Whereas, current law prohibits a vehicle carrying more than 15 passengers from displaying a vanity registration plate; and

Whereas, certain for-hire transportation businesses now transport passengers in vehicles carrying more than 15 passengers; and

Whereas, the inability of these businesses to use vanity plates as advertisement on their larger vehicles places them at an economic disadvantage; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §453, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 34, §1, is further amended to read:

1. Vanity registration plates. The Secretary of State may issue registration plates that contain letters or a combination of letters and numbers for automobiles, buses, taxi cabs, limousines, pickup trucks, trucks, motorcycles, motor homes or semitrailers and camp trailers. The number of characters appearing on a plate issued under this section may not exceed 7. The Secretary of State may not issue vanity plates for vehicles registered pursuant to section 504, subsection 2, or section 512, 531 or 532.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This bill authorizes the Secretary of State to issue vanity registration plates for buses.