Chapter
011
2008 -- H 7060
Enacted 05/05/08
A N A C T
RELATING TO MOTOR AND
OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES
Introduced By: Representatives Carter, Gorham, Gallison, Lewiss, and Malik
Date
Introduced: January 08, 2008
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 31-3-53 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-3 entitled
"Registration
of
Vehicles" is hereby amended to read as follows:
31-3-53.
Veterans' plates. -- (a) The registrar of motor vehicles shall issue
for any motor
vehicle
eligible for registration as an automobile, or for any motorcycle eligible for
registration as
a
motorcycle, or for a commercial vehicle having a gross weight of ten thousand
one pounds
(10,001
lbs.) or less, plates designated as "Veteran", "Purple
Heart", and "Ex-POW" upon
application
on proper forms furnished by the administrator of the division of motor
vehicles to
veterans.
Gold Star parents shall also be eligible for plates designated as
"Veteran".
(b) The special plate designated "Veteran" shall be designed as
follows;
(1) Letters and numbers shall be blue in a white background with the words
"Rhode
Island"
clearly visible at the top center of the plate and the word "Veteran"
visible at the bottom
center
of the plate.
(2) The background will be a red, white and blue waving American Flag.
(3) On the top right corner will be a decal with the military branch of the
service in
which
the Veteran served (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Merchant
Marines, and
Gold
Star Parent).
(4)
For war veterans a white decal with blue letters with the words "War
Veteran" placed
under
the military branch decal on the right side of the plate above the validation
sticker.
(c) The applicant shall be required to pay a service charge of twenty dollars
($20.00) and
a
transfer charge of five dollars ($5.00) for each plate.
(d) The applicant shall be entitled to a plate for each vehicle owned by the
applicant
upon
payment of an additional service charge and/or transfer charge for each
vehicle.
(e) The owner of a motor vehicle eligible for registration as a commercial
vehicle and
having a
gross weight of ten thousand one pounds (10,001 lbs.) or less that is issued
veteran
plates
shall continue to pay the appropriate commercial registration fee for those
plates. The
owner of
a motor vehicle eligible for registration as a commercial vehicle having a
gross weight
of six
thousand three hundred pounds (6,300 lbs.) but not more than ten thousand one
pounds
(10,001
lbs.) shall sign an affidavit at the time of application for said plates
stating that the
vehicle
is to be used for personal use only.
(f)(1) For the purposes of this section, a "veteran" shall be
defined as any person who has
served
on active duty in the armed forces of the United States. The term
"veteran" shall also
include
members of the National Guard and Reserves: (1) (i) called to
active duty authorized by
the
President of the United States or the Secretary of Defense; or (2) (ii)
who have twenty (20)
years of
service with a letter and record of separation of service.
(2)
For the purposes of this section "War Veteran" shall be defined as
any veteran of any
conflict
or undeclared war who has earned a campaign ribbon or expeditionary medal for
service
in
either a declared or undeclared war as noted on the war veteran's DD-214. Upon the death of
the
holder of any veteran plates, the plates shall be transferred to the surviving
spouse for the
spouse's
lifetime until he or she remarries.
(g) The "veteran" or "war veteran" described in subsection
subdivisions (f)(1)(i) or (ii)
and
(2) must have been honorably
discharged from the armed forces of this nation in order to
receive
plates pursuant to this section and, for purposes of this section, a medical
discharge or a
general
discharge shall be deemed an honorable discharge.
(h) For the purpose of this section, "Gold Star Parent" means a
person who has lost a son
or a
daughter as a result of service with the armed forces of the United States of
America;
provided,
the death was determined to be in the line of duty.
(i) Veterans who have served in multiple conflicts are entitled to be issued,
veterans'
plates
equal to the number of conflicts he or she served in; provided, the plates are
limited to the
number
of vehicles owned by the veteran.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00316
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