Senate Transportation committee concurs on bill to transfer Lewis and Clark bicentennial specialty plate to DOJ process

The Montana Senate Transportation Committee voted to concur on House Bill 641, a bill to move the Lewis and Clark bicentennial specialty license plate from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Justice nd bring it into the same streamlined process as other specialty plates. The committee took the voice vote during its session and recorded one "no" on the letter record: Senator Dunwell.

The bill is a technical cleanup requested by the Department of Commerce that would remove the plate's standalone statutory program created in 2001, and allow the three beneficiary nonprofits to apply for the specialty plate under the Department of Justice's process, the sponsor said. The sponsor added that the change does not eliminate the groups' opportunity to receive funding tied to the plate.

"Seven sixty-four one is brought at the request of the Department of Commerce to ensure fairness and streamline government oversight in Montana's specialty license plate program," the bill sponsor told the committee, explaining that the plate was created for the Lewis and Clark bicentennial and demand has steadily declined.

Mandy Rambo, deputy director and acting director at the Montana Department of Commerce, said the agency had attempted to move the plate in the 2023 session but did not do so because of staffing changes. "We did inform them that we would be carrying this bill this session as well," Rambo said, and asked the committee for a do-pass recommendation.

Molly Krukenberg, director of the Montana Historical Society, testified as an informational witness that the society receives a small portion of revenue from the bicentennial plate and was available to answer questions. She said the authority allocated for the Heritage Center had diminished to about $1,100 per year for the next biennium.

Committee members asked about the amount of revenue the Historical Society would lose and about options to preserve funding. Senator Olsen asked how much the historical society was losing; Krukenberg replied that allocated authority had declined and amounted to roughly $1,100 each year for Heritage Center exhibits related to Lewis and Clark. Senator Dunwell asked about the "intangible" benefits of the plate as commemoration; Krukenberg said the plate keeps the bicentennial in the public's mind while generating some revenue for related work.

After the hearing, a motion to concur on House Bill 641 was offered and carried by voice vote; the committee recorded that Senator Dunwell was the lone "no" on the letter record. The sponsor closed by urging the committee to move the bill under the Department of Justice like the other specialty plates so the three nonprofits could continue to pursue funding.

The bill moves the Lewis and Clark bicentennial plate into the same administrative path as approximately 200 other specialty plates and is intended as an efficiency measure rather than an elimination of nonprofit funding tied to the plate.