Georgia House Motor Vehicles Committee approves new specialty plates, renames commercial vehicle unit and approves rural funeral-procession rule

The Georgia House Motor Vehicles Committee on an unspecified recent meeting approved a package of bills that would create two new specialty license plates, authorize separate ambulance and hearse license plates, rename and certify the state's commercial vehicle enforcement unit, update a federal compliance date, and require oncoming traffic on rural roads to yield to funeral processions.

The package, advanced by the committee chaired by Representative Allen Powell, includes House Bill 208 to create a State Parks and Historic Sites specialty plate and a black bass conservation plate; House Bill 114 to update a federal date in motor carrier hazardous-materials guidance; House Bill 116 to change the Motor Carrier Compliance Division name and require its officers to be trained and sworn law enforcement; House Bill 61 to issue separate ambulance and hearse tags; and a bill by Representative Franklin requiring oncoming traffic on rural roads to pull over for funeral processions under specified conditions.

Representative Lady Smith, the sponsor of House Bill 208, told the committee the plate for state parks would highlight Georgia's park system and raise funds to "support improving aging infrastructure" while a black bass plate would "help us raise awareness among anglers" and fund conservation efforts. She said the Department of Revenue had no substantive objections to the…