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Committee advances bill to allow up to five amateur‑radio license plates and label them "Amateur Radio"
Summary
Representative Jared Hendricks told the committee House Bill 13‑27 would add “Amateur Radio” wording to a specialty plate and allow up to five plates per licensee without the extra personalized fee. DOT said the change would not add an extra $25 special‑interest fee; the committee voted to advance the bill.
The Senate Transportation Committee advanced House Bill 13‑27 after testimony that the change would help identify licensed amateur radio operators who provide emergency and event communications.
Representative Jared Hendricks said the plates would display the operator’s FCC call sign and the words “Amateur Radio,” and would allow an individual ham operator to register up to five vehicles with the same call sign (with numeric suffixes) without paying an extra special‑interest personalization fee. Hendricks and other supporters described amateur radio operators’ volunteer role in emergency communications, citing use of repeaters and battery‑backed installs during the Red River flood and other incidents.
Brad Shafer of the Department of Transportation said the plate change would not require an additional $25 personalized‑plate fee; registered owners would pay the regular registration fee for each vehicle but would not pay an extra personalized plate surcharge. Shafer said the department currently has 347 amateur‑radio plates in the state and that the proposed change would not create manufacturing problems for plates.
Sheriff Chad Kaiser of Stutsman County and others testified in support, describing ham operators’ utility for local emergency response. Senators and DOT staff discussed plate formatting and how many vehicles a single call sign could appear on; Hendricks said other states allow multiple vehicles per call sign and that the bill sets the limit at five.
The committee approved a motion to give the bill a due‑pass recommendation; the roll call recorded on the hearing transcript shows mixed votes by committee members and the clerk announced the result as recorded.
Ending: Supporters described the change as low‑cost recognition of volunteer communicators with utility in disasters and public events; DOT said the change would impose no additional special‑interest fee.
