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Substitute SB 97 for snowboard specialty plate fails after close vote
Summary
A substitute bill to create a snowboarding-themed specialty license plate was debated for tourism and promotion reasons but failed on the Senate floor by a narrow margin; senators also raised fiscal and policy concerns about proliferation of specialty plates.
Senate substitute Bill 97, a proposal to create a snowboarding specialty motor-vehicle plate intended to promote snowboarding and Utah winter sports, failed on the Senate floor after debate about provenance, fiscal impact and plate proliferation.
Senator Montgomery, sponsor of the substitute, said the proposal was prompted by requests from the snowboarding community and those involved in sports broadcasting and would promote Utah and winter-sports industries. He described the plate as a promotional item, not a safety measure, and said it would not be placed on the snowmobiles themselves but on motorists' vehicles.
Opponents questioned whether the plate would address issues such as snowmobile theft and raised administrative-cost concerns. Senator Petersen asked whether the plates would reduce theft; the answer was no, and proponents explained plates would be displayed on cars rather than the machines themselves. Senator Wharton and others warned that the upcoming Olympics could produce a separate statewide plate and cautioned against multiplying specialty plates.
The clerk reported the roll-call result as 14 aye votes, 13 nay votes and 2 absent; the substitute therefore failed to pass.
Following the vote, senators discussed related specialty-plate policy, data on sales of prior specialty plates, and whether bills should be circled to gather sales figures and fiscal impact information before final action.
