this chapter. A person may request that personalized prestige license plates issued pursuant to NRS 482.3667 be combined with license plates for the support of the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin if that person pays the fees for the personalized prestige license plates in addition to the fees for the license plates for the support of the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin pursuant to subsections 3 and 4.
3. The fee for license plates for the support of the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin is $35, in addition to all other applicable registration and license fees and motor vehicle privilege taxes. The license plates are renewable upon the payment of $10.
4. In addition to all fees for the license, registration and privilege taxes, a person who requests a set of license plates for the support of the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin must pay for the initial issuance of the plates an additional fee of $25 and for each renewal of the plates an additional fee of $20 to finance projects for the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
5. The department shall deposit the fees collected pursuant to subsection 4 with the state treasurer for credit to the account for license plates for the support of the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin created pursuant to section 3 of this act.
6. If, during a registration year, the holder of license plates issued pursuant to the provisions of this section disposes of the vehicle to which the plates are affixed, he may retain the plates and:
(a) Affix them to another vehicle that meets the requirements of this section if the transfer and registration fees are paid as set out in this chapter; or
(b) Within 30 days after removing the plates from the vehicle, return them to the department.
Sec. 2. NRS 482.270 is hereby amended to read as follows:
482.270 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 482.3747, 482.3775, 482.379, 482.3791, 482.3792, 482.3793, 482.3794 or 482.384, or section 1 of this act, the director shall order the preparation of motor vehicle license plates with no other colors than blue and silver. The director may substitute white in place of silver when no suitable material is available.
2. The director may determine and vary the size, shape and form and the material of which license plates are made, but each license plate must be of sufficient size to be plainly readable from a distance of 100 feet during daylight. All license plates must be treated to reflect light and to be at least 100 times brighter than conventional painted number plates. When properly mounted on an unlighted vehicle, the license plates, when viewed from a vehicle equipped with standard headlights, must be visible for a distance of not less than 1,500 feet and readable for a distance of not less than 110 feet.
3. Every license plate must have displayed upon it:
(a) The registration number, or combination of letters and numbers, assigned to the vehicle and to the owner thereof;
(b) The name of the state, which may be abbreviated;
(c) If issued for a calendar year, the year; and
(d) If issued for a registration period other than a calendar year, the month and year the registration expires.
4. The letters I and Q must not be used in the designation.
5. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 482.379, all letters and numbers must be of the same size.
Sec. 3. Chapter 321 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to read as follows:
1. The account for license plates for the support of the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin is hereby created in the state general fund. The administrator of the division of state lands of the state department of conservation and natural resources shall administer the account.
2. The money in the account does not lapse to the state general fund at the end of a fiscal year. The interest and income earned on the money in the account, after deducting any applicable charges, must be credited to the account.
3. The money in the account must be used only for the support of programs for the preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin and must not be used to replace or supplant funding available from other sources. The administrator may provide grants from the account to other public agencies to carry out the provisions of this section.
Sec. 4. The amendatory provisions of this act expire by limitation on October 1, 2001, if on that date the department of motor vehicles and public safety has received fewer than 250 applications for the issuance of a license plate pursuant to section 1 of this act.
________