Chapter 426
2022 -- S 2421
Enacted 06/30/2022

A N   A C T
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Lombardo, Kallman, Archambault, Miller, DiMario, Valverde, and Euer

Date Introduced: February 15, 2022

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
     SECTION 1. Chapter 31-3 of the General Laws entitled "Registration of Vehicles" is
hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
     31-3-122 31-3-123. Special plate for Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals.
     (a) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered to make available
special motor vehicle registration plates for the not-for-profit corporation Rhode Island Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ("RISPCA"). The plates shall be designed to reference Rhode
Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, commemorating its one hundred fifty (150)
years of service.
     (b) The special plate shall be displayed upon the same registration number assigned to the
vehicle for which it was issued, and shall be used in place of and in the same manner as the
registration plates issued to the vehicle. The original registration plates for the vehicle shall be
removed from the vehicle and returned to the division of motor vehicles. The registration certificate
for the plates shall be carried in the vehicle, in accordance with ยง 31-3-9. The registration certificate
shall be in effect for the special plate.
     (c) The RISPCA motor vehicle plates shall be the same size as regular motor vehicle plates,
and shall be designed by the RISPCA in conjunction with the division of motor vehicles, with the
design approved by the Rhode Island state police.
     (d) The RISPCA plates shall be subject to a minimum pre-paid order of at least six hundred
(600) sets of plates per plate type (i.e., passenger, commercial, etc.). The RISPCA plates shall not
be issued unless the minimum order(s) requirements are met. The initial order will be handled by
the RISPCA, and shall not be submitted to the division of motor vehicles for production until the
minimum order(s) have been met and the proper paperwork submitted to the division.
     (e) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall develop pre-payment
procedures, and any other procedures deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
     (f) In addition to the regular prescribed motor vehicle registration fee, the RISPCA plates
shall be subject to a forty-dollar ($40.00) issuance surcharge.
     (g) The forty-dollar ($40.00) issuance surcharge shall be allocated as follows:
     Twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be allocated to the general fund and the remaining twenty
dollars ($20.00) shall be distributed annually to the RISPCA to assist in the furtherance of its
programs in the state of Rhode Island.
     (h) A ten-dollar ($10.00) surcharge for subsequent registration renewals shall be allocated
to the RISPCA.
     (i) In consideration of the receipt of funds from the registration of RISPCA plates, the
foundation must use any Rhode Island sourced funds in, and for the benefit of, Rhode Island-based
charitable organizations.
     (j) The RISPCA will be required to submit an annual accounting report before such monies
are distributed.
     (k) There shall be no refunds for early cancellation of RISPCA plates.
     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect six (6) months after passage.
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LC004347
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