06 LC 34
0563
House
Bill 1205
By:
Representatives Franklin of the
43rd,
Stephens of the
164th,
Rice of the
51st,
Scott of the
2nd,
Maxwell of the
17th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 40-2-86.3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to license plates commemorating Civil War battlefields and historic sites, so as
to include the Sons of Confederate Soldiers license plate; to provide for a
portion of the revenue to go to the Civil War Commission; to provide for
issuance, renewal, fees, licensing agreements, applications, and transfers
relative to such special license plates; to provide for related matters; to
provide a contingent effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 40-2-86.3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to license
plates commemorating Civil War battlefields and historic sites, is amended by
striking it in its entirety and substituting in its place the
following:
"40-2-86.3.
(a)
Subject to subsection (d) of this Code section, motor vehicle owners who are
residents of the State of Georgia, upon application therefor and upon full
compliance with the state motor vehicle laws in relation to registration and
licensing of motor vehicles and upon payment of the regular motor vehicle
registration fee and an additional initial fee of $25.00, shall be issued a
license plate commemorating
the Sons of
Confederate Soldiers or Civil War
battlefields and historic sites in this state. A county name decal shall be
affixed and displayed on each license plate issued under this Code
section.
(b)
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Code section, this Code section
shall not be implemented until such time as the State of Georgia has, through a
licensing agreement or otherwise, received such licenses or other permissions as
may be required to implement this Code section. The design of the initial
edition of the license plates, as well as the design of subsequent editions and
excepting only any part or parts of the designs owned by others and licensed to
the state, shall be owned solely by the State of Georgia
for
its exclusive
use and control, except as authorized by the commissioner. The commissioner may
take such steps as may be necessary to give notice of and protect such right,
including the copyright or copyrights. However, such steps shall be cumulative
of the ownership and exclusive use and control established by this subsection as
a matter of law, and no person shall reproduce or otherwise use such design or
designs, except as authorized by the commissioner.
(b)(c)
The license plate issued pursuant to this Code section shall be transferred
between vehicles as provided in Code Section 40-2-80.
(c)(d)
Special license plates issued under this Code section shall be renewed annually
with a revalidation decal as provided in Code Section 40-2-31 upon payment of an
additional $25.00 annual registration fee, which fee shall be collected by the
county tag agent at the time of collection of other registration fees and
remitted to the state as provided in Code Section 40-2-34.
(d)(e)
Each application for a special license plate under this Code section along with
all fees required by subsection (a) of this Code section shall be submitted
directly to the Civil War Commission established by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1952, which
shall retain all applications thereby received for such special license plates
until a minimum of 500 applications has been received, whereupon the
applications and fees shall be transmitted to the commissioner. After the
receipt of 500 applications for such special license plates, the commissioner
will then design the special license plate. If the commissioner does not receive
the required minimum of 500 applications for special license plates under this
Code section no later than July 31 of the year preceding the year of issuance of
such plates, no such special plates shall be issued and all fees shall be
refunded no later than 30 days thereafter to applicants by the Civil War
Commission. All license plates issued pursuant to this Code section shall be
issued in compliance with the state motor vehicle laws relating to registration
and licensing of motor vehicles as prescribed in this article.
(e)(f)
The provisions of subsection
(d)(e)
of this Code section notwithstanding, the Civil War Commission may impose a
nonrefundable surcharge to be paid directly to the Civil War Commission by an
applicant at the time of application which shall not exceed $20.00 per
application; provided, however, that funds generated by any such surcharges
shall be expended by the Civil War Commission only for the acquisition of Civil
War battlefields in this state and associated Civil War historic sites in this
state and for the maintenance, protection, and interpretation of the same as
provided by Ga. L. 1993, p.
1952."
SECTION
2.
(a)
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2006, except as otherwise provided in
subsection (b) of this section.
(b)
If an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Georgia authorizing the
donation of revenue from sales of special license plates to the Civil War
Commission is not ratified at the general election in 2006, this Act shall be
repealed in its entirety on January 1, 2007, and no such motor vehicle license
plates shall be issued pursuant to this Act.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.