Committee advances change to dealer plate rules to allow plates to stay with owner rather than vehicle
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Summary
Senate Bill 1902 would modify a recent law eliminating temporary paper tags by allowing metal buyer plates to remain with vehicle owners (or be transferred between an owner’s vehicles) rather than remaining with the vehicle; dealer groups supported the change to reduce security and storage burdens.
Senator Nichols described Senate Bill 1902 to the committee as a technical modification to earlier legislation that eliminated temporary paper tags. Under the version scheduled to take effect July 1, buyer license plates would remain with the vehicle. SB 1902 instead would allow plates to remain with the person (the vehicle owner) so that when an owner trades for a different car they may transfer the plate to the newly purchased vehicle.
Dealer representatives and rental companies told the committee the change would ease administrative and security burdens. Charlie Gilchrist, a Ford dealer, said the current system requires dealerships to store hundreds of metal buyer plates in bolted safes and to track them like a library; allowing plates to stay with owners would reduce that operational burden. Don Schwent, controller for Enterprise Mobility, said the ability to remove and securely recycle plates is important for companies with high turnover and wholesale dealer sales.
Senator Nichols said the proposal aims to limit theft and logistical problems at dealership lots and described the bill as intended to help dealers and maintain security while keeping the policy goal of ending temporary paper tags intact.
The committee reported SB 1902 favorably to the full Senate with a recommendation that it do pass; a roll-call showed 9 ayes, 0 nays.
