Chapter
642
2006 -- S 2016
Enacted 07/14/06
A N A
C T
RELATING TO
REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES -- VETERANS' PLATES
Introduced By: Senators
Walaska, Bates, Issa, Damiani, and McCaffrey
Date Introduced: January
10, 2006
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 31-3-53 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-3 entitled
"Registration
of
Vehicles" is hereby amended to read as follows:
31-3-53.
Veterans' plates. -- (a) The administrator of the division of motor
vehicles shall
issue
for any motorcycle eligible for registration as a motorcycle, motor vehicle
eligible for
registration
as an automobile, or a commercial vehicle having a gross weight of ten thousand
pounds
(10,000 lbs.) or less, plates designated as "War Veteran",
"Purple Heart", and "Ex-POW"
upon
application on proper forms furnished by the administrator of the division of
motor vehicles
to
veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam conflict, and
any member of
the
armed forces of the United States who served at any time in the Persian Gulf
beginning
August
2, 1990 to present, in the Iraq operations at any time between March 20, 2003
to present,
in the
Panama operations beginning December 20, 1989 to January 31, 1990, in the
Lebanon
operations
beginning: (1) July 1, 1958 to November 1, 1958, (2) August 20, 1982 to May 31,
1983,
(3) June 1, 1983 to December 1987, in the Grenada operations beginning October
23, 1983
to
November 21, 1983, or any veteran of any conflict or undeclared war who has
earned a
campaign
ribbon or expeditionary medal for service in said conflict or undeclared war.
Veterans
who have served in multiple conflicts are entitled to be issued, veterans' plates
equal
to the number of conflicts he or she served in; provided, the plates are
limited to the number
of
vehicles owned by the veteran.
(b) For motor vehicles the special plates shall be designed as follows:
(1) Left and right borders of two inches (2");
(2) Left border shall be red with three (3) white stars within the border;
(3) Right border shall be blue and have five (5) stripes, three (3) red and two
(2) white
within
the border;
(4) Letters shall be blue in a white background with the words "War
Veteran" clearly
visible
at the top center of the plate.
(c) The applicant shall be required to pay a service charge of ten dollars
($10.00) and a
transfer
charge of five dollars ($5.00) for the each plate.
(d) Any person issued a plate under this section prior to July 31, 1989 shall
be entitled to
a
reimbursement in the amount of seven dollars ($7.00) upon application for it.
(e) The owner of a motor vehicle eligible for registration as a commercial vehicle
having
a gross
weight of ten thousand pounds (10,000 lbs.) or less that is issued war veteran
plates shall
continue
to pay the appropriate commercial registration fee for those plates.
The owner of a motor vehicle eligible for registration as a commercial vehicle
having a
gross
weight of six thousand three hundred pounds (6,300 lbs.) but not more than ten
thousand
pounds
(10,000 lbs.) shall sign an affidavit at the time of application for said
plates stating that
the
vehicle is to be used for personal use only.
(f) For purposes of this section, a "veteran" shall be defined as any
person who served in
the
military or naval service of the United States in World War I or who served in
the military or
naval
service of the United States in World War II at any time during the period
beginning
December
7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946, or who served in the military or
naval
services
of the United States in the Korean conflict at any time during the period
beginning June
27, 1950
and ending January 31, 1955, or in the Vietnam conflict at any time during the
period
beginning
August 5, 1964 and ending May 7, 1975, or in the Taiwan Straits expeditionary
force
at any
time from August 23, 1958 to January 1, 1959 or the Persian Gulf beginning
August 2,
1990 to
present, in the Panama Operations beginning December 20, 1989 to January 31,
1990, in
the
Lebanon Operations beginning: (1) July 1, 1958 to November 1, 1958, (2) August
20, 1982 to
May 31,
1983, (3) June 1, 1983 to December 1987, in the Grenada Operations beginning
October
23, 1983
to November 21, 1983, or any veteran of any conflict or undeclared war who has
earned
a
campaign ribbon or expeditionary medal for service in said conflict or
undeclared war. Upon
the
death of the holder of any war veteran plates, the plates shall be transferred
to the spouse's
surviving
spouse for the spouse's lifetime until he or she remarries.
(g) The "veteran" described in subsection (f) must have been
honorably discharged from
the
armed forces of this nation in order to receive plates pursuant to this section
and, for purposes
of this
section, a medical discharge shall be deemed an honorable discharge.
(h) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall prepare a design that
is
appropriate
for use on a motorcycle.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00203
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