New specialty plate requirements could have big impact

SWAN VALLEY – Swan Valley Connections is among 85 nonprofits statewide that received notice Jan. 31 from the Montana Department of Justice Motor Vehicle Division that their generic specialty license plate has been revoked for failing to reach the minimum of 400 active registrations. A four-month extension was granted last week to allow these 85 organizations to increase their plate sales. However if they are unable to meet the requirement, SVC will loose more than $5,000 annually in unrestricted funds.

During the 2019 66th Legislative session, Senator Jill Cohenour from Helena sponsored Senate Bill 353. Cohenour said the purpose of SB353 was twofold: to generally revise the laws related to vehicle license plates and revise the laws regarding the generic specialty license plates providing the requirements nonprofits must meet in order to keep their plate sponsorship.

The specialty plate program started in 2002. There are now 256 specialty plates available.

Prior to SB353, there was no regular reporting required for the sponsors after the initial one-year look-back allowing them to collect in perpetuity. Joe Cohenour, who helped draft the bill, told the Transportation Committee that he found one nonprofit that collected $700,000 in license plate fees, yet they had only filed for one year as a legal nonprofit with the State.

Now, sponsoring organizations must submit proof of its tax-exempt status annually, have held its tax-exempt status for at least one year prior to submitting its application to sponsor a generic specialty license plate and must be a Montana entity.

While the 2001 state law that allowed the Department of Justice to issue specialty license plates included a minimum number requirement, it has not been enforced until this year. SB353 requires sponsors to meet the 400-plate minimum within three years of the initial distribution and continuously maintain a minimum of 400 plates sold or renewed or the plate will be revoked.

Montana Highway Patrol representatives supported the bill. They said reigning in the number of specialty plates available will help them more readily identify Montana plates.

SB353 tightened up the language regarding the visibility of the plate. Montana Highway Patrol again spoke in support of this because it helps them and the general public read a license plate from a certain distance should they need to report a crime or run a license plate passing on the highway at a high rate of speed.

Finally, SB353 requires the name of the sponsoring nonprofit be printed on the plate. This tells the license plate holder what organization they are supporting when they purchase the plate.

If a sponsor plate is revoked, the sponsor cannot reapply for a new specialty plate any sooner than four years from its discontinuation. Current plate holders can display the sponsor plate until their next renewal at which time they must replace their license plate with a different plate. Permanently registered vehicles can display a revoked specialty plate for as long as the individual owns the vehicle. However when that vehicle is sold, the plate can no longer be used.

Swan Ecosystem Center and Northwest Connections, now merged as SVC, released their specialty plate Jan. 31, 2015. It features a painting of a wolverine by artist Ron Ukrainetz. As of January 2020, SVC had 323 plates on currently registered vehicles, falling 77 plates short of the 400-plate requirement.

SVC Executive Director Rebecca Ramsey said SVC receives more than $5,000 annually from license plate sales. These are unrestricted funds and can be designated as needed to their conservation, education, land and water stewardship programs. Ramsey said having a fund that has freedom to flex where needed is rare and valuable in a conservation nonprofit organization.

"Unrestricted dollars help us pay for staff, office supplies, printers, computers, phone lines... all the things you need to keep a business running and to keep providing services on our landscape," wrote Ramsey in an email.

Ramsey said SVC appreciates the four-month extension to nonprofits across the state to meet the 400-plate requirement. Along with renewing or purchasing new Swan Valley plates during the extension, Ramsey encourages supporters to contact Cohenour to encourage her to remove the 400-plate requirement.

"We can attest to the value of the opportunity to earn a significant amount of funding from any amount of license plate registrations," wrote Ramsey. "Nonprofit organizations like ours are helping communities, state and federal agencies to fill needs all across this state."

If SVC is unable to meet the 400-plate requirement during the extension, Ramsey said SVC will have to do extra fundraising to recuperate that income and increase their marketing spending.

"Having your organization's license plate out there does more than send money back to the organization," wrote Ramsey. "It's also an opportunity for supporters to be ambassadors of a cause they love and invite other people to get to know us and the work we do here in the Swan Valley. As evidenced by the recent letter to the editor from Mr. Quinn [in the Feb. 13 issue of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder], it draws attention to the elusive wolverine and the rare forest carnivore monitoring program we are involved with."

Senator Cohenour may be reached at Jill.Cohenour@mtleg.gov and 406-227-1144. To view the full list of revoked plates visit https://media.dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/Revoked-Sponsor-License-Plates-1-2020.pdf