(1) Beginning the earlier of November 15, 2015, or when the department is able to issue the plates, the department shall issue special license plates to qualified applicants in accordance with this section for motorcycles, passenger cars, trucks, or noncommercial or recreational motor vehicles that do not exceed sixteen thousand pounds empty weight.
(2) (a) There is hereby established the Rocky Mountain National Park license plate. The department may stop issuing the Rocky Mountain National Park license plate if three thousand license plates are not issued by July 1, 2020. A person who was issued a Rocky Mountain National Park license plate on or before July 1, 2020, may continue to use the license plate after July 1, 2020, regardless of whether the department stops issuing the special license plate.
(b) The Rocky Mountain Conservancy may design the special license plate, but the plate must conform with standards established by the department.
(3) (a) At least once every five years, the department shall designate an organization to qualify applicants to be issued the Rocky Mountain National Park license plate. The organization must:
Be based in Colorado;
Have been in existence for at least ten years;
Manage a conservation program for the benefit of the park;
Help promote the stewardship of the park;
Fund trail building and maintenance within the park;
Provide interns or volunteers to staff visitor centers or deliver education programsto visitors; and
Have provided at least five hundred thousand dollars' worth of support annually tothe park for the last five years.
A person may apply for a Rocky Mountain National Park license plate if the personpays the taxes and fees required under this section and provides to the department or an authorized agent a certificate issued by the organization chosen in accordance with this subsection (3) confirming that the applicant has made a donation to the organization. The organization may establish a minimum donation amount to qualify for the plate. The amount must neither be less than twenty-five dollars nor more than seventy-five dollars. The organization shall use the donation to support Rocky Mountain National Park in a manner specified by the national park service.
The organization chosen in accordance with this subsection (3) shall file with thedepartment an annual statement verifying that it is a nonprofit organization unless the department stops issuing the license plate.
The amount of the taxes and fees for special license plates under this section is thesame as the amount of the taxes and fees for regular motor vehicle license plates; except that the department shall collect an additional one-time fee of twenty-five dollars for issuance or replacement of the license plate. The department shall transmit the additional one-time fee to the state treasurer, who shall credit the fee to the highway users tax fund created in section 43-4-201, C.R.S.
An applicant may apply for personalized Rocky Mountain National Park license plates. Upon payment of the additional fee required by section 42-3-211 (6)(a) for personalized license plates, the department may issue the plates if the applicant complies with section 42-3211. If an applicant has existing personalized license plates for a motor vehicle, the applicant may transfer the combination of letters or numbers to a new set of Rocky Mountain National Park license plates for the vehicle upon paying the fee required by section 42-3-211 (6)(a) and upon turning in the existing plates to the department. A person who has obtained personalized license plates under this subsection (5) shall pay the annual fee imposed by section 42-3-211 (6)(b) for renewal of the personalized plates. The fees under this subsection (5) are in addition to all other applicable taxes and fees.
Source: L. 2015: Entire section added, (HB 15-1313), ch. 243, p. 898, § 1, effective August 5.