Chapter
152
2008 -- H 8261 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/01/08
A N A C T
RELATING TO
REGISTRATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES -- VETERANS' PLATES
Introduced By: Representatives Carter, Corvese, Scott, Gallison, and Gemma
Date Introduced: May 08,
2008
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 registrar of motor vehicles shall issue
for any motor
vehicle
eligible for registration as an automobile, or for any motorcycle eligible for
registration as
a
motorcycle, or for a commercial vehicle having a gross weight of ten thousand
one pounds
(10,001
lbs.) or less, plates designated as "Veteran", "Purple
Heart", and "Ex-POW" upon
application
on proper forms furnished by the administrator of the division of motor
vehicles to
veterans.
Gold Star parents shall also be eligible for plates designated as
"Veteran".
(b) The special plates designated "Veteran" shall be designed as
follows;
(1) Letters and numbers shall be blue in a white background with the words
"Rhode
Island"
clearly visible at the top center of the plate and the word "Veteran"
visible at the bottom
center
of the plate.
(2) The background will be a red, white and blue waving American Flag.
(3) On the top right corner will be a decal with the military branch of the
service in
which
the Veteran served (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Merchant
Marines, and
Gold
Star Parent).
(c) The applicant shall be required to pay a service charge of twenty dollars
($20.00) and
a
transfer charge of five dollars ($5.00) for each plate.
(d) The applicant shall be entitled to a plate for each vehicle owned by the
applicant
upon
payment of an additional service charge and/or transfer charge for each
vehicle.
(e) The owner of a motor vehicle eligible for registration as a commercial
vehicle and
having a
gross weight of ten thousand one pounds (10,001 lbs.) or less that is issued
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 one
pounds
(10,001
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 the purposes of this section, a "veteran" shall be defined as
any person who has
served
on active duty in the armed forces of the United States. The term
"veteran" shall also
include
members of the National Guard and Reserves: (1) called to active duty
authorized by the
President
of the United States or the Secretary of Defense; or (2) who have twenty (20)
years of
service
with a letter and record of separation of service. Upon the death of the holder
of any
veteran
plates, the plates shall be transferred to the 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 or a general discharge shall be deemed an
honorable
discharge.
(h) For the purpose of this section, "Gold Star Parent" means a
person who has lost a son
or a
daughter as a result of service with the armed forces of the United States of
America;
provided,
the death was determined to be in the line of duty.
(i) 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.
(j)
A person shall be eligible for a veterans' plate if his or her deceased spouse
was
eligible
for a veterans' plate, notwithstanding the fact that the eligible deceased
spouse died prior
to
the enactment of this section in 1988.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02849/SUB A
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