House committee advances bill to standardize temporary vehicle registration plates

The House Transportation Committee voted May 6 to report House Bill 580 favorably, a measure by Representative Robin Veil that would change how temporary vehicle registration plates are issued and displayed.

The measure, presented by Representative Veil, would phase out the current preprinted temporary tags used by dealers and move to print-on-demand tags on paper or cardstock as determined by the Office of Motor Vehicles and approved by the commissioner. The bill also would require those temporary dealer-issued tags to be mounted on the vehicle’s bumper rather than displayed in a window.

The bill’s author said the change would create a single, uniform temporary plate format. “The tags will have to go on the bumper of the vehicle, no more in the light in the windows, and it will be a uniform code,” Representative Veil said.

Keith Connolly, chief of the Kenner Police Department, told the committee law enforcement across the state is seeing counterfeit temporary tags and that the tags are “very easy to spot” once officers train for them. “Whenever we see them, they’re very easy to spot. My officers have become experts in spotting these fraudulent tags, but behind every fraudulent tag is either an unlicensed, uninsured motorist,” Chief Connolly said.

The bill also raises an implementation fee to help pay for the new computer and printing system; Representative Veil said the current $4 fee could be amended and is intended to cover system costs so the state would not be on the hook for the upgrade. Committee members asked whether the Office of Motor Vehicles can accept registrations tied to the new tags immediately; lawmakers were told the new plates will be part of the planned OMV system upgrade and that enforcement tools would be available once that system is online.

Support cards from law enforcement were read into the record. Representative Wiley moved to report the bill favorably; there were no objections and the bill was reported to the floor.

The bill’s implementation depends on OMV’s system rollout and the commissioner’s specifications for plate material and anti-counterfeiting measures. Committee members and witnesses acknowledged the new system may not be immediate: the department is still procuring vendors and the OMV upgrade’s timeline is contingent on completing the new system.