(A) The department may issue "Fraternal Order of Police" special license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles and motorcycles registered in their names who are active members in good standing with the Fraternal Order of Police. Identification of current membership must be presented at the time of initial application. The fee for each special license plate is thirty dollars every two years in addition to the regular motor vehicle license fee set forth in Article 5, Chapter 3 of this title. Each special license plate must be of the same size and general design of regular motor vehicle license plates. Each special license plate must be issued or revalidated for a biennial period which expires twenty-four months from the month the special license plate is issued. A person issued a special license plate pursuant to this section who is not or who ceases to be a member of the Fraternal Order of Police must remove the license plate from his vehicle on the date the license plate registration is due for renewal and obtain another valid license plate. A person who knowingly fails to surrender his license plate pursuant to this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, may be fined one hundred dollars or sentenced to thirty days in jail, or both.
(B) Of the fees collected pursuant to this section, the Comptroller General shall place the regular motor vehicle license fee into the State Highway Fund as established by Section 57-11-20, to be distributed as provided in Section 11-43-167. The remaining funds collected from the special motor vehicle license fee must be distributed to the State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police to be used to support the families of officers killed in the line of duty.
(C) Before the department produces and distributes the Fraternal Order of Police special license plates pursuant to this section, it must receive:
(1) four hundred or more prepaid applications for the special license plate or a deposit of four thousand dollars from the individual or organization seeking issuance of the license plate. If a deposit of four thousand dollars is made by an individual or organization pursuant to this section, the department shall refund the four thousand dollars once an equivalent amount of license plate fees is collected for that organization's license plate. If the equivalent amount is not collected within four years of the first issuance of the respective license plate, the department shall retain the deposit; and
(2) a plan to market the sale of the special license plate which must be approved by the department.
(D) If the department receives less than three hundred biennial applications and renewals for this special license plate, it may not produce additional special license plates in this series. The department shall continue to issue special license plates of this series until the existing inventory is exhausted.
HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 54, Section 1, eff May 9, 2005; 2006 Act No. 398, Section 6, eff September 7, 2006; 2008 Act No. 347, Section 7, eff June 16, 2008; 2016 Act No. 275 (S.1258), Section 48, eff July 1, 2016.