| Chapter 113 |
| 2024 -- S 2240 Enacted 06/15/2024 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES |
Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, DiMario, F. Lombardi, Felag, and Gu |
| Date Introduced: January 24, 2024 |
| 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: |
| 31-3-12731-3-129. Special plate for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation. |
| (a) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered to make available |
| special motor vehicle registration plates for the not-for-profit entity Commercial Fisheries Research |
| Foundation. The plates shall be designed to reference the not-for-profit entity Commercial Fisheries |
| Research Foundation. |
| (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 § 31-3-9. The registration certificate |
| shall be in effect for the special plate. |
| (c) The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation motor vehicle plates shall be the same |
| size as regular motor vehicle plates and shall be designed by the Commercial Fisheries Research |
| Foundation in conjunction with the division of motor vehicles, with the design approved by the |
| Rhode Island state police. |
| (d) The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation plates shall be subject to a compliance |
| with § 31-3-117 relating to the number of minimum pre-paid order prepaid orders of plates per |
| plate type (i.e., passenger, commercial, etc.) and any required payment. The Commercial Fisheries |
| Research Foundation plates shall not be issued unless the minimum order requirements are met. |
| The initial order will be handled by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and shall not |
| be submitted to the division of motor vehicles for production until the minimum order(s) have been |
| met and the proper paper work submitted to the division. |
| (e) The administrator of motor vehicles shall develop prepayment 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, Commercial |
| Fisheries Research Foundation 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 Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation to conduct |
| collaborative fisheries research and education projects to advance the achievement of sustainable |
| fisheries. |
| (h) A ten dollar ($10.00) surcharge for subsequent registration renewals shall be allocated |
| to the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation. |
| (i) In consideration of the receipt of funds from the registration of Commercial Fisheries |
| Research Foundation plates, the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation must use any Rhode- |
| Island sourced funds in and for the benefit of Rhode-Island based charitable organizations. |
| (j) Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation will be required to submit an annual |
| accounting report before such monies are distributed. |
| (k) There shall be no refunds for early cancellation of Commercial Fisheries Research |
| Foundation plates. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect six (6) months after passage. |
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| LC003622 |
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