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House debates special license plate for search-and-rescue teams; $6,000 set-up appropriation drawn into questioning
Summary
Lawmakers debated HB 118 to create a special license plate for current county search-and-rescue members, including a $6,000 appropriation for plate establishment and administration; supporters said it enhances public-safety identification while some members raised concerns about proliferation of specialty plates and whether the fee should be revenue-neutral.
Lawmakers on the House floor debated House Bill 118, which would establish a special license plate for current members of county search-and-rescue teams and include a $6,000 appropriation to create and administer the plate.
Representative Ben Ferry, sponsor of the measure, said the appropriation is ‘‘purely to establish the license plate itself and the administration needs to do it,’’ explaining the plate’s purpose is identification and public-safety, not fundraising. Ferry said the plate would allow field commanders to verify team membership (the plate would include a call number that can be used to reach a team member) and that the sheriff would control eligibility to ensure only current members receive the plates.
Several colleagues questioned whether the specialty plate program should be revenue-neutral. Representative Viskupski asked why the plate was not designed to recoup set-up costs from recipients; Ferry replied the sponsors and search-and-rescue organizations viewed the plate as a public-safety measure rather than a fundraiser and did not want to charge volunteer members an additional fee.
Representative Pace and others supported the bill on public-safety grounds, while Representative Yerra and others cautioned the House should consider a broader review of the growing number of special plates and appropriations used to create them. Representative Yerra asked the body to note how many specialty plates carry $6,000 establishment appropriations and suggested a study to determine what qualifies as a specialized plate.
What happens next: the transcript records extended discussion and questions to the sponsor and closes with the sponsor’s summation asking for support. The record does not include a final roll-call vote in this excerpt.
Attribution: Quotations and attributions in this article come from the House floor transcript, including Representative Ferry’s explanation that the $6,000 ‘‘is purely to establish the license plate itself and the administration needs to do it.’’
