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Senate committee advances bill to create women's veteran license plate; DFA, VA outline costs and verification
Summary
The Senate Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs Committee gave a due-pass recommendation to Senate Bill 405 to create a specialty license plate for women veterans and retire an existing Pearl Harbor survivor plate, sponsor Senator Dave Wallace told the committee.
The Senate Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs Committee gave a due-pass recommendation to Senate Bill 405, which would issue a specialty license plate for women veterans in Arkansas and retire an existing Pearl Harbor survivor plate, sponsor Senator Dave Wallace said.
Senator Wallace said the Department of Veterans Affairs will cover $20,000 in upfront costs to design and program the plate, with the department recouping that amount through a one-time, $15 design-use contribution charged to each veteran who obtains the plate. "The really good part of this is $5 at 15 will go immediately to female veteran programs. And once the debt is retired to the department of VA, all $15... will go to help our female veterans with issues that they have unique to them," Wallace said.
Alicia Austin Smith, chief counsel of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), confirmed the $15 fee is for the initial plate only; renewal follows the standard minimal renewal fee. DFA counsel described the design-use contribution as consistent with other special plates and said proceeds first recoup initial costs before being distributed according to the plate’s program rules.
Gina Chandler, director of veterans services (identified in the record as "veteran services"), and DFA staff explained how verification will work at revenue offices. Gina Chandler said revenue staff collect proof of service such as a DD214 or discharge papers when issuing veterans plates, and that existing personnel are already following that protocol. "When we go get a veteran's license plate... we have to show our proof of service... DFA collects a copy of our DD214 or discharge papers," she said.
Senators asked how many women veterans the state has. Wallace cited a figure of about 40,000 women veterans in Arkansas.
Committee members also discussed the plate-design process; Senator Wallace said designs are reviewed before plates are produced and cited the then-current Central High School plate as an example of the design-review process. The sponsor said the VA will front the design and programming costs and recover them from the design-use contribution paid by initial applicants.
With questions answered, the committee gave the bill a due-pass recommendation. Senator Love moved the due pass; Senator Bryant seconded. The due-pass recommendation was approved by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.
