[at-l] RE: AT Plates in Other States

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 08:56 AM 10/20/2004 -0400, Leslie Booher wrote:
>Also, in VA, we have some tags that are a set fee when you buy them and 
>others that you pay for by the year.  It's a complicated system.  anklebear

NY also has an initial fee (for production of the custom plate) and an 
annual additional fee to keep the plate both of which go to the state DMV 
and/or the agency/cause they promote. A plate for an organization (i.e. the 
Harley Owners Group) may get an initial portion of the initial sale of the 
plate but only "causes" get any of the annual renewal thereafter. To be an 
approved "cause" the money must go to a non-political designated fund 
(conservation, cancer research, etc.). A dedicated trail maintenance fund 
*might* fit that criteria.

While the plates are an attractive venue for supporting a cause, I am a bit 
put off by the fact that the government gets an extra annual fee (above and 
beyond the usual registration fee) for allowing you the privilege of 
continuing to display the plate you have already paid for with the initial 
fee. Example: If you wish to show your support for the Autism Society of 
America  on your NYS registration you will pay an initial fee of $43 to get 
the plate. A portion of that fee goes to the Society but each year you 
renew you will pay $25 *in addition* to your annual registration fee. The 
$25 goes to NYS DMV, not the Society. Apparently the Autism Society either 
did not apply to be approved as a "cause" or they were not approved. The 
"causes" do receive some or all of the $25 annual additional fee. The 
amount they get is shown on the web page where the plates are listed 
(www.nydmv.state.ny.us/org.htm for those who may be curious).

I appreciate Thru-Thiker's comment that it is more work than you might 
think. In my case I am dealing with the bureaucracy of the state and that 
of the ADK whose leadership handed the project to another committee. I am 
publications chair and the project was deemed to be more appropriate for 
the membership committee. FWIW Unlike the NC process TT described, the 
process I began in NY for ADK did not involve legislative sponsorship. It 
was all between the organization and the DMV. That process however is in 
moratorium/review and though the moratorium does not apply to existing 
applications I do not know if the membership committee had completed a 
formal application prior to the moratorium. If the new process requires 
legislative approval of each design, God help us. They haven't been able to 
pass an on-time budget in decades.