GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2009

H                                                                                                                                                    1

HOUSE BILL 101

Short Title:        NC Flag Special Plate.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Setzer;  Howard, Hurley, Lucas, Spear, and Tarleton.
Referred to:	Transportation, if favorable, Finance.

February 11, 2009

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to authorize the division of motor vehicles to produce a special registration plate that has the flag of the Great State of North Carolina on its face.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑63(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b)      Every license plate shall have displayed upon it the registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it is issued, the name of the State of North Carolina, which may be abbreviated, and the year number for which it is issued or the date of expiration. A plate issued for a commercial vehicle, as defined in G.S. 20‑4.2(1), and weighing 26,001 pounds or more, must bear the word "commercial," unless the plate is a special registration plate authorized in G.S. 20‑79.4 or the commercial vehicle is a trailer or is licensed for 6,000 pounds or less. The plate issued for vehicles licensed for 7,000 pounds through 26,000 pounds must bear the word "weighted".

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a registration plate issued by the Division for a private passenger vehicle or for a private hauler vehicle licensed for 6,000 pounds or less shall be a "First in Flight" plate. A "First in Flight" plate shall have the words "First in Flight" printed at the top of the plate above all other letters and numerals. The background of the plate shall depict the Wright Brothers biplane flying over Kitty Hawk Beach, with the plane flying slightly upward and to the right. The following special registration plates do not have to be a "First in Flight" plate. The design of the plates that are not "First in Flight" plates must be approved by the Division and the State Highway Patrol for clarity and ease of identification.

(1)        Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

(2)        Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

(3)        Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

(4)        Friends of the Appalachian Trail.

(5)        NC Coastal Federation.

(6)        In God We Trust.

(7)        Stock Car Racing Theme.

(8)        Buddy Pelletier Surfing Foundation.

(9)        Guilford Battleground Company.

(10)      National Wild Turkey Federation.

(11)      North Carolina Aquarium Society.

(12)      First in Forestry.

(13)      North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation.

(14)      NC Trout Unlimited.

(15)      Ducks Unlimited.

(16)      Lung Cancer Research.

(17)      NC State Parks.

(18)      Support Our Troops.

(19)      US Equine Rescue League.

(20)      Fox Hunting.

(21)      Back Country Horsemen of North Carolina.

(22)      Hospice Care.

(23)      Home Care and Hospice.

(24)      NC Tennis Foundation.

(25)      AIDS Awareness.

(26) North Carolina State Flag."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 20‑79.4(b) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

"(88a) North Carolina State Flag. – Issuable to the registered owner of a motor vehicle. The plate shall bear the image of the flag of the Great State of North Carolina on it. The letters and numbers shall be black. The Division may not issue the plate authorized by this subdivision unless it receives at least 300 applications for the plate."

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2009.